Breaking through the paint
by Energetic red
Summary: Life is full of choices, influencing the person we grow to be, the wrong ones often being the easiest to make. Sometimes you can't help but just go with the flow,even if it means losing a bit of yourself in the process. Lyrisadora Malfoy; daughter of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy,older sister to Draco.
1. Uncorrupted innocence

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote:Lewis Carroll, Alice in wonderland **

* * *

><p><strong>"Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." <strong>

**Chapter: Uncorrupted innocence**

* * *

><p><em>2nd October 1977<em>

A soft cry, passed through the newborns mouth, as the baby snuggled closer into Narcissa's chest. Its breathing gradually becoming more peaceful, her scrunched up eyes, easing as the baby's face became more calm.

Narcissa Malfoy gazed down at the pink face that peaked out from the blue blanket covering her child. She hummed slightly, smoothing her limp blonde hair back as she relaxed. She smiled fondly at the sleeping baby. The baby murmured softly, nuzzling its head closer into her mother's chest. Narcissa felt her lips arch upwards in amused smile, beginning to gently stoke the small blonde soft hair above the child's doing this, she muse don a name for the child, she knew the name had to be something interesting, something people would remember.

She linked her pointed finger in the baby's fist, the tiny fist clenching around the finger, a brief smile flashed on Narcissa's face, before she tried get back to focusing on a name. _"What would be suitable for my son? Phineas-Nigellus...? It is good to honour your ancestors... far to long."_ she thought, sighing in exasperation. "Star constellations..." she muttered, considering her family's traditions. "Draconis," mumbled, thinking the name over. "Draco for short," she concurred brightly, smiling down at 'Draco', the baby wriggling as it stirred, she tried to sit up straighter, repositioning the baby, so she would have a firmer hold on her. Stopping when the blanket caught and was moved away slightly, revealing the sex of the baby.

_"_You're not a boy," she muttered, looking at the sleeping baby, everything beginning to process. "A girl...oh, _oh_..." she trailed off, this was not what she had expected. Her brow creased, wondering what this would cause people to think, he parents-in-law would not be pleased, but then again they never were. The Malfoys and Blacks never did really agree on much.

She remembered during her and Lucius' wedding, at the alter, the wretched ghost of Vesperius Malfoy burst in and interrupted them when they were about to finish their vows. He proceeded to give a speech on how Narcissa Black wasn't worthy of becoming a Malfoy and that the Black family had a substantial amount of bloodtraitors within them, that had poisoned their once pure blood; which would thus taint the Malfoys if they were wed and produced an heir. His other argument against them was that she would likely never produce a male heir, following in the footsteps of her mother Druella Black. He suggested' that his great, great, great grandson, Lucius, should marry, his widowed cousin Antonella Malfoy (much to Antonella's great disgust). To say the Black family were upset about this was an absolute understatement, to say Narcissa was embarrassed and angry was like as if commenting that a giant's footsteps were as quiet as a water pixie.

Now she had a female heir it would be more 'evidence' for Vesperius' speech in many of the Malfoy family members eyes. She wondered why she was the one who always had the worst of luck, then again she Andromeda had given birth to a girl as well, Narcissa's stomach churned, maybe Vesperius was right. She was taken out of her thought by the resounding echo of footsteps, coming closer, and closer, she froze instantly in dread... became a little stiff as she listened, but the footsteps stopped outside the door, a few muffled voices from outside before the footsteps resumed, becoming fainter and fainter. She breathed a sigh of relief.

The Malfoy's had not had a first-born girl in generations, a rare number of second or third born at best, and when they had, they tend to be found dead weeks later, Desna Malfoy being a good example, the story of how in 1812, barely a month old, she was abducted by political opponents and murdered in her to try and threaten the Malfoy family into resignation. Something which would conveniently have the said political opponents sentenced to Azkaban; after admitting to their 'crime', once receiving Veritaserum, a secret courtesy of the Malfoy family, the story was slightly different each time, yet it still managed to benefit the Malfoy family in some way.

She was taken from her musings by the door abruptly opening. "Narcissa," came the voice, belong to her husband Lucius, himself walking towards her, a faint fond smile on his eyes warmed more after staring at the child in her arms, The blanket quickly pulled back over the girl's body fully. "Good afternoon dear," he greeted affectionately, a grin attempting to edge itself over the dignified expression. He was silent for a few moment; further inspecting what he expected to be his son_._ "So, how is he?"

Narcissa felt a lump begin to from in her throat, as she noticed him edging closer to get a closer look. "Yes..." she began, unsure how he would react, swallowing as she hesitated. "Well, our 'son' is quite d-different from other boys..." she choked out, before Lucius interrupted.

He smirked. "Well of course, he is a Malfoy, the family saying could not be truer, why wouldn't he be special?" he announced arrogantly, a smug smile having formed upon his pale face.

Narcissa was glad he either hadn't notice her strange behaviour or was kindly ignoring it; though she was slightly irritated at being interrupted. "As I was saying, our son is quite different from other boys... like the complete opposite," she anxiously said, trying to steady her voice; forcing a smile.

Lucius raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, unable to understand what his what his wife actually meant. He merely stood their for a few moments, mulling her words over in his head continuously. He eventually began splutter, seeming to have finally understand what she was trying to convey. "A _girl_? Are you sure?" Lucius swallowed, hoping that the baby was actually a boy, Narcissa merely having made a mistake in her assessment due to her still in recovery after giving birth.

Narcissa didn't speak, but merely lifted the blanket away, so Lucius could get a better look at his child. He stood still in shock, the confirmation overwhelming him, it seemed like an eternity before he actually spoke again. "Well... what a wonderful surprise. I had wanted a son..." Narcissa bit her lip, her face downcast. "...But I think a daughter is far more..._better_," he added quickly, attempting to reassure his wife that he wasn't that disappointed. "So what should we name him-I mean _her_?" he corrected hastily.

A giggle erupted from the infants mouth, causing them stared down upon their daughter. Her eyes wide open, revealing two dark, brown orbs; which shimmered in the still flickering candlelight, switching between her mother and her father. Having the Malfoy signature platinum blonde hair, her nose resembling her father's in its sharpness and long length. The baby lifted chubby arms in the air, attempting to grab dust particles, causing a warm smile to spread across Narcissa's face, holding out a slender finger in the air, her daughter caught the finger with her small hand, her eyes locking on it with fascination.

"I hadn't considered any girl names, I was so sure she'd be a boy," Narcissa stated absently, continuing to dote on their daughter.

Lucius eyed the scene with an element of fondness. "I hadn't considered it either," he confessed reluctantly.

Narcissa began to mull names over in her head for a while, before giving a satisfied smile. "Lyrisadora?" Narcissa suggested, she had wante dthe name to be interesting.

Lucius arched an eyebrow. "I haven't heard of it," he said. Narcissa blushed slightly.

"Oh well, I sort of made it up-I loved the name Lyra and the name Risa and...Dora, it's different, more remembered, " exclaimed Narcissa anxiously.

"It does sound like a...peculiar name," he commented slowly, thinking the name slightly strange, thinking the name over before shrugging."Are you sure?"

"Well why not, hm? It's a nice name and sounds lovely," his wife reasoned.

He gave her a perceptive look before rolling his eyes. "Lyrisadora it is then," announced Lucius, Narcissa smiled.

Lucius stared at the small child warmly, of whom was snuggling further into her mother's chest, trying to get more comfortable. "Lyrisadora..." he repeated slowly, testing the name out, feeling it roll of his tongue with ease."A rare name for our pure child," he murmured softly, hesitantly leaning down to kiss his daughter's forehead, the baby's hands instantly reaching towards him, he looked at the baby curiously as he caressed her forehead.

Narcissa smiled warmly at her husband's display of fondness to their daughter, thankful he seemed to be taking the news well and was accepting it, looking happy. Lucius' acute ears picked up the distinct sound of voices coming closer, however he was unable to make any sense of them, until it was loud enough for Narcissa to be able to hear. "Madam...!" he heard. "...Afraid... go in... sorry... clearance... needed!" exclaimed a male voice, muffled to such an extent that they couldn't hear the full sentence and the ones they could hear were barely coherent.; likely a member of staff

They both then heard an all to familiar and dreaded voice. "...Dare...don't….Basilia.. yes a Malfoy... is my grandson!" The voice seemed to be getting stronger and the hurried footsteps louder. "Now open this door this very instant," the voice demanded sharply, perfectly coherent.

Both parents felt a rush of dread fill then as the door swung open, being greeted by the sight of three people standing in the doorway. Basilia Malfoy, stood in the middle of the doorway, herself a sickly sweet smile plastered on her pale wrinkly face, casing what regal beauty she had to become distorted; her light brown hair having streaks of grey running through, hair tied up in a tight bun, eyes cold and blue, figure thin and back ever so visibly hunched, herself dressed in fine regal robes of purple and black colouring, laced entwining patterns embroidered on.

To the left of the woman, stood a proud, sharp-faced man, who's appearance was strikingly similar to Lucius, to the extent of where he could be considered a very old version; his blonde greying hair just past the ear slicked back and had a thick moustache, himself dressed in equally regal robes as his wife's, his the colours of dark navy blue and black..

There was also the male staff member that the woman appeared to have been arguing with; he certainly appeared like he wanted to leave the room as soon as possible obvious due to the dreadful old woman.

"Hello mother," Lucius greeted civilly.

After a few moments of hesitation Narcissa spoke. "It's good to see you," she said, forcing her tone to be pleasant.

However they soon realised that Mrs. Malfoy was fixated on the baby in Narcissa arms, clearly taken aback. Narcissa cursed herself for no covering the baby in the blanket when she heard her mother-in-law coming, while Lucius prepared himself for the impending explosion and his wife quickly followed suit; whilst Lucius' father merely groaned in irritation.

"Well, well, _well_!" she sneered, trying to think of what to say, still quite in shock from her discovery concerning her grandchild's gender. Narcissa groaned in annoyance with Lucius; they knew when she continuously repeated the word 'well' she tended to be furious. "Well _young lady_, congratulations! You have managed to disgrace the name of the Malfoys further than you ever have before in the eight months of your marriage! I knew my assumptions of you were absolutely correct when I heard you had manipulated my dear Lucius."

Narcissa groaned. _"Why does she have to bring that up again? That old hag!" _she thought in great annoyance. "Calm yourself Basilia," Lucius' father exclaimed, although he was quite hesitant, obviously dreading his wife's wrath. "I am sure they'll conceive a son eventually. We will just have to be patient," he assured profusely; but it was apparent he was also disappointed.

Basilia snorted in a quite unladylike fashion. "Ha! Really Abraxas, do you actually believe she can produce a male heir. Have you seen what her mother produced, all girls; that's why the Black Family is dying out, because they aren't producing enough male heirs," she growled. "Now that _she_," Basilia snarled, pointing accusingly at Narcissa; who scowled in return. "...Has married Lucius, she will contaminated our bloodline with that horrible curse," she exclaimed in disgust and horror.

The other three Malfoys began to wonder whether Basilia had much sanity left. "Remember what the therapist said," Abraxas advised calmly; but sadly it appeared to have the opposite effect on Basilia than desired. She appeared even more enraged than she had been before, Abraxas sighing and deciding to leave his wife be, hoping she'd run out of energy and calm down.

"Really dear, you are far too naïve," she began icily and rather condescendingly. "The therapist of which you speak was a buffoon, who was certainly not adept in his line of work at all," Basilia sneered arrogantly. "Huh, 'advising' I take an _anger management class,"_ she sneered in disdain.

Lucius decided to interrupt his mother's jabbering, his patience wearing thin. "Yes mother we're all aware, now let us return to the subject of the baby. As you can see, we have produced a healthy daughter-" however he was interrupted.

Basilia smirked deviously. "Thank you son… for proving my point!" she exclaimed snidely.

"What? What do you mean," Lucius spluttered, utterly befuddled.

Basilia either didn't hear what Lucius said or merely ignored; her attention was drawn to the healer who was attempting to sneak away. "_You_," she addressed with a superior expression; stopping the Healer dead in his tracks. " Get me a drink of cold water with ice and make certain a staff-member who is pureblood pours it, and handles it, I wouldn't want it contaminated, would I?" she demanded, a snarl in her tone. The Healer groaned in frustration. Her hawk-like eyes narrowed, a sneer forming on her lips. "Why must all muggle-contaminates be so ungrateful and disrespectful? You should be honoured to serve someone of my status." He slowly began to leave the room, obviously tired out from dealing with her. "And _don't _dilly dally," she ordered chillingly. Causing the man to hastily exited the room and most of the rooms inhabitants were not even sure if he would actually return.

Seeing his mother refocusing her gaze on him, he decided speak. "What? What do you mean by that?" Lucius asked again.

Basilia raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, you see dear, I need the glass of water -" but was quickly cut off by Lucius, who was becoming even more impatient and angry with his insufferable mother.

"Not that _mother_. About me proving your 'suspicions'?" he questioned through gritted teeth.

"Well dear, I suppose I should elaborate. It appear your sharp mind is dulling, you must be spending far too much time with Narcissa..." Basilia began; earning herself an offended glare from Narcissa. "You said '_daughter_'... there in lies the problem. There hasn't been a firstborn female in several generations until dear _Narcissa_, here, came along," she ground out, glaring at Narcissa with disgust; as if she had suddenly made the girl change from a boy to spite her. "So if their hasn't been a Malfoy girl in about several generations… then there is only one likely reason for why there is one now," she stopped for a moment, seeing whether they were listening to her, before continuing to speak. "Which means your _dearest Narcissa_ has no doubt been spreading her legs for the whole of Nockturn alley to see," she snarled hatefully. At this Narcissa felt a powerful rush of hate and anger, feeling the need to strangle the wretched hag then and there.

Lucius struggled to keep his anger at bay as his jaw tightened."_Mother_, it is clearly ours," he began icily, his tone at a dangerous low. "Just look at her, she has inherited a fair few of my features, the exception being the eyes that are inherited from Narcissa," reasoned Lucius forcefully, his tone holding a clear level of warning to it, clearly repulsed by his mother's accusation as well. Meanwhile Abraxas merely stared at his wife in disbelief at how she could formulate such an idiotic accusation; he suppose the animosity his wife shared with his daughter-in-law must have clouded her judgement considerable.

"I want a blood test," she murmured to herself, being loud enough for the rest to be able hear her clearly. Narcissa looked like she was going to explode, however Lucius put a comforting hand of her shoulder, gradually calming her down; still cradling the quiet baby in her arms, who was staring at Basilia in confusion and fear; whilst Basilia glared back with distaste. "What's _its_ name then?"

Narcissa certainly did not like her child being called an 'it'. "_She _has a name," she corrected, her teeth gritted.

Her mother-in-law merely raised an eyebrow. "I know, that is why I asked," Basilia responded, quite annoyed and also slightly confused.

Narcissa sighed in annoyance. "Her name is Lyrisadora Malfoy-"

"That's a stupid name! Only befitting a common simpleton! You will name her Vesperius Malfoy," demanded Basilia authoritatively to the young parents. Narcissa and Lucius were in disbelief and annoyance.

_"Vesperius Malfoy…VESPERIUS MALFOY! No oh no! I'll honour him over my dead body! _Narcissa fumed in her head, completely stupefied. "Why would we name her a boy's name?" questioned Narcissa coldly, choosing to not point out the apparent namesake..

Basilia narrowed her eyes at Narcissa. "Alright, fine then, Vesperia Malfoy! It doesn't really matter as long as its named after dear Vesperius the Valiant," announced Basilia sharply, glaring at anyone who she believed would disagree with her, namely Narcissa.

Lucius closed his eyes and counted to ten as he tried to keep his patience with his mother. "Mother you're aware he was the ghost who tried to split Narcissa and I aprat, aren't you?" he growled warningly, hoping his mother _might _take back her comment when challenged.

"A pity he failed," Basilia murmured loudly, bitterness and venom lacing her tone; earning herself a number of angered glares, which she ignored. "Anyway she _is _a Malfoy, and therefore must receive proper name befitting her bloodline!"

"You didn't seemed to believe her a Malfoy earlier," muttered Lucius bitterly.

Basilia appeared to not have heard. "Vesperius Malfoy, a courageous man, who valiantly tried to protect the pureness of our world, dying a true hero. He was named Vesperius the Valiant, for his noble deeds" she 'elaborated' her reasons firmly.

Narcissa had a look of complete disbelief. "He wasn't called Vesperius the Valiant, he was Vesperius the Vicious. He would kill anyone, no matter what their blood, if they were a threat to him or if they were in his way. He manipulated people as if they were puppets until they became useless and he killed them. He was eventually caught after secretly killing forty-five people, but pleaded insanity and was admitted to a High-Security Asylum. He even killed his own mother..." Narcissa trailed off, her eyes widening; it took all her might not jump of the bed and strangle the wretch.

"All we can do is hope your dear daughter is influenced by her namesakes deeds then," Basilia responded nastily.

Lucius stiffly stood, having managed to understand what his hag of a mother was trying to hint at. He was furious and was about to yell at his mother, however someone else managed to do it first. "Basilia! That is enough! Don't be so horrid! This a special occasion, so everyone_ calm down,_" ordered Abraxas sternly, his tone fierce, laced with anger, clearly repulsed at what his wife's was saying.

Then Basilia made a small sound. "Humph." An awkward silence engulfed the room in its grip, lasting like age to the inhabitants of the room. "Fine then, her first name is _Lyrisadora.,"_ she spat the name out, looking as if the name left a dirty feeling in her mouth; earning herself a glare from Narcissa and Lucius, with a groan from Abraxas. "...What of her middle name then? It should be a proper Malfoy name of course, it is only fair. Perhaps Vesperia _maybe_," suggested Basilia, earning herself an annoyed groan from the rest.

Narcissa strain of dealing with Basilia more and more; feeling incredible tired, she lay back onto the mattress, still cradling the baby in her arms. Before Lucius could object, Narcissa spoke. "Fine! I'm too tired to argue! Her middle name will be Vesperia! Her name is now Lyrisadora Vesperia Malfoy! _Happy_?" exclaimed Narcissa, not bothering to put up further argument against it.

"Now only if you would change Vesperia to her first name..." Basilia suggested slowly.

"Basilia!"

"**_Mother!"_**

"Where is my water?"

"Will all of you just LEAVE!"

The little baby girl, Lyrisadora Vesperia Malfoy, stared at her squabbling family in front of her with curiosity and confusion. She was far too young to realize what kind of family she had been born into.

* * *

><p><strong>-Chapter<strong> and AN** edited: 16/Feb/2013**

**Well I hope you folks like this fic, I admit the following chapters fade in and out a bit quality and detail wise, also being a tad generic in some areas; you can blame writers block for those ones. However I'm happy to say that my writing has improved, but I still have trouble with punctuation, but no one's perfect. **

**So buckle in and get ready for a coming of age journey!**

**REVIEW!**


	2. Disagreements are exspected

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Family reunions<strong>**

****Chapter: Disagreements are**** **expected**

* * *

><p><em>5th October 1977<em>

Lucius Malfoy stood in front of his bedroom mirror, trying to adjust his collar, while Narcissa was on the bed, doting on Lyrisadora. "Oh, Lucius, isn't she precious!" cooed Narcissa sweetly, for the tenth time, as she tickled Lyrisadora under the chin. Lucius groaned, but reluctantly answered his wife.

"Yes dear, _very_ precious," he replied irritably, for the tenth time.

"Oh Lucius! Look, look she laughed!" cried Narcissa happily. Lucius sighed, his wife was starting to give him a headache.

"Really, how wonderful," drawled Lucius through gritted teeth. Narcissa frowned at him.

"You didn't even look," snapped Narcissa.

_"Of course I didn't bloody well look, it was a 'laugh' for crying out loud!"_ thought Lucius in frustration. However he dicided to humour his wife. He turned away from the mirror, and faced Narcissa.

"Well?" implored Lucius, looking at her expectantly. Narcissa quickly lifted Lyrisadora off the bed and onto her lap.

"Go on sweetheart, laugh for daddy," said Narcissa in a overly sweet baby voice, Lyrisadora stared up at her mother in confusion, Lucius rolled his eyes. He really couldn't understand why Narcissa talked like that to their daughter, like Lyrisadora could actually understand them.

"Narcissa, shouldn't you be getting Lyrisadora dressed, before the guest arrive?" reasoned Lucius, in an effort to be rid of his' baby happy' wife.

"Oh! You're right, I almost forgot," squealed Narcissa, she quickly picked up Lyrisadora. "Now, where did I put her outfit?" mumbled Narcissa to herself. Lucius put his hand over his face and sighed deeply. "Oh wait! I remember," squealed Narcissa, as she quickly exited the room.

"Finally," grouned Lucius; his wife could be a pain at times. Lucius had noticed she had become an even more pain since the new baby had arrived. Lucius just couldn't see what she was so ecstatic about, it was just a baby after all. And now the rest of the family was coming to see the baby.

Lucius groaned at the thought, he knew everyone would clash instantly, especially since the Lestranges, elder Malfoys and senior Blacks were coming. Lucius didn't know which person he wanted the most not to be there, Bellatrix and his mother were cutting it close. Yes, Lucius knew it sounded like he didn't want his mother there, this was because he _truly_ did not want his mother to be there. True,Lucius cared for his mother, however Basilia Malfoy was a very hard woman to love. "May as well get this over with," muttered Lucius.

"Oh isn't she precious!" cried a familiar shrill voice. Lucius' eyes narrowed.

"Oh for the love of Merlin," muttered Lucius, upon recognition of his wife's voice.

"Look Lucius look!" yelled Narcissa excitingly, she walked over to Lucius, and held up Lyrisadora. Lucius scanned Lyrisadora up and down.

_"Typical,"_ he thought; Narcissa had dressed Lyrisadora, in a bright baby pink overly frilly dress with bright blue ribbons, with a blue headband bow in her hair. This wasn't that much of a surprise to Lucius, Narcissa had taken to dressing up Lyrisadora like she was a living doll.

"Well, doesn't she look Precious?" questioned Narcissa sharply.

"Yes dear, _very_ precious ," sighed Lucius. Narcissa smiled.

"Yes I know," agreed Narcissa, she then turned to Lyrisadora."You're very precious aren't you Lyrisa," cooed Narcissa in her usual baby voice. Lucius arched an eyebrow.

"Lyrisa?" he questioned, bemused by the nickname. Narcissa looked up at him.

"Yes, 'Lyrisa' is my nickname for her," exclaimed Narcissa. Lucius scoffed.

"Why on earth, would you want to nickname her?" questioned Lucius, though he pretty much knew the answer.

"Because it's _cute_," answered Narcissa, as she tapped Lyrisadora's noise playfully. Lucius rolled his eyes and checked his pocket watch.

"They'll be here soon," drawled Lucius, Narcissa's smile drooped. Lucius saw this."Oh come now, they'll only be here til dinner," reassured Lucius affectionately. Narcissa humphed.

"Not quick enough if you ask me," retorted Narcissa acidly.

"Cissy," groaned Lucius.

"Oh Lucius, you know how terrible she is," protested Narcissa.

"Yes I know, but I'm afraid she's still family," reasoned Lucius. Narcissa groaned. Lucius placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Come, we must go greet them-It'll be over soon," reassured Lucius,leading Narcissa out of the bedroom.

They waited by the main fireplace; as all the guests would be flooing. Lyrisadora picked at her blue ribbons.

"Oh no Lyrisa! Don't do that," sighed Narcissa, she gently slapped Lyrisadora's hand away. "I hope she doesn't get restless, she's been feeling a little unwell since I last fed her," said Narcissa worriedly.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," drawled Lucius. "Ah, looks like the first lot have arrived," announced Lucius as a puff of green emerald appeared. Out of the fireplace popped a dark haired squabbling man and woman.

"...And I've told _you_ Rod, you can get stuffed if you think I'm-" said the familiar voice of Bellatrix Lestrange. _"It had to be her,"_ thought Lucius in annoyance, he _really_ disliked his sister in law, to the point where 'dislike' was an understatement.

"Bella!" squealed Narcissa happily. She hastily placed Lyrisadora in Lucius' arms, and went to go hug her sister. Bellatrix didn't return the hug.

"Oh hello Cissy," drawled Bellatrix dully. However Narcissa continued to smile brightly.

"So glad you could make it- you to Rod," greeted Narcissa.

"How you doing Lucius," greeted Rodolphus casually,smirking with bemusement at Lucius, who was looking very awkward as Lyrisadora began to feel his face with her fingers.

"Hello Rodophus," drawled Lucius, awkwardly holding Lyrisadora in his arms.

"This the new arrival then?" questioned Bellatrix smoothly, staring at the baby suspiciously, like it was an impostor in disguise. Narcissa nodded.

"Isn't she precious," cooed Narcissa sweetly, Lucius swore that if she said that one more time, he was going to crack.

"Small, isn't she," said Bellatrix.

"Yes, well you see, babies do tend to be small, _Bellatrix," _sneered Lucius snidely, Bellatrix's eyes narrowed coldly at him, but Lucius just rolled his eyes at her.

"Are we the first ones to arrive?" questioned Rodophus, Bellatrix rolled her eyes at her husband.

"_Well_ _no, _everyone else is just hiding-what do you think you idiot!" snapped Bellatrix acidly. Lucius sighed, the last thing he wanted, was for Bellatrix and Roduphus to start fighting _again_. Just then another puff of smoke ignited from the fire place and out stepped two people, a grumpy old woman and a young dark haired fifteen year old boy.

"Reg! Auntie Walburga, so glad you could come," greeted Narcissa warmly, as she went to go hug Regulas.

"Hey Cissy," greeted Regulas warmly, returning the hug, he looked paler than usual, more stiffer in Lucius' opinion. Regulas noticed Lyrisadora in Lucius' arms. He walked over to Lucius.

"Mind if I?" implored Regulas, gesturing if he could hold Lyrisadora.

"Be my guest," drawled Lucius, handing Lyrisadora over without objection. Regulas carefully balanced Lyrisadora in his arms.

"She's really-" Regulas began.

"Precious, I know," snapped Lucius irritably. Regulas arched a eyebrow.

"Uh, I was gonna say,Malfoyish," answered Regulas, as he looked at Lucius with amusement.

"Shouldn't you be in _school_," grumbled Lucius.

"Yeah, but mother wrote a note to excuse me, to come here," explained Regulas. Lucius didn't know why but the thought of Regulas having to get a note written from his mother, amused him. A puff of green smoke emerged from the fireplace, and out stepped a tall slightly wrinkled man. Narcissa beamed.

"Father," Narcissa said cheerfully, she embraced him warmly, Cygnus remained slightly stiff, but patted Narcissa on the back awkwardly.

"Hello Narcissa," he greeted curtly.

"You simply must see Lyrisadora," announced Narcissa enthusiastically, she quickly pulled Cygnus over to Lyrisadora. _"She tries too hard,"_ thought Lucius as he watched Narcissa's eagerness.

"Oh Regulas, Let father hold her," said sharply Narcissa, before Cygnus could protest Regulas had already handed Lyrisadora over to his uncle.

"Oh father, isn't she just-" Narcissa began to say excitingly.

"Precious! **_WE know_!_"_** snapped Lucius loudly, everyone stared at him with bewilderment.

"There's no need to be so testy, _Lucy_," mocked Bellatrix in a sick baby voice. Lucius glared at her with utter loathing.

"Is this everyone then?" questioned Rodophus. Another puff of smoke erupted, out stepped a sharp pointed faced man and a sour looking woman.

"Ah, father, mother," greeted Lucius, Narcissa's smile drooped. Abraxes was about to speak when Basilia interrupted.

"Where is _my_ grandchild?" demanded Basilia sharply, not even bothering to return the greeting, everyone looked at Cygnus who was still holding Lyrisadora. Basilia smiled and walked over to Cygnus.

"Ah Cygnus, it's nice to see you-may I?" said Basilia politely; Lucius never understood how his mother could like Cygnus _so_ much, yet loath Narcissa with a passion.

"Of course," replied Cygnus curtly, he carefully handed Lyrisadora to her. Basilia held Lyrisadora, then scanned her appearance.

"Her cheeks are quite fat, aren't they," said Basilia suddenly, Lucius sighed, he knew it was only a matter of time.

"Of course they are, she's a baby," stated Narcissa in befuddlement.

"Oh really, is that it? I thought she had simply inherited you cheek fat," drawled Basilia. Narcissa flushed, she glared at Basilia venomously. Cygnus cleared his throat.

"Yes well-Walburga, why isn't Orion here?" questioned Cygnus.

"He's feeling under the weather, I'm afraid," drawled Walburga, as she craned her neck to get a look at Lyrisadora. "She looks a lot like you Narcissa, same hair same eyes," stated Walburga. Basilia saw this as an insult and scowled.

"I'd have to disagree with you on that, Walburga, _thankfully _she's only inherited a very _few _features from _Narcissa,_" said Basilia spitefully. Walburga raised an eyebrow. Regulas scowled.

"And what may I ask are you Implying, _Mrs Malfoy,_" said Regulas coolly. Basilia smiled a nasty smile at him.

"Oh,Just that I would prefer my granddaughter, didn't inherit all of your cousins traits, especially her horny sexual malicious ones, if you know what I mean," drawled Basilia. Regulas' eyes narrowed.

"Uh, excuse me," scoffed Regulas, his face flushed.

"I'm just saying, I hope she doesn't get pregnant before she's married," said Basilia smoothly.

"WHY THE-" Regulas began to shout.

"Regulas calm yourself," ordered Walburga sharply, Regulas pursed his lips and glared at Basilia coldly.

"Would you like to hold her Bella?" questioned Narcissa tightly, as she finished glaring at Basilia. Bellatrix shrugged.

"Whatever," said Bellatrix lazily. Narcissa took Lyrisadora from Basilia's arms, Basilia reluctantly let Lyrisadora go, as she glared at Narcissa. Narcissa handed Lyrisadora to Bellatrix.

"Thinking of having children anytime soon Bellatrix?" questioned Cygnus. Bellatrix and Rodophus exchanged looks.

"Uh, yeah...soon," they both said in unison. Bellatrix eyed Lyrisadora warily, Lyrisadora hiccuped. Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. She held her up.

"Yeah, definitely has your-" Bellatrix began, but stopped as Lyrisadora vomited on her face;then giggled. Lucius,Rodolphus and Regulas snorted loudly, as they tried to hide their smirks.

There was a death like silence. Lucius knew by the way Bellatrix had pursed her lips tightly, and the way her hold on Lyrisadora tightened, that if he didn't act now, he might not be a father any longer. He exchanged a quick glance at his wife, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. Before Bellatrix could speak, Narcissa quickly took Lyrisadora from Bellatrix's arms. Bellatrix slowly wiped the vomit from her eyes, and glared furiously at Lyrisadora, with utter loathing.

"_Brat_!" ground out Bellatrix through gritted teeth, her fist clenched and teeth bared.

"Now now, _Trixy_, she's just a baby," said Lucius patronizingly, while trying to suppress a smirk. Bellatrix growled fiercely.

Narcissa sighed. "Here Bella," said Narcissa as she handed her a handkerchief, Bellatrix snatched it from Narcissa.

"Stupid little brat," muttered Bellatrix darkly. Regulas smiled, and walked over to Narcissa.

"Uh, can-can I hold her again?" inquired Regulas nervously, Narcissa smiled warmly.

"Of course you may," said Narcissa warmly, as she handed Lyrisadora over to him. Regulas looked down at Lyrisadora with unusual loving care. Lucius arched an eyebrow.

"My, my, Regulas, you're a natural," stated Lucius. Regulas looked up at him.

"Wha? Oh, thanks Lucius," muttered Regulas.

"Won't be long until you're doing this for a living, ay Reggie," said Rodolphus , slapping Regulas on the back playfully. Regulas smiled nervously.

"Yeah sure..." said Regulas feebly.

"So when are you planning to arrange a marriage for Regulas, _Walburga_?" questioned Basilia suddenly, a evident sneer in her tone. Walburga pursed her lips.

"Oh soon enough, when he's of age," Walgurga said coolly staring at Basilia with great dislike. "It's funny of you to mention that,Basilia, considering your own son didn't marry until, what age was it now? _Twenty three, _cutting it fine wouldn't you say?" drawled Walburga. Basilia's eyes narrowed.

"Well, we were simply just waiting for the _right_ bride, sadly fate decided to mess around and get knocked up, and here we are now," sneered Basilia nastily.

Narcissa scowled at Basilia. Lucius sighed, this was really getting old, he wanted to get this thing over with as quickly as possible.

"Yes well, why don't we move onto presents then," suggested Lucius quickly. Everyone started to take out their presents for Lyrisadora. Lucius stopped when he unwrapped Walburga's gift.

"Uhhh...why thank you auntie, I'm sure Lyrisadora, will...love her...sound muffler," said Narcissa awkwardly as she held up the dark creepy object.

"But of course, I used to use it regularly on that _filthy little blood traitor_, when he wouldn't stop crying," elaborated Walburga, as she examined her sharp nails.

_"No wonder he's so messed up," _thought Lucius disturbingly, as he folded away the gift.

"So when will you be trying _again_?" questioned Abraxes suddenly, Lucius had forgotten he was still in the room.

"Hmmm? Excuse me?" questioned Narcissa nervously.

"When will you be trying for a _boy_," elaborated Abraxes irritably, annoyed on having to explain further.

"Oh..." Narcissa and Lucius said in unison.

"Soon enough, " said Lucius curtly.

"Perhaps, when Lyrisadora is older," suggested Narcissa carefully, unsure when she would have another child.

"So two years then, that's how long I waited," drawled Walburga.

"Well I suppose..." trailed off Lucius, he hadn't given the matter much thought, though he knew they would have to start trying soon enough,already.

"Excellent, so we can expect a new arrival in less than three years, then," declared Walburga.

"What are you going to name him?" questioned Basilia sharply, eyeing them intently. Lucius instantly knew what this meant.

"We were going to name him Draco actually..." began Narcissa carefully, Lucius knew Narcissa had caught on to what Basilia was trying to do. Basilia snorted.

"_Draco," _Basilia spat. "No, that simply won't do, you must name him Vesp-" Basilia began to protest.

"Pollux," announced Walburga suddenly, Basilia turned to her and arched a eyebrow.

"_Pollux_," Basilia sneered. Walburga clearly didn't like her tone, and narrowed her eyes at her.

"Yes, Pollux. Do you have a problem with that,_ Basilia_?" challenged Walburga acidly.

"Yes actually, I do," retorted Basilia icily. Lucius groaned, he already knew what was about to happen.

"Well then, voice your opinion, be my guest," said Walburga coolly.

"I _will_," said Basilia coldly. "_Pollux_. Is a stupid imbecilic name," spat Basilia, Walburga's cheeks burned.

"How _dare_ you-I say he should be named Pollux!" snapped Walburga angrily, as she eyed Basilia with both loathing and anger.

"I say, Vesperius!" spat Basilia with rage.

"Pollux," demanded Walburga.

"Vesperius!" cried Basilia.

"Pollux!"

"Vesperius!"

"Pollux!"

"_Vesperius,"_

_"Pollux!"_

"Vesperius!"

Lucius messaged his temples as he watched the two deranged woman engage in a pointless shouting match.

"Uh...should we do something?" implored Rodophus nervously. Abraxes sighed.

"No, It's best if they tire each other out," drawled Abraxes.

"Should we leave them to it then?" questioned Regulas, gesturing to the squabbling woman.

"Yes I suppose we should," sighed Cygnus.

"Come on then-you simply _must_ see Lyrisadora's nursery," drawled Narcissa, as she led the way to the nursery.

"POLLUX!"

"VESPERIUS!"

Lucius groaned and made sure to shut the door behind him, muffling the shouts.

* * *

><p><strong>REView!<strong>


	3. Lightning and Thunder

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Age of Innocence<strong>

**Chapter: Lightning and Thunder**

* * *

><p><em>1981 September 28th<em>

Lightning struck loudly, as the rain splashed violently against the glass of the bedroom window. Lyrisadora whimpered quietly as the storm raged on ,and the thunder rumbled. Lyrisadora gripped her sheets tightly. A loud clang of thunder caused her to bolt up, she scanned her dark room and felt her eyes water, she shut them tightly.

_"Malfoys don't cry, Malfoys don't cry_," thought Lyrisadora fearfully. She squealed as a bolt of lightning and thunder struck hard. "M-m-mummy," she whimpered, but it was to no avail; her mother was currently visiting her great aunt Warburga with Draco, and wouldn't be returning until tomorrow afternoon. She shivered, wanting her mother,wanting her to comfort and protection from the fierce storm. But all she had was her father, who was probably in his study as he normally stayed up late. Herself reluctant to seek comfort from him, aware of his coldness and impatience with things he deemed childish and foolish, fear of storms being one of them.

Lyrisadora bit her lip as she curled her fingers into her sheets, not wanting to disturb her father, in fear of him rebuking her, but at the same time afraid and wanting protection. She was still unsure what to do, however a sudden loud bang caused her to scurry out of her room to go find her father.

* * *

><p>Lucius Malfoy sat at his desk in his study, the only source of light a large fireplace. Lucius sighed and massaged his temples, taking a glance at the clock and noting it was nearing midnight. Himself pausing as he glanced at his remaining paperwork that needed to be cleared, deciding he would do the rest tomorrow, knowing he really should be going to bed. He refilled his glass one last time and leaned back on his chair, taking a sip of wine as he scanned the outside from his window,lazily turning his chair away from his desk.<p>

"Awful storm," he muttered to himself, wondering if Narcissa had the same weather where she was now. Lucius was pulled out from his train of thought by the sound of a soft whimper, which captured his attention. Lucius furrowed his brow and stared straight ahead,seeing the door partly open but no one in eyesight.

"F-father?" came a timid voice from below.

Lucius peered over his desk, his eyes darting down to find a blond shivering little girl in front of his desk, just shorter than it by an inch. The first thing he thought was that she was gong to ask him for a late night snack or bedtime story, himself letting out a quiet sigh of irritation "Lyrisadora, what are you doing up so late?" he questioned sharply, his patience wearing away quicker than usual as tiredness wore him down. His daughter stood frozen on the spot and whimpered fearfully. Lucius was growing more frustrated and was about to open his mouth to order her to go to bed, when a crack of thunder boomed, causing her to jump and scream, he watched as she quickly ran behind the desk and buried her face in his lap.

Lucius stiffened, slightly taken aback as he glanced down at her, hesitating as he put the pieces together realizing she had come to him because she was afraid of the storm. He felt a midge of guilt for snapping at her when she had obviously been distressed, but he quickly buried it as he tried to think of a way to stop her from crying and get her to go back to bed. He groaned, wishing his wife was here to handle the situation, aware of her special talent of handling these childish matters with a patience and warmth that he didn't posses. Sadly though, she wasn't here, it was just himself , some filthy house elves, and Lyrisadora. He sighed trying to think of a way to comfort his daughter, hearing her whimper loudly, as the storm dragged on,watching as she cried softly into her father's trousers, causing Lucius to bury an annoyed sigh as her small fingers dug into his legs, trying to be patient with her like his wife was.

He forced a smile onto his lips, it looking to resemble warmth, but only holding tolerance "Now, now Lyrisadora, there's nothing to be afraid of," Lucius reassured, his tone attempting to be gentle, but sounding slightly too forced and fake, as he awkwardly patted Lyrisadora on the head, she continued to whimper, hugging her father's legs tighter. His smile fell, his brow furrowing slightly, as he briefly gritted his teeth frustration, wishing she wouldn't be so difficult. "Lyrisadora," he said sternly, his gentle tone turning to irritation, deciding on the tough love approach. He pulled her shoulders up, causing her head to come up and face him, her eyes met his as he stared at the puffy teary eyes that looked back at him. For a moment his facial expression softened, pity stinging him, but he quickly shook this and steeled himself. "Come on now, it's just a storm, it shall pass. Now it's time for bed," he said firmly.

Lyrisadora shook her head violently, her eyes widening in panic. "No! Please daddy, don't leave me alone!" she pleaded, her eyes brimming with fresh tears again, sobbing loudly.

He removed his hands from her shoulders as he stared at her dumbstruck. "Come now," said Lucius worriedly as he watched her sob, but she continued."I-it's just a storm," he spluttered in befuddlement, staring at her with concern. For a moment all he could do was watch her cry, a part of him was tempted to just grab her and carry her to her room to leave her there to cry herself to sleep. But he wasn't _that_ cruel and he didn't believe he would be able to sleep knowing she was crying her eyes out in terror just down the hallway from him. He tried to remember what Narcissa normally did when she coddled the children, he thought for a moment as he recalled how she'd hug them tight like they were made form stuffing. Seeing no other solution, he hesitantly picked his daughter up and placed her on his lap.

This caused her to choke her sobs back for a moment as she was taken by surprise by the action."F-father?" she questioned timidly, halting when a bolt of lightning flashed,followed closely by some thunder, causing her to hastily bury her face in her father's robes and hug him tightly.

Lucius sighed, barely able too hold back a yawn. "Why do you have to be so difficult..." he murmured, gently patting her on the back, allowing her to cry into his robes. "There there. The storm will soon pass, just ignore it," he drawled.

Lyrisadora looked up at her father, her face miserable. "But it's so l-loud," she muttered tearfully, her hands tightly clutching the collar of his petticoat as she sniffled.

"Well we'll simply have to find a way to distract ourselves, wont we," reasoned Lucius, she stared up at him expectantly, looking to him to find a detraction, he cleared his throat as he gave her an encouraging look."Are you studying hard?" he questioned, referring to her academic lessons she had recently started, she nodded enthusiastically, causing him to smile a little. "That's good to hear," he praised.

Lyrisadora smiled. "I also learned a new word today father," she said happily; no longer holding him tightly in fear.

"Really, and what might that be?" inquired Lucius curiously.

"A-mal-ga-ma-tion, amalgamation!" Lyrisadora stated, smiling proudly.

"Ah I see. And what is the definition?" Lucius drawled, deciding to test her.

Lyrisadora's smile faded as she tried to remember what the definition was, frowning as she thought."Uh...it is..."she began nervously, flinching as the thunder roared, her father looked down at her expectantly. Lyrisadora's brown eyes widened in worry, as she desperately tried to remember. Then just as he was about to speak, she quickly answered, "Amalgamation: Is a merger/joining of something! Like when you and mummy got married." Before staring hopefully up at her father.

"Correct," he said curtly, as his lip curled slightly, Lyrisadora smiled weakly at this,before looking away as she felt the fine material of his robes. "Are you still reading the dictionary?" he questioned absently, she nodded her head vigorously. "Good. It's important that you are well read and well spoken," he added.

"And why is that father?" Lyrisadora questioned softly.

"Words are valuable things to know, the more you know the better," he began."A good education is a key factor that separates us from the other lower class," drawled Lucius, Lyrisadora still looked confused.

"I don't understand," she replied sincerely. Lucius looked at her for a moment.

"Well I suppose you wouldn't," he mumbled, as he stared out the window, noticing that the storm was starting to lighten up.

His daughter was confused by this comment, but remained silent about it."Daddy?" Lyrisadora began to inquire worriedly after some aprehension, he turned to her. "Can I ask you something?" she implored carefully, Lucius nodded. "What's a Mudblood?" she questioned, looking up at her father.

Lucius paused unsure what to say. "Where did you hear that word?" he asked smoothly.

Lyrisadora looked down and shifted uncomfortably. "Auntie Bella: When me and mummy visited her last week, she told mummy I was soft and weak, she said I'd be friends with blood traitors and Mudbloods," she answered, looking down and stiffening once she saw his fists clench tightly, as his jaw stiffened.

_"The bitch! The nerve! If she wasn't the dark lords favourite..."_ he thought angrily, Lyrisadora stared up at him fearfully.

"I'm sorry father, Please don't be angry," she pleaded worriedly, noting his hostile body language.

Lucius looked down at her, noticing her head cowering as she tried to shrink away from him, he forced himself to calm down."Don't worry Lyrisadora. I'm angry at your aunt, not you," he reassured, consorting his features to appear warm, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder."You're just curious aren't you," Lucius suggested softly, Lyrisadora nodded her head vigorously."Well I suppose you have a right to know. You see Lyrisadora the word Mudblood is a word used for muggle-borns-you know what they are don't you?" inquired Lucius, Lyrisadora nodded, her eyes totally fixed on her father."Good. Anyway, you see muggle-borns are not like us. Their strange because ,they just well appear, their parents are muggles," he sneered the last bit, he checked she was still paying attention, she was still staring up at him hanging onto his every word."It's ridicules, why should they have the same rights as us? Us pure-bloods, who have had magic run through our veins for centuries, abolishing all our proud traditions. You see Lyrisadora it's idiotic, their blood is contaminated with muggle blood ;they're worse than squibs. Their blood is filthy, the blood of filthy murderous muggles runs through their veins," Lucius sneered.

"Are muggles dangerous father?" she questioned; rather alarmed at the idea of any non-magical being posing a threat.

"Yes of course," Lucius said sharply.

Lyrisadora still looked confused. "But they don't have magic, so how can they be dangerous?" she insisted.

"Because, they have weapons that threatened our magical society, they are devious. They act innocent, when really they are all murderers. The Muggles committed a heinous act," Lucius said sharply.

"What did they do?" Lyrisadora questioned.

He looked at her, about to explain the horrific things muggles did to witches and wizards in the past, however as he stared into her innocent wide brown eyes he couldn't help but feel cautious."Well, they did very bad things," Lucius said carefully.

"Like what?" Lyrisadora questioned.

He sighed. "They hunted and killed witches and wizards," Lucius began, her eyes widened."They killed their children and even themselves," he sneered.

"B-but why?" spluttered Lyrisadora, she was shocked and confused as to how anyone could be so cruel.

"Ignorant, scared or just jealous I suppose," he drawled, Lyrisadora let a small whimper escape her, he hastily decided to move on."The point is that this is why muggles and wizards should never mix. Conflict and the denigration of magical society is guaranteed when muggles are involved. It's because of them wizards have been forced into hiding-does that seem fair to you?" Lyrisadora shook her head as she remained silent. "Exactly. We're better than them, possessing power they could only imagine. Muggle-borns embody all corruption and decay of muggle society, infecting our world with their twisted think and lack of understanding of wizarding traditions embody And to insult and name these muggle-borns, we call them Mudbloods. However certain areas and people in wizarding society dislike this term, therefore you must be careful where you say it," he finished, watching her as she processed what he had just told her.

"So muggles and mug-Mudbloods are bad,"she began slowly, Lucius nodded,"And pure-bloods are better, because we've always had magic," finished Lyrisadora feebly.

Lucius nodded approvingly. "Exactly," he said simply. Lyrisadora smiled, she had completely forgotten about the storm while talking with her father."And now I do believe the storm has now past," he announced, looking outside to find a clear sky, Lyrisadora looked out the window, it was true there was utter silence, the night outside was clear and black."And now, I do think it s time for bed," drawled Lucius as he looked at her sternly,Lyrisadora pouted slightly.

"May I ask _one_ more question father?" she inquired softly, Lucius groaned but nodded. "Well, auntie Bella didn't just say Mudblood , she also mentioned someone called 'The Dark Lord', who is he?" questioned Lyrisadora apprehensively.

Lucius looked grave. "What did you hear?" he asked coldly.

Lyrisadora looked timidly up at her father. "Just that he is the greatest wizard ever in the entire world," she answered feebly.

Lucius relaxed slightly and pursed his lips."Then he is exactly that. You see he is a very powerful wizard, and he is the leader of an important group on a _very_ important mission," Lucius said carefully.

Lyrisadora looked confused. "Does he do his duty, too father?" she questioned warily, herself not really knowing what 'duty' meant, just that it was something her father did in his spare time, remembering her mother refer to it as a sort of obligation and service, but not to be discussed outside of their home, or 'daddy would get into trouble' quoted from her mother.

"Yes. He is in charge of my duty," replied Lucius in a clipped tone, wanting to drop the subject, his daughter was being far too curious.

"Why?" she questioned, frowning at her father.

"Because that is the way it just is-You shall understand when you are older," he snapped sharply, dismissing the question.

"But-" Lyrisadora began, looking up at him in confusion.

"Lyrisadora it doesn't matter, all that matters is that you do as you're told and listen to your mother and I, all will become clear when you're older," Lucius said sternly, wanting to silence her, not amused by her prying nature. "Do you understand? he questioned, his hand absently tightening slightly on her shoulder.

Her shoulders hunched slightly as she nodded meekly. "I suppose," she replied softly, dropping the subject.

He sighed, biting back a yawn."Good. Now come, it's time for bed," announced Lucius, wrapping his arms around her before he stood up, Lyrisadora instantly snuggling into his arms, appreciating the rare embrace, as he left the study. Once they entered her room he placed her on her bed, Lyrisadora snuggled into the sheets as he tucked her in, before sitting on her bed. "Now, will you be able to sleep?" he questioned gently.

Lyrisadora smiled and nodded. "Yes father," she answered tiredly, he gave her a rare warm smile, placing his hand on her forehead to sooth her, hearing her yawn as she closed her eyes, a glimpse of a frown appearing before fading away, as she started to drift off, Lucius smirked as he softly stroked her forehead before removing his hand.

_"She really is innocent,"_ he thought, he wondered how long she'd stay this way, docile and obedient. He knew that all he could do was to simply raise her in the proper pure-blood way, mold her to fit the correct pure-blood image, views and to shelter her from contamination from the filth. However even after reviewing these things through his head, Lucius felt a ill feeling in his gut, that Lyrisadora would not be forever obedient and loyal to her family. But Lucius shook these thoughts from his head, when the time came he would worry about such things; she was only three after all, she still had much growing up to do.

Lucius gently kissed her forehead and stroked a blond stray hair from her face, then left the room, silently closing the door behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>-Updated 2308/13**

**Awwww, cute. **

**Review...**


	4. Inside a Child's Mind

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Dreams of innocence are just that; they usually depend on a denial of reality, that can be its form of hubris <strong>

**Chapter: Inside a Child's Mind**

* * *

><p><em>31st<em>_ October __1981_

Narcissa Malfoy, sat by the glowing Fireplace, on a large, flower-patterned coach; with her newly turned four years, daughter, Lyrisadora. She groomed Lyrisadora's platinum blond hair. Keeping to continuously glancing at the large clock on the mantle, letting out a worried sigh, as the clock-handle neared quarter to one in the morning closer and closer.

The young mother felt an unpleasant feeling in he stomach as she waited for her husband to return. He was late, later then he said he would be, the possibility of something wrong had intensified in her mind as she wondered where he was.

Then Lyrisadora yawned loudly, stretching her arms slightly, snuggling closer into her mother. Narcissa knew that she shouldn't of let her stay so late, but Lyrisadora had pleaded and begged to stay up, to greet her father when he returned from duty. Narcissa stroked her daughter's forehead. They always called it 'duty', never more than the word, it seemed proper, and practical, many still were suspicious that Lucius was in affiliation with the Death Eaters, and there was a slim possibility they would try and spy on them in the manor, however so very greatly slim the possibility, it was possible.

Narcissa glanced down at Lyrisadora who was frowning as she buried her face in her mother's arms, the young girl sensing her mother was distressed. "Mummy, where is father?" she questioned, awakening her mother from her daze. "He is late," she stated in a matte of fact tone, her voice quiet.

"He is doing his duty; I'm sure he's fine. He must simply be accompanied by something trivial, he'll be home soon," reassured Narcissa lightly, giving a false smile, trying to both assure herself, as well as Lyrisadora of Lucius' safety. "Now, I just need to check on Draco," she informed, wanting to distract herself.

"I want to stay here," Lyrisadora muttered, eyes meeting her mother's.

Her mother gave her a look the girl didn't quite understand, it resembling warmth, but it also looked sad."...Well alright then," Narcissa complied hesitantly, absently glancing at the clock again before shaking her head and propping Lyrisadora on the coach-seat beside her,before getting to her feet and briskly heading out of the room, leaving Lyrisadora alone.

The small girl curled into a tight ball, digging her nails into the fabric of the coach, wondering when her father would come back home. Her small face consorted into a frown as she wondered why her mother didn't want to talk about it, the small girl glanced at the clock on the mantle piece before quickly looking away. She didn't understand a lot of things, but she supposed it was like her father said, she'd understand when she was older. But it made her wonder why he couldn't tell her then and there, he said being clever was important, so why wouldn't he want her to learn? It just didn't make sense. But a lot of things didn't and she supposed that was the way it was with everybody.

When her father said she'd understand when she was older, she assumed that he must mean when she was smarter, her fingers stopped digging into the material, she was sure that was what he meant, it made sense. It was why she knew she needed to try harder in her studies, her mother said she'd hurt her head if she pushed herself to hard, but father didn't agree, which meant it must be fine. So she read, she spent so much time reading that she couldn't remember when she put one book down and started another. Knowledge was important and therefore books were as well, so the more books she read, the smarter she would become. In her head it made sense,but her mother didn't understand, her father encouraged her and Draco was just a baby.

So in time it became a compulsion, Lyrisadora paused from her train of thought, compulsion was the right word, wasn't it? She shook her head as she let the question drop. Compulsion seemed to fit. She curled up tighter into a ball as the silence of the room engulfed her, she wondered when her father would come back, she hoped he wasn't in trouble. An unpleasant feeling formed in her stomach as she remembered what her mother always told her. _"Never mention daddy's 'duty', or daddy will get into trouble."_ It was the one big rule her mother was constantly telling her, like Lyrisadora was going to be the one who landed her father in deep trouble. Her lips drooped as she glanced at her naked toes, she wasn't that stupid, father knew that, why couldn't her mother?

Her mother always told her she was so pretty, she'd dress her up in nice clothes and always show her off, because that's what mothers did when they loved their children, only unloved ones were denied such things. Like blood-traitors, mother said they were shamed, therefore their children had to suffer for their parent's poor choices, Lyrisadora thought herself lucky that her parents loved her enough to spare her that. Her father wanted more from her while her mother wanted less, he wanted her to study, her mother wanted her to play. Lyrisadora didn't really know what she wanted, she supposed she just wanted them to be happy, then maybe she'd be happy to.

She knew what would make her father happy, but her mother was different in some cases, her mother was most happy most when with Draco, but Lyrisadora didn't understand why, because Draco couldn't talk, he was boring. But maybe that was why her mother liked him so much, he was quiet and cute, Lyrisadora had noticed her mother liked her more when she was quiet like a baby and just stood there, her mother just seemed to like to look at her and Lyrisadora didn't really understand her mother. They didn't really like the same things, which she thought was odd because she assumed daughters were meant to like all the things their mothers liked. She sometimes felt like a piece of furniture, she wondered if that was all her mother saw her as, she had read in a book once that a Witch had been turned into a piece of furniture once by her grandmother, so maybe her mother was confused. Of course when she had said to her father. _"Daddy am I a piece of furniture?"_ he had just chuckled and said "_no, don't be silly."_ Patting her on the head and staring down at her in amusement, but it didn't answer her question, he hadn't understood what she was trying to say. When he had laughed at her she felt stupid, she didn't like feeling stupid, so she hadn't asked him again.

Everyone was so happy when Draco was born, she didn't understand why him being a boy was so important, but her parents were happy, so she supposed she should be to. She did warm to him, he was cute and he was fun to play with, it was nice having someone around to just have fun with, but he cried a lot and he was stupid, so he couldn't play properly. Her father said she was the oldest, which meant she had to watch out for him, which she assumed meant she also had to not be jealous, because if she was jealous she was a bad sister and a bad person. That wouldn't make her parents happy and she couldn't be happy until they were happy. That was the rule.

She turned her head to the large window, staring into the dark night, as if searching for the slightest of glimpses of movement, that could indicate her father returning home. The wind whistled against the window softly; there were no stars out this night, she didn't like it when there were no stars, it reminded her of a storm. She grabbed her toes and buried her chin into her knees as wondered why her father was so late. She knew he was always busy, but mother always said that when he said he wouldn't be late, he meant it, he was always...she tried to remember the word, _punctual_. That was the word. He didn't like people being late.

She jumped to the sound of the front door slamming shut, herself uncurling and sitting up, the sound of brisk footsteps resounding on the marble floor. The wooden door opened, to reveal her father, Looking agitated and tense as he stood in the doorway, looking rather pale, but she took no notice as she bounded to her feet and ran towards him, hugging him tightly. "Daddy," she greeted happily.

Her father remained stiff, glancing down at her, looking as though his mind was elsewhere. "Hello… darling," he responded in greeting in a stiff voice, he seemed quite disturbed, giving her a strained smile, which held creepily no happiness to it, so fake and forced, it looked painful. Lyrisadora, stepped back out of the embrace, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Lucius, is that you?" came the voice of her mother, as she entered the large room. "What kept you so long?" she demanded, fixing him with an angered look. "You promised your duty would only last until ten, she berated exasperated; pointing at the clock on the mantle. "… It's ten past one in the morning, I even let Lyrisadora stay up, to wait for you. Why are you so late?"

"It matters not, there is something far more important and worrisome, then trivial lateness and bedtimes," he replied tightly, giving his wife an irritated look.

"What do you mean? Our daughter needs the correct amount of sleep, to be healthy!" Narcissa snapped, eyes narrowing as she folded her arms and frowned at her husband."I was worried you had...that you had died," she exclaimed, struggling to get the last bit out as she composed herself.

Lucius ran a hand though his hair, sighing."Narcissa, something had happened...I no longer am needed to serve," he said abruptly. Lyrisadora stepped back as she looked between her parents in confusion.

Narcissa looked confused. "Don't ridiculous Lucius, you cannot leave, you _really_ cannot leave, or else I will become a widow," she responded, in a reasoning kind of manner, panicked as well.

Lucius groaned in clear annoyance. "You're not listening _dearest_," he chimed tensely. "The Dark Lord is..._dead_," he ground out, as though the sentence felt wrong in his mouth.

His wife looked torn between disbelief and befuddlement. "How could-what happened?" she spluttered, her mind racing.

"There was an incident at Godric hollow, he went there to kill the Potters, but things went wrong," Lucius continued, going over to the coach to sit down.

"Did...did one of them _kill him_," she questioned in disbelief. Unable to believe a Mudblood and foolish Gryffindor could be capable of such a thing.

"Yes," Lucius replied regrettably, Lyrisadora peered at him from behind the coach. She looked at her parents in worry, deciding that the Dark Lord dying must be the most awful thing in the world to upset her parents like this.

"Please tell me it wasn't that Mudblood," Narcissa pleaded tiredly, pacing around the room as she tried to process all this new information.

"No, it was the..." Lucius trailed off,thinking it over it was slightly disbelieving and embarrassing. "The baby," he bit out.

Narcissa stopped pacing, her feelings shifting from panic to scepticism, she arched an eyebrow at her husband. "A _baby?_" she repeated dryly, clear scepticism laced in her tone.

His eyes narrowed a little as he felt embarrassment rise in him. "Yes a baby," he snapped. "Narcissa I'm being serious, the boy killed him," Lucius insisted.

She had trouble believing this. "Are you sure, the child is barely two," she reasoned.

Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes I'm sure, damn it!" he snapped.

This caused his wife to bristle as she folded her arms tightly and looked away. "There's no need," she hissed.

Lucius winced, sighing in frustration. "I'm sorry, I'm just a _ little_ stressed right now," he said, barely able to keep the sarcasm from his tone.

There was a tense silence before Narcissa spoke again."He's dead," she stated to herself, her tone hollow as it all sunk in.

"Does that mean you won't have to go do your duty any more...father?" Lyrisadora spoke up, coming closer to her father. Her parents attention turned back to her, her mother looking as though a thousand things were racing through her mind, while her father gave her a tired look.

"Yes, that's right sweetheart," he sighed.

Lyrisadora frowned, biting down on her bottom lip as she tried to understand what was going on. "Then why isn't anyone happy?" she questioned in befuddlement. Narcissa froze as Lucius' jaw tightened, closing his eyes as if trying to stop himself from shouting at her. Lyrisadora looked between them, a puzzled expression on her face. "I don't understand," she mumbled, feeling stupid.

Her mother forced a smile onto her face. "You will when your older sweetheart," she reassured, her smile straining to stay put.

Lyrisadora's brow furrowed, she was startng to hate that answer. "I don't-"

"We'll continue this in the morning, Narcissa," her father cut across, giving his daughter an annoyed look. Lyrisadora decided to just be quiet. "I do believe it's time for a specific little girl to go to bed," he added, looking pointedly at her. Knowing it was fruitless to argue, Lyrisadora held out her hands to be picked up, Lucius glanced at his wife, who was busy finding some alcohol in the nearby cabinet, he sighed and looked back at his daughter, hesitating before picking her up. The little girl snuggled close to him as he walked out of the room.

She couldn't help but bite down on her tongue, wanting to tell her father something important. It wasn't until he had placed her in her queen sized bed, when she finally spoke up, sitting up in her bed as her hands fiddled with the sheets. "Father," she began, drawing in his attention as his eyes focused on her. "I'm glad..." she tried to speak, but faltered when she looked up at him, his eyes pierced hers, she remembered how upset he had been about the Dark Lord's death, feeling her words would only make him more upset and angry. She fiddled with her sheets and looked back down. "...You're home," she mumbled instead. Lucius looked at her for a moment, before shaking his head at her, placing a polite kiss on her forehead, her eyes refusing to look up as he stood and walked towards the door. She bit down on her lip and clenched the sheets tightly. Her eyes flickering to his shape. "Goodnight father," she called feebly, his hand rested on the door nob, Lucius glanced at her before nodding in acknowledgement, before then exciting the room.

The door closed, sealing off the hallway light, she paused before laying back don in her bed, her body curling inwards slightly, making her feel safer as her fingers dug into her pillow. "I'm glad the Dark Lord's dead," she murmured to herself , her voice barely audible, herself desperately wanting to let the truth escape from her mouth.

* * *

><p><strong>-Edited 2308/13**

**Review.**


	5. The Consequences of our actions

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Questions that plague the mind<strong>

**Chapter: The Consequences of our actions**

* * *

><p><em>1st October 1983<em>

Lyrisadora sat at her vanity chair, practicing her needle work in her bedroom. She winced when she pricked her finger and grumbled something under her breath. She really did hate needle work, however her mother had insisted that it was a valuable skill to learn, but Lyrisadora just found it pointless and time consuming. She'd much rather play with her new kitten Sapphira, than do this, sadly her mother had told her that she may only play with her cat when she had finished, seeing how she neglected to finish it yesterday. She supposed this was better than being at another birthday party her mother would have set up for her. A knock at the door caused her to stop and look up from her work.

"Come in," she said. The door opened slowly. Lyrisadora smiled once she saw it was her nanny Miss Brace, a short mousy woman in her mid thirties, she had been Lyrisadora's nanny since she was a baby. And even though she was a half blood, Lyrisadora couldn't help but think the world of her.

"Hello nanny," greeted Lyrisadora cheerfully, Miss Brace smiled.

"Morning child," Miss Brace returned in greeting. She apprehensively walked over to her and scanned her needle work. "A little messy, but very good- you're getting better," complimented Miss Brace warmly.

"Thank you Nanny," said Lyrisadora. Miss Brace smiled, however something seemed to be troubling her. "Is everything alright,nanny, you seem troubled?" questioned Lyrisadora. Miss Brace sighed.

"I wanted to give you something,"she said in a hushed tone. Lyrisadora looked puzzled.

"What is it?" inquired Lyrisadora. Miss Brace knelled down so she was face to face with Lyrisadora.

"Miss, I've watched you grow and I've kept many secrets that happen in this house, I know I can not stop your father's work from poisoning you and your brother forever," started Miss Brace, Lyrisadora looked at her in befuddlement, since when did her father start 'poisoning' them? "The young master is starting to change, I can see that, but you have the potential to be different," said Miss Brace seriously. She carefully pulled out a small light blue book from her apron pocket, it read 'Tales of Beedle and the bard', Lyrisadora looked at the cover with confusion, she already had this book,why would she need another?

"I do not understand," stated Lyrisadora.

"I know," sighed Miss Brace, she placed the book on top of Lyrisadora's needle work. "This book is different from the one your parents read to you; I can't just stand by and watch as they fill your head, with those..._ideas_," whispered Miss Brace.

"But, father has to approve all of my books," said Lyrisadora worriedly, eyeing the book in her lap eerily. "He says it is for my own good," added Lyrisadora strongly.

"I know it's hard for you to understand,but trust me, it's better that you keep this book a secret from the rest of your family," insisted Miss Brace, Lyrisadora looked at her for a second. Then she nodded.

"Alright then, I will not tell anyone," promised Lyrisadora. Miss Brace smiled slightly and nodded.

"Good-well then, I best leave you to finish your needle work," she said straitening up, Lyrisadora nodded and placed the book in her vanity draw as Miss Brace shut the door behind her.

* * *

><p><em>3rd December 1983<em>

Lyrisadora sat on an armchair in the comfortable manor library, next to a warm lit fire reading one of her newly favorite books, the original tales of Beadle and the Bard, one which had been unchanged by pure-bloods, which she found was rather a different version. She had of course read her original before, and was simply re-reading the different stories again, however it had yet for its interest to wane on her. And this Tales of Beedle and the Bard had extra tales in it.

She was nearing the end of her favourite of the tales, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, a beautifully written tale in her opinion. She was quite surprised that this tale in the book existed, when she first came across it, for it had not been in the pure-blood version, her mother and sometimes father read to her, as a bedtime story. Though she had an idea why it wasn't.

Lyrisadora knew she would be in immense trouble if found with this certain book in her hand, her nanny had warned her to keep the book a secret, Lyrisadora hadn't understood at first but once she read the book she eventually realized why. She had convinced herself that she wasn't really doing anything wrong, she was simply just exploring different books. She did not truly understand the magnitude of trouble she would get into.

"What are you reading?" questioned the familiar voice of her father, behind the armchair; she stiffened, and paled. She then felt the book suddenly jerked from her grasp.

"Oh Lyrisadora, you and books-" he began to drawl, however stopped suddenly, he seemed to freeze, as his eyes scanned the writing on the page, widening in shock. There was an awkward silence that issued, as if time had frozen itself. She noticed her father's hand suddenly clench to book,as his mouth thinned. "Where, did. You. Get. This. Book," he demanded, his voice like a cold void, however she could detect the hint of rage beneath.

She tried to get away, however a hand abruptly grasped her wrist, in a death-grip. Then promptly dragged her, out of the library, she noticed her father clutched the book in his hand ,as if he were to rip it in any moment. She soon found herself in the confines of her father's study,he slammed the door behind him. She whimpered loudly, as his grip tightened around her wrist, as if he were going to snap it, she could just imagine a bruise forming.

"I will repeat the question: Who gave you this book," he whispered in cold rage, grounding out the last words. She shivered at his tone. Lyrisadora truthfully did not understand why her father was reacting in such a way, of course, she knew she would be in trouble, but this seemed far beyond what she comprehended it to be; never in her life, had she been so afraid of her father, instead of the caring but stern figure she normally saw him to be, he looked like a menacing, violent figure, high above her.

"I-I do n-not under-understand what y-you are talking a-about," lied Lyrisadora, however she was not quite the good liar then, especially when afraid. He let go of her wrist and set the book down on the desk. He paused as he picked up his black cane eyeing it with uncertainty, but he grasped it tight as he strode menacingly towards her.

"Hold out your hand," he commanded sharply; she was rather confused at the command, however complied anyway. He grasped her hand with one hand tightly, whilst with his other raised his black cane. The next thing she felt was immense pain, a burning kind of sort, she let a yelp of pain and surprise escape her lips. Her father whacked her arm again with the cane, very hard, tears began to form in her light brown eyes.

"P-P-Please s-stop," she pleaded, however it had not seemed to have any much affect, as he raised his cane higher. And brought it down again, to her arm with a hard whack. She cried in pain, trying to wrench her hand away, however to no avail, he seemed to grasp it tighter. He quickly switched hands and whacked her other wrist hard. "PLEASE! I-I do not un-under-understand!" she screamed.

He raised the cane again, however instead of hitting her, he ceased his actions in the middle motion. "Of course you do not. You are simplistically a child, these things are still unbeknownst to you, for now," he said icily, he lowered his cane and let her go. Lyrisadora hugged her wrists under her armpits, wincing at the pain. She watched as her father walk back over to his desk. "I must teach you, the fate of filth in this household," Lucius said coldly; grasping the book on the desk, and turning towards the lit fireplace. "You will eventually understand, that I am doing these actions, for your own good." He then threw her favourite book into the flames of the fireplace, she watch in horror as it was engulfed in the furious flame, turning it to nothingness, but that of charred ash.

"N-no," she whispered in horror.

"It is for your greater good. Now, who gave you the book?" he demanded sternly.

"I do not know what you are talking about," she lied shakily, however yet again he saw through it easily. He grasped the red skin tightly, for which he had hit her with his cane moments before, she gave a gasp of pain at the contact.

"Who was it?" he demanded, griping the sensitive skin harder.

"I-I," she choked. He began to twist her arm inwards.

"Answer me, or else I will have to punish you," he threatened sharply, griping the red skin harder then before, his grip tightening and tightening, she ground her teeth in pain, a tear falling down her cheek. "Answer me! No lies, for I will be able to tell if you are...I promise nothing horrific will occur to them, just a little conversation, I desire with them," he said, trying to force his voice to be calm.

"You promise?" she asked timidly.

"Of course, I am a man of my word," Lucius replied stiffly.

"I-It was my nanny, Miss Brace," she informed hesitantly. "She gave it to me, as a gift for my birthday," she elaborated. His grip loosened, as he gradually released her.

"Very well then. I hope you will remember this, as a warning to not read such filth, for it will contaminate your mind, with blood traitores ideas," warned Lucius coldly. Lyrisadora gazed at him fearfully cradling her arm,her father watched her for a moment."You may go,_" _he said, Lyrisadora quickly ran out of the room, she didn't stop running until she reached her bedroom. She slammed the door shut behind her before burying her face in her pillow muffling her cries.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora lay on her bed in the dark, she hadn't moved from her spot in four hours, her mother had called her for dinner, but Lyrisadora hadn't budged. How could she, she couldn't face her father, not after what happened earlier. What if he decided to punish her some more after dinner because she did something wrong. She froze as she heard a hard knock at the door, she held her breath as the door creaked open. Lyrisadora shut her eyes tightly as she hugged the covers tighter around her. A soft hand rested on her cheek, as a thumb stroked across her tear stained face, Lyrisadora eased open her her eyes and looked up, she saw the slim shadowy shape of her mother.<p>

"Oh, sweetheart," her mother sighed sadly. "What are we going to do with you?" she questioned softly.

"Mother," said Lyrisadora in a strained voice, as she sat up and hugged her mother's waist tightly. Narcissa stroked Lyrisadora's head motherly.

"Shhh, it's alright now, everything's going to be fine," reassured Narcissa gently. Lyrisadora found comfort in her words and nuzzled against her mother's stomach.

"Does father hate me?" choked Lyrisadora, remembering how angry he was.

"No, no he doesn't hate you," soothed Narcissa.

"But, he was so-so angry," insisted Lyrisadora.

"Oh that, he just lost his temper, that's all," she reassured. "Now, why don't you come down stairs-" Narcissa started to suggest.

"No!" yelled Lyrisadora as she let go of her mother and hid underneath the sheets again. Narcissa sighed, she gently messaged Lyrisadora's back.

"There's nothing to be afraid of dear," reassured Narcissa softly.

"He'll hurt me," said Lyrisadora as her voice cracked.

"No he won't..he..he just was angry that's all," insisted Narcissa, she carefully pulled the covers away, she saw Lyrisadora huddled up whimpering. Narcissa gently pulled her up and hugged her tightly. "Your father loves you very much," soothed Narcissa strongly.

"Then why did he hurt me?" questioned Lyrisadora weakly. Narcissa tensed slightly, unsure what to say.

"He...was...you were bad, you had to be punished," answered Narcissa firmly, her voice slightly un-hinged. "He only punished you because he knows what's best," insisted Narcissa, she sounded like she was trying to convince herself the same thing.

"I don't understand," choked Lyrisadora. Narcissa un-embraced her and cupped Lyrisadora's face.

"He knows what's best," repeated Narcissa shakily. "And he only did what he did to teach you a lesson, you were very bad-but it's alright because you didn't know any better," reassured Narcissa, as she stroked Lyrisadora's cheek. "That horrible book, was hurting you, it was filling your head with_ ideas_," insisted Narcissa clearly.

"It was just a book," protested Lyriadora.

"Ah, but a _dangerous_ book, it had filthy ideas in it, these are bad for you, they will contaminate your mind, Lyrisadora," said Narcissa sternly, she forced a smile. "But don't worry, your father has sent away that horrible nanny, who was filling your head with those _nasty_ ideas," reassured Narcissa warmly. Lyrisadora shook her head strongly and broke away from her mother.

"He promised, he-he said he was just going to talk to her," insisted Lyrisadora desperately, feeling horrible for getting Miss Brace sacked.

"She was poisoning your mind, dear, contaminating it," protested Narcissa strongly. Lyrisadora shook her head in disbelief, she was so confused. Everyone was telling her different things, Miss Brace had said her parents were poisoning her, now her mother was telling her Miss Brace was the villian.

"I don't understand, I don't understand," repeated Lyrisadora fearfully, who was she meant to believe. There were so many rules, she wasn't allowed to read certain things, she wasn't allowed to speak to certain people, everything she thought seemed to be wrong, she didn't understand why Muggles were all bad, her father told her they were murderers, but in the story Fountain of Fair Fortune, a witch married a Muggle, Sir Luckless was brave, he was a Muggle. Who was contaminating her? Everything just seemed jumbled up and distorted.

"Shhhh, It's alright," soothed Narcissa, she wrapped her arm around Lyrisadora, pulling her closely in. "One day, everything will be clear-don't worry if you don't undrstand now, you will eventually," she reassured, Lyrisadora hiccuped as her mother soothed her.

"I.." Lyrisadora tried to speak but trailed off, as her mother continued to sooth her.

"Shhh, it's alright," cooed Narcissa.

"I'm sorry," apologized Lyrisadora weakly. Narcissa kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry, all is forgiven, you didn't know any better-just..." Narcissa said, she trailed off and loosened her hold on Lyrisadora. "Just promise me, that you won't read such things like that again," she said slowly. Lyrisadora looked at her mother uncertainly.

"But-" Lyrisadora began to protest softly.

"Don't question me," said Narcissa sternly. "Your father and I, know what's best for you, we'll steer you in the _right_ direction," reassured Narcissa firmly. Lyrisadora looked up at her mother, her fingers clenched.

"I promise," she answered quietly, what choice did she have, her mother was right only their opinion mattered, they were her parents, they knew what was best, insisted Lyrisadora strongly, trying to force her doubts aside. Narcissa smiled brightly.

"That's a good girl," said Narcissa proudly. "One day you'll understand," murmured Narcissa stroking Lyrisadora's head. "One day," muttered Narcissa. Lyrisadora looked up at her mother and gave her weak smile, which she returned. Narcissa's eyes fell onto Lyrisadora's bruised wrists, her smile wavered. "Let's see the damage then," said Narcissa with fake cheerfulness, she flicked the lights on with her wand as Lyrisadora held out her arms.

Narcissa winced slightly as she saw the purple bruises on her wrists and arm, the large strong hand print still visible. She carefully cupped Lyrisadora's hands in her own.

"It isn't that bad," reassured Narcissa, Lyrisadora looked up at her hopefully, she wondered if her mother could heal the bruises. Narcissa looked at her sadly already knowing what she was thinking. "Your father, doesn't want me to heal them, I'm afraid," she sated sadly. "He wants your punishment, to sink in," whispered Narcissa, her eyes full of guilt. Lyrisadora looked down and nodded slowly and lay back down on her bed, wide awake. "I could bandage them," suggested Narcissa optimistically. Lyrisadora shook her head.

"No-no father wants to punish me, I understand, I have to learn my lesson," stated Lyrisadora quietly. "I'm going to bed,now," she said softly.

"But what about dinner?" questioned Narcissa with concern. Lyrisadora shook her head.

"I'm not hungry," murmured Lyrisadora, clutching her stomach, she couldn't just go down there, she couldn't face him, not after disappointing him like that, her mother was right, she deserved her punishment.

"Sweetheart," whispered Narcissa desperately. "I know, you're upset, but you have to eat," she insisted.

"I'm not hungry," repeated Lyrisadora. "I want to go to bed,I'm tired," muttered Lyrisadora, clutching her sheets tightly. Narcissa realized there was no point of arguing and sighed deeply.

"Sleep well dear," said Narcissa quietly, as she turned off the light and silently closed the door behind her. Lyrisadora stayed wide awake, the guilt was overpowering, she'd tried to convince herself that Miss Brace was the cause of her pain, if she had never given her the book then she wouldn't have been fired, Lyrisadora wouldn't be in trouble and everything would be fine. But she just couldn't help but feel it was mostly her fault. Her father was disappointed in her, she was scared she'd mess up again, he had said that this punishment was just a warning. Lyrisadora clenched her fist as her wrists ached with soreness, she didn't even want to imagine what he do to her if she did something like this again. The way her mother had said _'what are we going to do with you?'_, terrified her, what if her father got rid of her if she disobeyed him again, what if he sent her to go live with her grandmother? Lyrisadora shivered at the thought.

She knew he wouldn't disown her, yet, but the way he talked to her and punished her, the way he made out she was getting blood-traitores ideas,it petrified her, his words echoed in her mind,_"I must teach you, the fate of filth in this household,"_ and then he had burned the book, she breathed heavily at the thought of her father burning her because he viewed her as a filthy blood-traitor. Her mother had told her about blood traitors, that they were horrible beast, that they were bad eggs and were as bad as Mudbloods. Lyrisadora whimpered slightly, she had looked up to her half-blood nanny, defended her and tried to protect her, did that make her a blood-traitor? Or was she turning into one? Lyrisadora shook her head violently and shut her eyes tightly.

I'm not a Blood-traitor. She recited in her head.

I'm not a Blood-traitor.

I'm not a Blood-traitor.

I'm not a Blood-traitor.

I'm not a Blood-traitor!She thought desperately, she was just like the rest of her family, her nan-Miss Brace was wrong, she wasn't different, her parents weren't poisoning her, she was a good girl, she wasn't a bad egg. Lyrisadora bit down on her bottom lip and scrunched up her eyes. She tried to drown out the the doubtful thoughts that plagued her mind. She tensed as the door creaked open, she quickly pretended to sleep. She listened closely as the figure's footsteps creaked on the floorboards. Lyrisadora sensed the person's hand reach out to her face but stop in mid motion. After a slight pause of hesitation, Lyrisadora felt the strong hand brush away some disheveled stray strands of hair,out of her face, with clenched fingers. Lyrisadora stirred slightly, causing the hand to clench tightly and retract, she heard the sound of retreating footsteps creak on the floor. Lyrisadora heard the door shut with a quiet snap. She opened her eyes and sighed, she decided to just accept what her mother had told her, that when she was older she'd understand, when that day was, Lyrisadora could only wonder.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah isn't Lucius a sweetheart, not! Book burner! Someone asked if it was him at the end, yes it was.<strong>

**REvieW!**


	6. Playing just simply isn't done

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Even Malfoys play<strong>

**Chapter: Playing just simply isn't done**

* * *

><p><em>12th December 1983<em>

A six year old Lyrisadora walked silently down the still corridor, her footsteps echoing turned a corner, with a book held against her chest. She had been looking for a quiet place to read; as her mother and father were currently in the down stairs parlour having tea and Draco was no where to be found. She had decided to spend the rest of her day alone rather than with her parents, as she would have to sit silently and listen to there dull conversation on Ministry dealings and what not. She stopped, as she heard a soft laugh echo down the hall. Lyrisadora looked puzzled, so decided to find the source.

She came to a stop outside a smooth fine wooden door. She placed her ear against the door.  
>"Whooo!RAAAH!" cried at familiar voice. Lyrisadora frowned with befuddlement, wondering what on earth was going on. Giving into her curiosity, Lyrisadora slowly and silently creaked the door open, her eyes widened at the sight.<p>

In the spacious yet dimly lit room holding nothing but a long huge fine rug, where sat the only other occupant of the room, Draco. Draco sat on the rug with a series of little towns people, a median toy wooden brick castle and a stuffed emerald green dragon.

Lyrisadora stood in the doorway, looking pensive. Her light brown eyes locked onto her brother curiously, as he happily smashed the towns people below. _"He's playing,"_ she thought to herself; she stared fascinated at him. He was so carefree, so happy, Lyrisadora knew her father wouldn't approve. Her father always told her and Draco that playing was a waste of time, that they should be studying, Lyrisadora had taken his words to heart; she already enjoyed reading, and only plunged herself more into it when her father encouraged her.

Lyrisadora had toys true; she had a collection of expensive pretty porcelain dolls that remained neatly on her bedroom shelf, she had a beautiful china tea set which was decorated with so much detail right down to the delicately curved handle, she had a collection of well groomed teddy bears. Lyrisadora had all these things, yet couldn't find a use for them, she came to the conclusion that she just didn't have the imagination.

Lyrisadora wondered if it was best she left Draco to play, she tried to back away silently as to not to disturb Draco. However it was too late, a second later he had spotted her. He froze at first, but quickly recovered and smiled brightly at her.

"Lyra!" squealed Draco.

"Hello Draco," said Lyrisadora nervously.

"You wanna play?" asked Draco brightly. Lyrisadora looked doubtful.

"Oh, I-I would Draco, but I simply must get back to-" Lyrisadora tried to explain. However Draco had already gotten to his feet and proceeded to drag her to the toy castle.

"Oh come on, it's fun," Draco protested. Lyrisadora sighed.

"Oh, very well then," said Lyrisadora , as she finally caved. Draco grinned. Lyrisadora placed her book lightly down on the rug floor and kneeled down opposite him.

"Good. Now let's play," said Draco, as he went to go close the door, before he sat back down opposite Lyrisadora. Lyrisadora stared at the toys blankly. Draco started to place the pieces back into place. "You can be the witch and wizard," said Draco, as he handed Lyrisadora two small figures; one a blond female dressed in a pretty black dress, the other a white bearded old man dressed in purple robes.

Lyrisadora grasped the two figures in each of her hands, holding them up and staring passively at them. Lyrisadora looked around, unsure what to do.  
>"What are we playing?" asked Lyrisadora nervously, she flushed slightly with embarrassment about having to ask something that was so obviously simple.<p>

"There are wizards and witches trapped in the castle, I'm the dragon that will help them get away," explained Draco.

"Oh, and what do I do?" Lyrisadora implored. Draco gestured her to come to his side. Lyrisadora was about to stand up to walk over, but Draco shook his head vigorously.

"They'll see you!" he hissed. Lyrisadora assumed they were the toys. Lyrisadora sighed but complied, she quietly shuffled to his side, frowning as she creased up her pink dress,_"Mother will not be pleased,"_she thought as she sat next to him."Okay, so basically alls we gotta do a sneak attack," hissed Draco, Lyrisadora nodded. "I'll aim high, to take out the archers, you gotta go low and take out the soldiers-got it?" finished Draco.

"I think so," replied Lyrisadora softly. Draco nodded, his face full of determination.

"On my the count of three-one ..." Draco began. Lyrisadora kneeled down lower, clutching her two figures tightly. "Two," Draco said slowly. Lyrisadora furrowed her brow.  
>"THREE!" yelled Draco, he swooped up to the castle instantly, wiping out the archers instantly.<p>

Lyrisadora quickly pushed her figures through the path of soldiers. Some squeaked as she pummelled them with her female figure. She found herself smiling as they bounced around.  
>"Lyra quick! Release the wizards!" cried Draco as he wrestled with a toy archer.<p>

"Do not worry, do not worry!" shouted Lyrisadora, she quickly made her figure hop up the wooden castle stairs. She shoved the figure into a tall tower, pushing the prisoners out the window. They fell to the floor, Draco quickly picked them up and placed them onto the dragons back.

"Whoosh, errrrr!" he sounded ,as he flew the dragon through the air. Lyrisadora giggled. After a while of whooshing and Lyrisadora had knocked down the last soldier, Draco finally placed the dragon down." Yay! We did it!" cried Draco happily.

"Yeah we did," stated Lyrisadora cheerfully. She looked at the dragon, then at her female figure. "And do you know what happens now?" asked Lyrisadora. Draco looked confused and shook his head. Lyrisadora smiled evilly. "Now, the witch, TURNS ON THE DRAGON!" Lyrisadora cried. Jumping up with the blond toy witch in her hand.

"Traitor!" yelled Draco, his eyes narrowed, yet playfully.

"Bring it on dragon breath," retorted Lyrisadora, she quickly charged at him with the toy witch. Draco screamed, he grabbed his dragon and ran out the room.  
>"Stupefy!" yelled Lyrisadora, swishing the figurine like a wand.<p>

"Eat fire traitor!" roared Draco as he moved the dragon's head and made spitting noises. Lyrisadora laughed.

"That all you got, you doughnut hole," laughed Lyrisadora. Draco frowned as he skidded around a corner.

"I'm going to get-ahhh!" Lyrisadora roared, as she tripped on the hallway rug. She groaned, as she lay on the floor. Draco stopped and stared at her.

"Are you okay Lyra?" asked Draco feebly, he slowly walked over to her. She groaned again." Lyra?" questioned Draco as he leaned in." AHHH!" he cried as Lyrisadora tackled him to the ground and started to tickle him."Hey-stop-it-ha-Lyra!" cried Draco in-between laughs. He tried to get out of her hold.

"Oh hello father," he cried, trying to contain his laughter. Lyrisadora stopped and looked up immediately, this was the chance he had been waiting for. "Got ya!" he shouted as he pinned her to the floor and started tickling her mercilessly. Lyrisadora wriggled her sides.

"Okay, okay I give I give!" she yelled.

"Say Draco is the best," said Draco, as he grinned.

"D-Draco-is-the best!" she said through laughter.

"And he's smarter than you," Draco added.

"I-I can t," cried Lyrisadora.

"Why?" questioned Draco as he tickled her more.

"Be-because-that-would-be-ha-a LIE!" cried Lyrisadora in between laughed, smirking at his expression. She desperately tried to push him off her. With one great heave she managed to shove him off. She breathed heavily, as she regained her breath. Draco and Lyrisadora looked at each other before bursting into hysterical huffs laughter.

"Having _fun_?" said a cold familiar voice. All laughter ceased at once. Lyrisadora slowly looked up and met her father's cold grey eyes. Lyrisadora sharply stood, as did Draco.

"Hello, father," they said in feeble unison.

"Do you two realize how much of a racket you have been causing?" snapped Lucius coldly. The two siblings gulped.

"And what on earth has happened to your clothes?" questioned Narcissa sharply as she walked over from behind Lucius, to take in their appearance. Lyrisadora straitened up more and flushed as she desperately tried to neaten her disheveled hair and smooth the creases out of her dress. Draco tried to do the same by tucking in his shirt.

"We were just playing," mumbled Draco, his eyes downcast.

"Yes well, while you were _playing_, we thought there was a full Auror attack upstairs. This is not the way I expect, two young _Malfoys,_ to be behaving," snapped Lucius, as he glared at the two coldly, his icy glare resting on Lyrisadora a second longer, Lyrisadora and Draco looked down guiltily.

"Sorry father," they chorused dully. Narcissa sighed.

"Oh never mind-come, let's all go have some tea," said Narcissa, looking pointedly at Lucius, he sighed but nodded.

"Alright then-come children," he drawled, he turned and lead the way, the rest of the family hastily followed. Narcissa tried to quickly neaten Lyrisadora's hair by fixing the pink headband back into place, Lyrisadora tried to push her away as her mother tried to smooth down her eyebrows.

"Mother," Lyrisadora groaned as she wriggled away. Narcissa huffed and gave up, deciding to walk in front of them. Lyrisadora glanced at Draco who was trudging along, eyes downcast. Lyrisadora nudged him playfully. "Do not worry, dear brother, we may sneak away to continue our game later," whispered Lyrisadora warmly, Draco smiled at her, he grasped her hand and held it tightly, she squeezed it reassuringly.

* * *

><p><strong>Malfoy Playtime! Baby Draco's so cute. This is a <strong>sibling bonding chapter, it shows the bond Draco has with (yes sadly I know she doesn't exist) his sister- also gives evidence of his prejudiced cruel behavior (those poor towns people .)<strong>**

****Please Review!****


	7. Not all Grandmothers are sweet and cuddl

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>The Migraine of which is family<strong>

**Chapter: Not all Grandmothers are sweet and cuddly**

* * *

><p><em>24th December 1983<em>

Lyrisadora stood stiffly, with her hand neatly grasped behind her back, as she waited with the rest of her family outside the main fireplace. They were of course waiting for Abraxes and Basilia Malfoy to arrive; a visit dreaded by everyone. Of course no one really minded that Abraxes Malfoy was coming to stay, though true he was just as predigest, snobbish, cold and ruthless as any other Malfoy, he at least had class and knew when to keep his mouth shut; a far cry from his wife's personality. No, the Malfoys dreaded the return of Basilia Malfoy. With her obnoxious snide nasty remarks, sour expression, sadistic cruel humour , wild mood swings and amazing talent to make everyone she came in contact with, lives miserable. Yes, if there was one thing all the four Malfoys could agree on , it was that Basilia Malfoy was Satin's reencarnation.

"They're late, by fifteen minutes," muttered Lucius irritably, checking his pocket watch.

"Good," murmured Narcissa acidly; clearly hating the thought of that woman having to stay for a mere three days. Draco yawned quietly, as he leaned slightly on his sister. Lyrisadora wondered how long they would have to wait, when a loud whoosh made her jump slightly. With a flash of emerald green light, out stepped a old grey haired tall pale man with a furry grey mustache, followed by a sour thin old grey haired woman.

"Father, mother-glad to see you've arrived safely," greeted Lucius curtly. Abraxes smiled slightly at his son, shaking his hand and nodded politely to Narcissa. Basilia gave Narcissa a mocking nasty smile.

"_Narcissa_," Basilia greeted venomously. Narcissa's lips shook, but she managed to get them to form a painful smile.

"Basilia," greeted Narcissa curtly. Basilia smirked, then turned to her grandchildren who were watching the scene apprehensively.

"Ah, Lyrisadora, Draco," cried Basilia shrilly. "Come here, let your grandmother have a good look at you," said Basilia haughtily, gesturing them to come closure. Draco and Lyrisadora glanced at their parents nervously, Lucius and Narcissa nodded, Lyrisadora slowly stepped forward, nudging Draco to follow.

"Hello grandmother," greeted Lyrisadora , trying to sound as polite as possible. She nudged Draco to pipe up.

"Hello grandmother," muttered Draco. Basilia frowned.

"What's wrong with you?" questioned Basilia sharply, her eyes narrowed at the children coldly. "Have you been fed properly?You look very thin. Has you're mother been starving you." Narcissa groaned loudly in the background. Lyrisadora and Draco shook their heads vigorously." _Narcissa.._" spat Basilia, however Abraxes quickly interrupted to avoid another yearly argument.

"Shall we rest in the main drawing room? It shouldn't be long until the rest of the family arrives," suggested Abraxes quickly, Lucius nodded strongly.

"Yes let's-come children," said Lucius, Lyrisadora and Draco happily obliged, and quickly followed. Basilia grumbled but followed the rest of them into the drawing room.

There was a tense silence, as the Malfoys sat in the drawing room. Narcissa had called for tea, so now everyone sat drinking their tea in silence. Lyrisadora stared into her cup of tea desperately wanting nothing more than to leave, while Draco drank his grape juice oblivious to the tention. Basilia Stirred her tea slowly, her piercing eyes scanning the room for her first victim.

"Ah, Lyrisadora," said Basilia, Lyrisdora jerked her head up upon being addressed. She shrank slightly into the couch as she caught her grandmother's piercing stare.

"Yes, grandmother?" questioned Lyrisadora nervously, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I was just wondering, if you liked the birthday present I got you this year?" inquired Basilia pleasantly. Lyrisadora could have told her the truth of how much she loathed her gift, however knew the answer which her grandmother wanted.

"Yes grandmother, I loved your gift very much, I found it very interesting," answered Lyrisadora, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

"Well I knew you would," sighed Basilia triumphantly. Then she turned to Narcissa. "And what prey tell, did you buy Lyrisadora,_Narcissa_," sneered Basilia, as she spat Narcissa's name out like it was dragon dung. Narcissa pursed her lips and clutched her tea cup tighter.

"Oh, you know the usual," replied Narcissa in a strained voice, as she forced herself to be civil. Basilia smiled nastily and turned to Lyrisadora.

"I'm so sorry, Lyrisadora, that you were given such disappointing gifts," apologized Basilia in a fake mocking sympathetic voice. Narcissa clenched her fist tightly on her lap, her jaw twitched slightly as she glared at Basilia with utter loathing.

"Um, actually grandmother, I-I was very happy with the gifts mother bestowed onto me," piped up Lyrisadora, in a effort to defend her mother. Narcissa smiled brightly at this, while Basilia glared icily at her granddaughter; Lyrisadora shrank back into the couch.

"Don't interrupt the grown ups,_dearest_," warned Basilia Acidly. Basilia was just about to utter a snide remark to Narcissa, when she shrieked shrilly and spilled her cup of tea onto the floor, the china cup smashed instantly. Everyone jumped and stared at her in shock.

"Something furry skimmed past my leg!" wined Basilia, as she stood sharply, her eyes darting around the room frantically. Everyone looked around quickly.

"Sapphira," cried Lyrisadora happily, as she stood and scooped up her kitten off the floor then proceeded to scratch behind her ear tenderly. The rest of the Malfoys froze and stared at Lyrisadora in silence. Basilia's cold eyes narrowed at Lyrisadora.

"What on earth it _that_!" spat Basilia, staring at the kitten with disgust. Lyrisadora froze as she noticed everyone was looking at her. She bit her lip and swallowed her remaining courage.

"This is my pet kitten,Sapphira, I received her less then two months ago-she must have escaped from my bedroom," elaborated Lyrisadora smoothly. Basilia's eyes widened.

"Lucius!" snapped Basilia, for a change, rounding on Lucius. "Why would you agree to such a thing?" roared Basilia indignantly. Lucius sighed, looking not the least bit interested.

"Mother; it was her birthday," drawled Lucius, as if that explained everything. "I assure you, when I first found out that Lyrisadora wanted to keep the stray-"

"A STRAY! You let a stray cat into your home-BUT OF COURSE, _YOU_, PUT HIM UP TO THIS!" roared Basilia , now rounding on Narcissa.

"Oh, and so what if I did! Lyrisadora has every right to a cat of her own-though personally I would have wanted her to have a pedigree cat-so stop meddling!" snapped Narcissa angrily, her eyes narrowed and her mouth formed a deep sneer. Basilia smirked acidly.

"But of course,I would expect nothing less from _you_," sneered Basilia. She turned to Lyrisadora, who was clutching her cat protectively." Poor dear, honestly _Narcissa_, what kind of example are you setting for your daughter-no wonder she's collecting stray animals-the poor little thing is simply lost in the ways of lady-like etiquette," said Basilia in sickly sweetly tone. She walked towards Lyrisadora, and placed an icy hand on her shoulder, Lyrisadora clutched her cat tighter and shivered. "Which is why I think she should spend more time with her grandmother, I suggest she stay with me over the summer, so I can properly groom her," drawled Basilia. Lyrisadora's eyes widened in horror.

"W-what!" spluttered Lyrisadora in shock. Basilia squeezed her shoulder hard.

"What have I told you about interrupting," snapped Basilia angrily through clenched teeth. Lucius ,sensing danger, quickly cleared his throat.

"Yes well, that is truly, a_ very_ kind gesture of you, mother. However I personally believe Lyrisadora is perfectly fine, learning these things from her mother," reasoned Lucius. Narcissa smirked, while Brasilia scowled.

"More like she has blinded you, with her malicious slutatious ways!" snapped Basilia venomously.

"What does 'slutatious' mean?" questioned Draco suddenly, from the couch.

"Not now Draco!" yelled all the adults in unison.

"Basilia! calm yourself," drawled Abraxes.

"No! I will not calm my self! The precious minds of my grandchildren are at stake, because of this woman," cried Basilia haughtily, pointing an accusing bony finger at Narcissa." And another thing-" Basilia began to rant, before being interrupted by a loud crack. Basilia sharply turned to the source of the interruption. There in the middle of the room stood a bowing cowering elf, who's tennis ball eyes were darting around the room frantically.

"What is it Dobby?" sneered Lucius, Dobby began to shake. Lucius was growing impatient." Spit it out elf!" snapped Lucius harshly. Dobby quickly found his voice.

"M-master, t-t-the second lot of the guests have arrived," squeaked Dobby meekly.

"Oh well we best go greet them then," said Narcissa with fake cheerfulness, as she stood quickly, giving no room for argument. "Dobby, clear up the tea and broken cup," ordered Narcissa sharply as she began to usher Lyrisadora and Draco out of the room.

"Yes Mistress," choked Dobby as he bowed, Lucius made sure to give him a hard kick before he left the room.

* * *

><p><strong>The Malfoys, such a tight family.<strong>

**Anyway, Basilia is as mean as ever and will no doubt continue to be.**

**Review!**


	8. The things we think,yet do not say

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Malfoy relationships are often strained<strong>**

****Chapter:The things we think,yet do not say****

* * *

><p><em>25th December 1983<em>

Narcissa hummed softly, as she gently brushed Lyrisadora's silky platinum blond hair. Lyrisadora sat elegantly in her blue vanity chair, reading a small book in her hands as her mother combed her hair. Narcissa let escape a small smile, as she watched her daughter read.

"Do be careful not to read for too long, sweetheart, or you'll hurt your eyes," said Narcissa warmly.

"Yes mother," said Lyrisadora tonelessly, her eyes still locked on the pages. Narcissa looked at her thoughtfully.

"I hope you're not still worried, about what your grandmother suggested yesterday;you do know your father and I, would never make you suffer with her all summer," reassured Narcissa.

"Yes mother, I know. Grandmother was simply being silly," drawled Lyrisadora.

"Well, I'm just glad you're not worried then," said Narcissa. "I would never let her do such a thing you see, I love you too much," added Narcissa quickly.

"As I love you also," said Lyrisadora unemotionally, as she slowly turned another page in her book.

"Oh, good," said Narcissa, she looked doubtfully at Lyrisadora; who sat reading silently, she hadn't looked at Narcissa once. Narcissa's lips drooped slightly, Lyrisadora never ever said she loved her mother these days, when she did it never did sound genuine, though Narcissa knew her daughter cared about her very much; like the fact she tried to defend her in front of Basilia, that had meant a lot to Narcissa. Draco always told his mother he loved her, true, he normally said it when she bought him things, but at least he sounded like he meant it. Narcissa sighed quietly. Draco always let her dote on him, he never pushed her away like Lyrisadora did, Draco was never cold to her. Lyrisadora on the other hand was cold and distant, though she did have her warm moments and they would sometimes spend time together, but it wasn't the same, and things were never how they used to be.

"Did you enjoy your presents?" questioned Narcissa, after a moment of silence. Narcissa hoped she would get some more normal child-like emotion from her.

"Yes mother, they were ever so thoughtful," replied Lyrisadora tonelessly, as she turned the page of her book. Narcissa smiled weakly at this as she continued to brush Lyrisadora's hair. A few moments of silence passed, until Narcissa could no longer take it anymore. She sighed and gently placed the brush on Lyrisadora's vanity.

"Lyrisadora," said Narcissa, as she lifted Lyrisadora's face upwards to face her, by Lyrisadora's chin. Narcissa slipped the book out of her hands and placed it on the vanity.

"Yes mother?" questioned Lyrisadora softly, her eyes locked onto each her mother, as Narcissa's stroked Lyrisadora's side fringe out of her eyes, so Narcissa's brown eyes met her daughter's.

"I know it's hard for you, especially with your father, but you don't have to be stiff all the time; even I used to slack off with my siste-my sister sometimes," said Narcissa, catching herself from saying _sisters_."You're allowed to relax now and then, you're even allowed to play-as long as you **don't** get your clothes dirty," added Narcissa.

"Yes mother, I know," replied Lyrisadora quietly, Narcissa gave a small smile and let go of her chin.

"Good," Narcissa said simply, she quickly picked up the brush again and resumed brushing Lyrisadora's hair. She expected Lyrisadora to pick up her book to resume reading, but she didn't. Lyrisadora stared thoughtfully into her vanity mirror, lost in thought. Narcissa chose to ignore this, and decided to continue brushing.

They were expected at dinner in 20 minutes, then it was off to host the annual Malfoy Christmas ball. Narcissa glanced at Lyrisadora's lime silky green dress; that she would be wearing for dinner alone ,as she was too young to attend the ball. She smiled as she took in the girls appearance, the dress looked good on Lyrisadora, then again, everything looked good on Lyrisadora. However Narcissa had wanted Lyrisadora to wear a red and gold dress instead of the usual green, as it was more festive, however her mother in law Basilia Malfoy,had insisted Lyrisadora wear the green dress as it was traditional. When Narcissa had tried to further her argument, Basilia had accused her of having Gryffindor sympathise ;as red and gold was associated with Gryffindor. Then there had been an argument, where Basilia had called Narcissa a series of ugly spiteful names, and now Basilia was in a sour mood with Narcissa, again.

"Mother?" said Lyrisadora suddenly, bringing her mother out of her train of thought.

"Hmm? Yes sweetheart?" questioned Narcissa.

"Did you ever have more than one sister?" implored Lyrisadora curiously. Narcissa froze and stiffened.

"Beg my pardon dear,wh-what did you just ask me?" spluttered Narcissa.

"I found some old photos of you and your family, in the attic and there was a girl who looked like a sister relation to you, next to you and auntie Bellatrix," exclaimed Lyrisadora. Narcissa clutched the brush tighter.

"I don't have another sister," replied Narcissa stiffly. Lyrisadora looked up at her mother with confusion." And you shouldn't have been in the attic looking through those old photos," added Narcissa coldly. Lyrisadora shrank slightly, under her mother's icy cold gaze.

"I'm sorry mother," said Lyrisadora meekly. Narcissa felt slightly guilty at her daughter's fearful attitude. Narcissa quickly forced a smiled, however it didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Oh don't worry, sweetheart, I forgive you," Narcissa cooed, as she stroked Lyrisadora's pale cheek. "Just promise me, that you won't _ever_ bring this subject up ever again, or I might have to tell your father. Do I make myself clear?" finished Narcissa sweetly, though her voice held a evident volume of warning in it.

"Yes mother, I promise," replied Lyrisadora nervously, looking up at her mother eerily.

"That's a good girl," cooed Narcissa sweetly still, Lyrisadora smiled nervously up at her, before turning away and staring and her silver shoes. Narcissa made a mental note to hide the photos somewhere less obvious. She glanced at a nearby clock in the sapphire blue bedroom. "Almost time for dinner," she stated to herself. She quickly placed the brush neatly back onto the vanity and removed Lyrisadora's black headband, then quickly gathered up her hair into a side bun.

"Come now Lyrisa, we are needed at dinner," commanded Narcissa warmly.

"Coming, Mother," replied Lyrisadora, as she marked the page in her book and placed it on her bed next to a sleeping Sapphira, before she quickly ran to her mother's side.

Narcissa gracefully walked down the dim hallway with Lyrisadora by her side. Narcissa glanced at her daughter, who was wriggling her hands nervously; clearly dreading the dinner. Narcissa knew why, she herself wasn't exactly looking forward to the dinner, especially since Basilia would be there criticizing Lyrisadora and herself throughout the entire dinner; though mainly it was Narcissa she criticized.

"Please don't fidget dear, it's un-lady like," said Narcissa warmly. Lyrisadora stopped immediately and looked down.

"Sorry mother," she muttered. Narcissa arched an eyebrow at her.

"Is everything alright, Lyrisa?" Narcissa questioned, stopping to face her.

"Yes mother, everything is simply perfect," replied Lyrisadora in a tone that indicated , that everything was but perfect.

"Oh, don't worry, you can tell me," pushed Narcissa smiling sweetly, Lyrisadora looked doubtful.

"I'm sorry I upset you, I just wanted to know who that girl was,"apologized Lyrisadora sincerely. Narcissa's smile wavered, however she forced it to stick.

"Lyrisa sweetheart, do not be silly, it doesn't matter. That girl you saw in the photo, is but a distant memory, she doesn't exist anymore," replied Narcissa reassuringly, her tone held a hint of pain in it. "Whatever my family ever was, or is, doesn't matter. I have a new family now, you, your father and Draco. And I love you all _very_ much, you're all the family I need," finished Narcissa, she stroked Lyrisadora's cheek motherly, Lyrisadora smiled slightly. The two looked at each other for a moment, silently agreeing that nothing more needed to be said. "Come now, or we'll miss dinner, and you know what your grandmother is like," said Narcissa after a moment of silence, she quickly ushered Lyrisadora along. Lyrisadora pretended she didn't notice her mother wipe away a small tear.

* * *

><p><strong>Narcissa may be a snob, but she loves her family, so I tried to bring out her goodness in this chapter-she's still a snob though.<strong>

**Review!**


	9. The Past we try to Bury

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Old wounds<strong>

**Chapter:****The Past we try to Bury**

* * *

><p><em>5th January 1984<em>

Lyrisadora lay on her stomach in one of the Manors drawing rooms, looking through some of her mother's old family photos. Lyrisadora knew that her mother had forbidden her from looking, however Lyrisadora's curiosity had gotten the better of her, so she had sought out the photos once more. She recognized some people from the photos, her great aunt Walburga, who had disappeared from society and she only ever saw once at a family Christmas gathering, where she had pinched Lyrisadora's cheeks so hard, that her cheeks developed bruises. She remembered her aunt Bellatrix, though slightly blurry, she remembered when she was little and her mother would often bring her to visit Lestrange manor; a dark creepy depressing place that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on ends. Her aunt was a person you just couldn't forget.

Lyrisadora quickly turned to a different page, not wanting to dwell on those memories. She came to the page of the mysterious girl she had mentioned to her mother earlier. The girl looked a lot like aunt Bellatrix, so it was obvious they were related, however this girl's hair was a soft brown and her eyes were kinder, she was waving enthusiastically from the photo smiling brightly. Lyrisadora smiled slightly, she wondered why her mother never mentioned her? It was clear from these photos that they had been close. But Lyrisadora darn't ask her mother again about the girl, in fear of getting in trouble, her mothher had been so angry before, Lyrisadora decided it was best not to ask.

She turned another page to see a photo of her mother, she was about the same age as Lyrisadora,she was hugging a teddy bear and smiling happily, Lyrisadora had never seen her mother smile like that, she had seen her smile warmly,cheerfully,sweetly, sadly and forcefully but never with such childlike glee and carefree. Lyrisadora turned the page again, she found a photo of two young boys, the oldest one was around eleven and was sticking his tongue out at the camera repeatedly while making occasional funny faces, the other boy who looked about nine was giggling playfully at him. Lyrisadora looked at the photo puzzled, she looked at the photos description. It read, 'Two big headed prats' and underneath the names 'Regulas' and 'Sirius', Lyrisadora was puzzled by the name 'Sirius', she knew who Regulas was, her mother had mentioned him before, saying he died young. But her mother had never mentioned someone called 'Sirius' before. The two boys looked like brothers, her mother had mentioned Regulas, so she wondered why she hadn't mentioned his brother Sirius?

"What are you doing?" said a cool voice, Lyrisadora froze as she heard the sharp clicking of high heels behind her. Lyrisadora slowly looked up to see her mother's stern face. Narcissa caught sight of the photo album and her eyes narrowed, she snatched the book from Lyrisadora and closed is with a snap."Didn't I warn you about looking at this?" questioned Narcissa sternly. Lyrisadora stood.

"Yes mother, you did," replied Lyrisadora timidly.

"Yet you deliberately disobeyed me," snapped Narcissa, Lyrisadora gulped.

"I'm sorry mother," apologized Lyrisadora weakly.

"Sorry isn't good enough," said Narcissa coldly, Lyrisadora winced at her harsh tone.

"I was just curious, I wanted to learn more about my family," protested Lyrisadora, for a moment Narcissa looked slightly awe.

"Well, you don't need to," she said simply.

"But I want to learn more about my family history," Lyrisadora tried to reason. Narcissa paused as her grip on the album tightened.

"Why would you want to know?" questioned Narcissa, her voice slightly strained.

"Isn't it important that I know about the Blacks?" inquired Lyrisadora, it seemed logical to her that learning about her family history was important. Narcissa sighed deeply.

"I suppose it is important," sighed Narcissa, hugging the photo album. "Who do you want to know about?" questioned Narcissa, Lyrisadora thought for a moment.

"Sirius, who is he?" Lyrisadora asked, deciding he was the safest option, remembering how her mother acted when Lyrisadora mentioned the other girl.

"He was my cousin," she said simply, opening the album to his page.

"What happened to him?" questioned Lyrisadora, slowly walking over to her.

"He was disowned," answered Narcissa, Lyrisadora was awe, she wondered what he could have possibly done to get disowned.

"Why?" pushed Lyrisadora.

"He was a rotten blood-traitor," replied Narcissa bitterly. "He was a Gryffindor and a troublemaker ," she added.

"But I thought all the Blacks were in Slytherin?" implored Lyrisadora, she never knew that Sirius had been different.

"They were, until he came along and ruined everything," stated Narcissa venomously eyeing the picture coldly. "He rejected everything our family believed in, he betrayed us, he ran away," said Narcissa, some clear pain and sadness in her voice.

"So that is why he was disowned?" inquired Lyrisadora carefully, gradually putting the pieces together. Narcissa nodded. "So, what happened to him?" Lyrisadora questioned.

"He wen't suddenly mad and was locked up in Azkaban," she elaborated.

"But why? Why would he go suddenly mad?" questioned Lyrisadora, it didn't make any sense.

"He betrayed his friends and was locked up," said Narcissa firmly. Lyrisadora knew her mother was avoiding her question.

"Yes but _why_ did he go mad?" pressed Lyrisadora.

"Some people just go mad, I always thought it was because of his brother dying," said Narcissa, muttering the last bit. There was a tense silence, Lyrisadora decided not to push the subject further."Is that all you wanted to know?" questioned Narcissa sharply. Lyrisadora shook her head, she had one more question.

"Who is that girl?" questioned Lyrisadora shyly. Narcissa tensed, Lyrisadora began to fear she had overstepped her boundaries. However her mother sighed and looked at the photo album sadly.

"She was disowned too," muttered Narcissa.

"What happened?" asked Lyrisadora carefully.

"She was perfect, she was a Slytherin, she always did what she was told," said Narcissa mostly talking to herself. "But then _he_ came along and ruined everything," she said acidly. Lyrisadora wondered who she was talking about.

"Who?" inquired Lyrisadora.

"Ted Tonks," answered Narcissa bitterly. "A _Muggle-born,_" she sneered. "They fell in love and she chose him over her family, she chose him over me," said Narcissa softly. "I cried all night that day," she whispered. She closed the album.

"Where is she now?" questioned Lyrisadora quietly looking at her mother with concern.

"Somewhere far away-she always liked the countryside-they got married, had a child, a baby girl, and lived happily ever after, I suppose," muttered Narcissa softly. Lyrisadora saw her mother's obvious sorrow and felt guilty for bringing up such painful memories.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," apologized Lyrisadora. Narcissa glanced at her and gave her a weak smile.

"It doesn't matter, as I said before, I have a new family now," said Narcissa, kissing Lyrisadora's forehead lovingly.

"But do you still miss your old family?" questioned Lyrisadora, Narcissa looked slightly affronted by the question.

"Of course I do," answered Narcissa.

"Even the disowned?" asked Lyrisadora. Narcissa paused for a second.

"Sometimes, yes," she muttered. "But it doesn't matter, they made their choice," added Narcissa clutching the album tightly. There was a tense silence that issued, until Narcissa cleared her throat. "Anyway, that's enough questions for today," she said firmly straitening up. "You shouldn't have disobeyed me," said Narcissa sternly.

"Oh mother, you won't tell father will you?" questioned Lyrisadora worriedly, she knew her father hated her finding out about forbidden relatives. Narcissa paused and contemplated the question.

"I suppose there's no need to," replied Narcissa slowly, Lyrisadora sighed in relief. "However, that doesn't mean you're not in trouble for disobeying me," added Narcissa sternly, Lyrisadora gulped. "I am very upset you disobeyed me, Lyrisadora, so I better not find you looking through this album again,or you'll be in a lot of trouble, understand?" snapped Narcissa sharply. Lyrisadora nodded her head vigorously.

"Well good-now run along," her mother ordered, Lyrisadora quickly obliged and walked out the room. She saw her mother turn down the corridor in the opposite direction, in the direction of her bedroom, the album still clutched in her arms tightly, Lyrisadora assumed she was going to take one last look before burying it away again.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter is how Lyrisadora knows about her disowned relatives. In some fanfics Narcissa always hated her sister and little cousin, but I always disagree, I think the reason Sirius and her weren't that close was because he was probably always pranking her (for fun), and she was probably devastated when Andromeda left her.<strong>

**Anyway...**

**Review.**


	10. The Fear that Binds us

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>The comfort of promises<strong>

**Chapter: The Fear that Binds us**

* * *

><p><em>15th July 1987<em>

Draco tried to catch his breath, as he ran after his sister. Down towards the bottom of the Malfoys front garden.  
>"Lyra wait!" cried Draco.<p>

"Come on Draco!" cried Lyrisadora, Draco tried to speed up, but he nearly tripped when Lyrisadora came to an abrupt stop. Draco panted heavily.

"How-come-you're-so fast,"he panted inbetween breaths. Lyrisadora just shrugged.

"I'm older, so I have longer legs," drawled Lyrisadora. "Now come, I want to show you something," said Lyrisadora excitingly. She quickly grabbed Draco's hand and proceeded to drag him. Draco wandered where on earth his sister was taking him.

She had been pretty urgent at first, telling him they were going to have to sneak away from evening lessons. Which he hadn't liked at all, he knew if their father found out they'd be in deep deep trouble.

"Lyra where are we going?" questioned Draco. Lyrisadora turned to him and smiled.

"You'll see," she said simply and continued to drag him.

Finally she stopped pulling him. Draco looked around to see where they were. It was in the very end at the corner of the garden, where the tall thick hedges separated them from the outside world. Draco's eyes widened, as he saw what was in front of him, it was a large patch of multi coloured flowers.

"Is it not beautiful?" sighed Lyrisadora, Draco glanced at her, she was staring at the flowers dreamily.

"Yeah," sighed Draco. Lyrisadora went to go sit down, Draco followed her and sat opposite flowers felt soft under his body. "We won't ruin then will we?" Draco asked, not wanting to damage the flowers.

"No we won't ruin them, they'll just spring back up," reassured Lyrisadora, as she felt a flower petal. "Mother had these planted two years ago," stated Lyrisadora had she caressed a bright orange flower.

"What are they?" questioned Draco curiously, even though he found flowers boring, he was interested as to what was so special about these flowers.

"Calendulas," stated Lyrisadora. "My favourite flower," she added.

"Oh," said Draco, once he realised. They sat in silence, the light summer breeze blew past. It was nice here, peaceful, thought Draco. Everything here was real, you didn't have to hide behind masks and be constantly aware of how you presented yourself. Here you could just relax and enjoy a moment of bliss.

Draco glanced at Lyrisadora, who was examining the Calendula flower dreamily. Draco caressed a white and yellow flower. He felt strangely at peace.

"Draco," said Lyrisadora. He abruptly looked up, Lyrisadora loked at him with concern.

"Yeah Lyra?" implored Draco. Lyrisadora hesitated.

"Do-do you think I'll be in Slytherin?" questioned Lyrisadora nervously. Draco looked at her with shock. Of course she'd be in Slytherin, he thought, every single Malfoy had been in Slytherin,to not be was crazy.

"Of course you will," spluttered Draco. "You're a Malfoy!" yelled Draco.

"Keep it down!" hissed Lyrisadora. Not wanting them to be heard.

"Oh,sorry," appologised Draco feebly.

"I know I'm a Malfoy, however what if I get sorted somewhere else?" pushed Lyrisadora worriedly. "I'll be leaving for Hogwarts in a year or so," sighed Lyrisadora sadly. Draco looked lost for words, he had never thought of the possibility his sister may not be in Slytherin.

"But you have to be in Slytherin-don't you want to?" questioned Draco sharply. Lyrisadora looked uncomfortable.

"Oh I do, honestly I do," answered Lyrisadora desperately. "But, what if I'm not? Do you think father will disown me?" whispered Lyrisadora fearfully.

"No, no he would never do that," mumbled Draco. The thought of his sister leaving him was too frighting to linger on. Draco shook his head strongly. "Don't be silly, you're a Malfoy, Malfoys always get into Slytherin and Malfoys never get disowned," said Draco strongly, thinking of how there was only two burnt marks on the Malfoy family tree, and they dated back to the 16-18 hundreds.

"But what if I'm different," mumbled Lyrisadora, as she absent mindly shredded some grass.

"You're not different, you're just as Malfoyish as the rest of us," reassured Draco. He knew his sister was slightly odd, with her constant book reading and soft attitude, but that didn't mean she believed differently to the rest of them. Draco believed every word their father said, and he knew Lyrisadora believed it, if she didn't, Draco believed she would have spoken up if she didn't.

"I suppose you're right," said Lyrisadora softly, still not looking at him. "I was just worried, that's all," added Lyrisadora quietly. Draco easily accepted this answer. A moment of silence issued once more.

"Should we head back now?" inquired Draco, breaking the silence, he definitely didn't want to see there father's reaction to them skipping lessons.

"No, let's stay, just-just for a while longer," pleaded Lyrisadora.

"But we're missing our lessons," said Draco. Lyrisadora wrinkled up her nose.

"Do not tell me, you actually enjoy learning etiquette and manners?" drawled Lyrisadora.

"Of course I don't," answered Draco quickly, he hated learning how to dance and behave like the perfect gentleman, especially from such disdainful and sharp tutors.

"Well stay then, no one will notice we're gone," urged Lyrisadora.

"Fine," sighed Draco,as he leaned back on the grass, staring up at the sky. Lyrisadora went over and lay next to him.

"Do you think mother and father, will allow me to visit the local library again?" inquired Lyrisadora. Draco just shrugged.

"Maybe, if you're good I suppose," drawled Draco. "Why would you want to go back there, our libraries just as big?" questioned Draco, he just didn't understand why his sister preferred the common local library opposed to their grand one.

"Oh, well, it's just has a wider selection, you know," replied Lyrisadora uncomfortably. Draco frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?" implored Draco in befuddlement.

"Its just…I can read what I please there, I do not have to read what has been approved by father, I am free to choose," elaborated Lyrisadora, whispering the last bit. Draco looked at her worriedly and sat up.

"But-but you can't do that! Father forbade us to read certain books for a reason, because some books are bad for us," spluttered Draco. He couldn't understand what had gotten into his sister. Lyrisadora sat up abruptly.

"There just books Draco, and they're far more interesting than the ones in our library. Not all the authors are Pure-blood and half-blood like they are here, some are even _Muggle-borns_, there's books about science, Vampire rights and even a biography on modern discrimination! It's all _fascinating_ Draco, there's so much knowledge and things I never knew before, it has made me realised how much I don't know about the world," said Lyrisadora passionately, Draco gaped at his sister, who was trying to catch her breath after her fierce speech.

"What's wrong with you?" questioned Draco indigently. Lyrisadora's smile drooped.

"What-wh-what do mean?" she questioned worriedly.

"You shouldn't be reading those books, you'll get in trouble, if father knew what you were reading…" said Draco coldly. His sister's eyes widened fearfully.

"Oh please don't tell Draco, father will be awfully angry," pleaded Lyrisadora meekly.

Draco shifted uncomfortably, he remembered the last time their father had caught Lyrisadora reading a forbidden book, she had had the bruises for days. He didn't want her to get hurt, true their father rarely beat them, if he did it was because they had been very bad and disobedient, but when it came to them deliberately exposing themselves to muggle ideal infestation, he would often try to beat the dangerous ideas out of them.

"_And_ what if _I_ do?" sneered Draco, he knew the only way to protect his sister, was to scare her into realising her foolishness.

"But you mustn't! Please Draco, you're my brother," pleaded Lyrisadora. Draco's sneer wavered, she had a point, blood was thicker than water and she was his big sister, she'd always tried to protect him in the past.

"Fine," groaned Draco, Lyrisadora beamed. "_But_, you have to promise to not go to that library anymore," added Draco. Lyrisadora's smile weakened.

"Not even for a quick read?" implored Lyrisadora. Draco shook his head strongly. Lyrisadora sighed sadly.

"Fine, I promise," she answered softly.

"Good, now pinkie promise," ordered Draco firmly, he held out his pinkie for her to take. Lyrisadora hesitated but took it.

"I solemnly pinkie promise," said Lyrisadora clearly, grasping her pinkie tightly with his. Draco nodded, fully satisfied and let go.

"Come on then, lessons should be over by now," said Draco as he stood, Lyrisadora sighed, but got to her feet. He watched his sister reluctantly walk towards the manor. Draco wondered why she was so down, he had only threatened to rat her out, because he was trying to protect her. Draco quickly shook his head, his sister would come around eventually, soon she'd forget all about those books in due time, he knew she would, she was a Malfoy, she was just like the rest of them. Blood was thicker than water, family was to be put above all else. Lyrisadora would be mad to try and go against her family, they were bound by blood and nothing would ever change that.

* * *

><p><strong>Draco's Pov I know, but this is fanfiction, sides once she goes to Hogwarts it will be in her Pov nearly all the time.<strong>

**Review!**


	11. Visiting Diagon Alley

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

**quote**** origin-John Stuart Mill  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Life has a certain flavor for those who have fought and risked all that the sheltered and protected can never experience.<strong>

**Chapter: Visiting Diagon Alley**

* * *

><p><em>1st <em>_August __1989_

A burst of bright green fire consumed her. The next thing she knew, she was in Diagon Alley, at the Local Floo Service Station. A few minutes later her mother arrived, then Draco and finally her father. They soon were walking through the busy streets of Diagon Alley.

"Mother, can I go look at the Quidditch supplies?" implored Draco, Narcissa was able to respond to her son's request, Lucius spoke first.

"We're here to acquire your sister's school supplies, and that's all," informed Lucius sharply.

"But-" Draco began, but stopped himself abruptly, after receiving a warning look from his father. "I understand father, I'm sorry for wasting our time," he instead said quietly.

Narcissa decided to speak to unease the tension. "Lyrisa, darling, why don't you go with your father, to collect your wand, and other necessities? Whilst I acquire your school robes with Draco," said Narcissa, smiling politely.

"Appears like an adequate arrangement. Where should our meeting point be?" drawled Lucius.

"Perhaps here, in an hour" suggested Lyrisadora."Father, shall we buy my course books first, then my wand second?" she suggested excitingly.

"Alright, just be quick about it," he replied, his tone slightly irritable at the end, knowing what Lyrisadora was like when buying books.

Draco watched the exchange with a frown.

They soon separated and began the task of buying the school supplies. "Father, shouldn't we be going now?" she asked curtly, diverting her father's attention away from the familiar group of red-heads nearby, which he was sneering at with disgust.

"Of course, we must not let the _undesirables s_low us," he said coyly,starting to walk down the street again. Lyrisadora read out her list of supplies, guiding him to Flourish and blotts, hiding her annoyance as he appeared to only paying half attention to her.

His eyes blazed slightly as he saw the red headed family enter the bookstore. "Filthy blood-traitors…" Lucius began to mutter under his breath, glaring at red-headed group in disdain.

Lyrisadora knew that if they did not buy her books and leave quickly, things could turn ugly. "Father, can I go with you instead; mother is forcing me the boring agony of clothes shopping," pleaded a very familiar drawling voice from behind them, they turned to discover Draco Malfoy standing there, partly leaning on the side-wall.

"Draco, I suppose that you are allowed, I trust your mother knows where you are," Lucius responded, waving a dismissive hand.

"Thank you father, you wont regret this," Draco responded in relief. Lucius just nodded curtly as he watched the nine-year old bound toward them with vigour.

"We are just getting your sister's school books," informed Lucius, his eyes turning back to Lyrisadora, who quickly placed the book she had been holding back on the shelf once she realised he was watching her. When his eyes turned away from her she stole a glance at the book she had placed down with a slight longing, before going off to gather the rest of her books. When suddenly, there was a crash, a smash, two thuds and indignant yells;she had the strangest feeling that this had to do with her father and the red-headed Weasleys.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she carefully walked towards the source of the disturbance, until her father and the Weasleys came into view; she also noticed Draco was watching, quite enjoying the entertaining performance. "You really should look where your going, Lucius," said the voice, she recognised to be Arthur Weasley's. Lyrisadora knew that Arthur had just lit a firework, which she predicted would probably explode, in only a few seconds.

"And maybe you should keep a better hold on those animals you call children," spat the voice of her father, in an indignant tone.

One of the younger red headed children glared at him."Pretty rich…" began the sarcastic voice of one of the Weasley twins, who wore a shirt with the word 'F' imprinted on it; Lyrisadora guessed it to be the starting letter of his name, and she decided to label him as 'Weasley-Twin-F', and the other with a 'G' imprinted on his shirt, she labelled Weasley-Twin-G'.

"Coming from a stuck up pig like you…" Weasley-Twin-G added sarcastically.

"Nothing but..." The twins said in unison."…A fascist, _girly_-haired snobbish git." Weasley twins ended in unison (And soon their lives would end also.) By this time, Lucius' face had gone a blotchy pink colour, an expression which Lyrisadora knew was not a good sign to put it lightly. She could imagine two twin gravestones. Draco backed away slightly, whilst the rest of the bookstore stared in both amusement and horror. Even the brave twins, slightly backed away, realising that perhaps they should have held back on some of their rather colourful comments.

Lucius slowly stomped towards the twins, anger evident, as his features twisted into a deep sneer, a growl escaping his lips. Now Arthur and Molly Weasley, being the sort of parents that wanted to see their children live past the age of eleven, finally step in front of their sons in a protective manner. "We're going," they both said in unison, and with that they grabbed their family, and rushed them all out.

_"Merlin must really be looking out for those two; I doubt Harry Potter would be able to survive that,"_ Lyrisadora thought to herself, gazing at the escaping family with interest.

Her eyes returned to her father, who was looking at them with a controlled anger."Get your books,We are leaving," her father spat, barely able to keep the disgust from his tone; Lyrisadora didn't need anymore notification, quickly runnning off to collect her books. After the hectic acquiring of the books, Lyrisadora, her brother, and father quickly left the Bookstore, eyes still following them.  
><em>"Well, that little spat was rather entertaining, but father will probably be in a bad mood for a few hours,"<em> Lyrisadora thought, as her father stomped angrily beside her, looking ready to maim anybody of lower blood status, in his path. _  
><em>

They eventually arrived at Ollivanders, and were greeted by an old man, that didn't seem to get out much, in Lyrisadora opinion. "Hello Mr. Malfoy; and who might these be? And how can I help you?" the old man, she supposed was Mr. Ollivander, asked politely. Lyrisadora resisted the urge to roll her eyes, she would have felt it obvious to many, who they were and of how he could help them.

_"Well, this is a wand shop; what do you think?"_ she thought sarcastically, but held her tongue.

"My daughter and son. My daughter requires a wand," informed Lucius sharply, not believing the man's 'stupidity'.

"Remember, the wand chooses the Wizard," announced Ollivander suddenly, earning himself some rather weird looks, from Lyrisadora and Draco. Lyrisadora found the idea rather silly, as she was choosing the wand, not the other way around. She supposed Ollivander was just simply having an 'old man moment' and shrugged it off.

"Well, will you hurry up, we have a schedule to keep, " Lucius sneered, in impatience. Ollivander seemed rather affronted by the sharp remark, however he forced a smile. Draco smirked slightly at his father remark, whilst Lyrisadora, felt even though the man had been wasting their time, her father could at least thought it, instead of saying it; her mother always said, _'If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all, unless of course it's Blood-traitors, or a Mudbloods,'_although she tried to tune out the last bit.

"Of course Mr. Malfoy," Mr. Olivander responded, the former warmth in his voice faded. "I have quite the range of-" however he was interrupted.

"Will you hurry up, some of us have lives," Draco burst out impatiently, earning disapproving looks from everyone. "Sorry…"

"Anyway, as I was saying before the interruption, we at Ollivanders have quite the range of wands," Olivander continued. "Let me see, which is your wand arm?" he asked.

"Wand arm? I don't have a wand, so how can I have a wand arm?" Lyrisadora inquired, her eyebrow arched in an inquisitive manner.

"He means what hand is your writing-hand," elaborated Lucius, rather impatiently, glancing down at his pocket-watch.

"Oh, well he should have chosen a better choice of words," she muttered to herself, irritated that she hadn't grasped something so obviously simple, she complied anyway. "My right hand," she answered to Ollivander, rather stiffly.

"Hold out your arm-That's right-just stay still." He instructed and she complied hesitantly. He then grasped her hand and began to measure it from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head; she became rather annoyed at his slow antics and embarrassed.

As the enchanted tape measure worked, he began to speak."Every single Ollivander wand each has quite a core of a powerful magical substance, Ms. Malfoy. We use materials such as unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and dragon heartstring. Never are two Ollivander wands the same, just as never two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are exactly the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand, besides you own." And after his very long, and rather boring in Lyrisadora's opinion speech, he began to browse the shelves.

_"Well, I hope this is a short search,"_ she thought, not desiring to stand there for ages.

"Hmm, perhaps ten inch, ebony wood, peacock feather," suggested Ollivander, he handed the wand over to Lyrisadora. "Quite strong, yet bendable; well then, give it a try." She did as he instructed and a vase flew into view, nearly smashing into Ollivander's head, had he not managed to duck in time. "Hmm, perhaps not the one for you."

"Um, sorry about nearly impaling you with a vase," apologised Lyrisadora feebly.

"It is quite fine; it happens to me quite frequently," Mr. Ollivander responded, with a warm smile. Lucius made a fake cough, indicating for them to hurry up. Ollivander eventually picked up another wand from one of the shelves. "Ten inch, hawthorn wood, unicorn hair core; give it a try," informed Ollivander, giving her the wand.

She flicked the wand sharply, however it simply let out a weak spark. "Not the wand for me," she murmured to herself, rather frustrated at the slowness of getting the correct wand. Mr. Ollivander whisked himself back to the shelves housing many different wands abruptly, and began searching again.

"Ah, perhaps a seven and a half inch, maple wood, Phoenix feather," he suggested, handing it to her. "Well then, just give it a wave," he urged. She waved it in the air as a sharp jab, it simply made a the discarded remains of the vase, smash and knock a nearby vase onto the floor, which had been right next to Mr. Ollivander.

"Perhaps not," he said, rather pale.

"I'm for the vase, it was unintentional," Lyrisadora implored, quite sheepish.

"No matter, as I said, I'm used to it. Many have done far worse things when finding their wand," responded Mr. Olivander, with a shrug. He then began continue his browse for some more wands for her. "Perhaps, a…"

After searching through about around perhaps fourteen wands. "Still, you're probably one of the trickiest customer I have ever had," exclaimed Mr. Ollivander, in exasperation. Lyrisadora was getting tired at the long wait, as her father frequently glanced at his pocket-watch impatiently, and Draco leaned against the nearby wall, letting out frequent groans of frustration.

"Will you just get her the right wand, already!" blurted out Draco impatiently.

"I demand you hurry your search, this service is rather unorganised," exclaimed Lucius sharply, his frustration quite clear. Mr. Ollivander gave a rather cold look at Lucius, who seemed not to have noticed, before whisking himself back towards the shelves.

"Hmm, perhaps ten inch, ivy wood, Thestral hair core," Mr. Ollivander announced after a few moments, quickly giving her the wand. Lyrisadora felt a strange warmth wash over her hands suddenly, this had definitely not occurred much with the other wands she had tried, she felt connection with this certain wand. "Quite a powerful wand… well then, give it a nice wave."

She gave it a sudden wave and then suddenly a pot on Mr. Ollivander's desk, floated slightly before setting back down carefully. "Is this my true wand?" Lyrisadora exclaimed.

"Yes, it is your true wand, and-" however Mr. Ollivander was interrupted abruptly.

"Finally!" Draco exclaimed loudly, pushing himself from the wall.

"Yes, and as I was about to say-"

"Although I am assured I would probably find you little speech rather illuminating; I am afraid to inform you, we actually have lives to get back to," Lucius interrupted sharply throwing a small sack of money on the counter.

"Keep the change," he drawled,not wanting to stay another moment later, rather annoyed at the such long wait. Without another word he grabbed both his children by the shoulder, and dragged them out.

The three then strode off into the busy streets. "We need to hurry, your mother expects us soon," he informed, ushering them forward to quicken their pace more. He grasped the list from Lyrisadora's hand, and began to read it. "So, we need to buy a caldron, telescope, crystal phials, brass scales, writing equipment."

After receiving all these school required items, they made their way towards the meeting point, outside the Local Floo Service Station. They arrived their eventually, and were met by a rather distraught and angry looking Narcissa.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy! I was worried sick," she hissed, marching over, Draco shrank into himself more. "I was looking everywhere for you," he voice rising.

"Sorry..." Draco tried to apologise, his cheeks blotchy with embarrassment.

"How many times have I told you not to wonder off!" she continued, a few passers by looking at them curiously.

Lucius seemed to take note, firmly graspin his wife's shoulder. "_Narcissa_, you're making a scene," hissed Lucius sharply, Lyrisadora couldn't help but raise her eyebrow slightly, her father was acting slightly hypercritical.

Narcissa made a choking sound. "F-fine! We are leaving…" she paused for a few seconds. "… But this conversation with continue in the solitude of our manor," Narcissa hissed dangerously, and with that she stomped into the Local Floo Service Station, many eyes following her. Her family hesitantly followed.

Eventually they arrived at Malfoy Manor. Lyrisadora then bounded towards her room, leaving the shouts and cries behind her. She reached her large and jumped on her bed, pulling out her wand and gazing at it in fascination and pride. She felt Sapphira nuzzled her head against her side, and Lyrisadora stroked her with one hand, receiving a purr in response.

"Sapphira, I have a wand!" Lyrisadora exclaimed happily; Sapphira stared back at her, with her sapphire eyes, blankly.

"Meow," Sapphira purred in response.

"I know Sapphira! It's great," Lyrisadora exclaimed again.

"Meow… Meow."

"I know, is it not spectacular? I'm going to Hogwarts," Lyrisadora squealed. Sapphira gave a loud purr in response. "I'm sorry Sapphira, I forgot you were coming there to."

"Meow!"

"WHat's wrong with you? If you are going to be like that…"

"Meeooow."

"Shut up! Just because I forgot you were coming to Hogwarts-" Lyrisadora huffed.

"Meow," Sapphira sounded.

"Do you want feeding is that it?" Lyrisadora huffed and crossed her arms.

"Meow."

"Don't look at me like that."

"Meeeooow," purred the cat.

"Just because I have conversations with my cat; does not therefore give reason to believe I am not normal." She sniffed, a pout forming on her face.

"Meow!"

"How. Dare. You-" but Lyrisadora was interrupted, with her argument with her cat, from the soft knock on the door, and her mother's concerned voice.

"Lyrisa, are you alright dear?" asked her mother, from behind the door.

"Oh, um… I am fine, I was… just… playing with… my… cat," Lyrisadora replied awkwardly, after a few moments of hesitation.

There was a pause. "Okay… darling, I… see you're perfectly fine…" Came the unnerved voice of her mother. "I... just came to inform you that dinner is ready," she the retreating sound of light footsteps, indicated her departure.

The cat stared at her blankly. "Just go away," hissed Lyrisadora, before marching towards her bedroom door and leaving.

* * *

><p><strong>Endings kinda weird I know, but Lyrisadora's a weird kind of girl.<strong>

**Review!**


	12. Breaking away

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote**** origin: Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre **

* * *

><p><strong>I would always rather be happy than dignified.<strong>

**Chapter: ****Breaking away**

* * *

><p><em>31st <em>_August __1989_

It was Lyrisadora's last night at home,but instead of resting she stood outside the doors of her father's study;having been summoned by him to participate in a 'little conversation'. Lyrisadora sighed, before lightly knocking on the door. "Enter," came the sharp voice in response; she obliged hesitantly, opening the door and stepping inside.

The room was rather large, aligned with books on shelves, with scrolls hanging and laying, the only source of light a few candles, and a handsome fireplace in the corner. Her father, sat at his desk, writing. Lyrisadora, seeing her father's attention accompanied, softly closed the door behind her and slowly and quietly made her way towards him, as not to disturb him.

Forcing herself to be patient she waited for him to acknowledge her, feeling suddenly very small. It was about a few minutes later that he stopped working and set his quill down on the table, turning his gaze towards her. "Lyrisadora," he greeted curtly.

"Father," she greeted stiffly.

"Now Lyrisadora, you perhaps are wondering why I wanted to talk," he began pleasantly, she shifted slightly at his tone. "The reason is because I have some concerns of the type of environment you'll be in at Hogwarts," he continued, tone still as pleasant as honey, she hated it when he talked to her like this. "…The representation of our family is of the utmost importance, therefore that means it is your responsibility to represent us in the appropriate way, that means that you must act in a manner according to your status, which means you must associate yourself with the _correct_ people. Do you understand?" his tone turning less pleasant and more cold.

Lyrisadora nodded curtly. "Of course father, I-I understand," her voice wavering slightly as she tried to stand still, her facial expression stiff.

"Yet the honest question is, are you knowledgeable in who you are permitted to socialise with?" questioned her father smoothly, as if this was all trivial.

Lyrisadora paused , she hated it when he tested her like this. "I am not permitted to associate with either Muggle-borns, blood-traitors, and if a possible, half-bloods…" she began carefully, Lucius nodded faintly in approval, she continued. "...I am however permitted to associate with true pure-bloods," she recited, making sure she sounded confident.

He smiled in approval, causing her to relax a little."Excellent, it seems your lessons were not wasted," he replied, her feet started to hurt as she forced herself not to shift and move on the spot. "I also expect you to uphold exceptional marks whilst you attend; but of course, if what your tutors have said is true about your progress in lessons, that should not be a problem?" phrasing it like a question.

"Of course not father, I shall try my very best to please you and mother," she answered sincerely.

His lip twitched upwards slightly."I'd expect nothing less," he replied lightly. "Now run along, tomorrow's an important day," he added, picking up his quill once more, motioning to the door, before beginning to write again.

"Goodnight, father," she muttered, not waiting for a reply as she briskly left.

Once in the sanctum of her room, she let out a breath of relief, then collapsed on her comfortable, large bed. She felt Sapphira snuggled into her side affectionately, Lyrisadora softly stroked hershe began to contemplate."Oh Sapphira…" she groaned, speaking to the cat, who in turn purred in response. "I still don't understand, why father gives me so much restrictions?It's imbecilic, what if the ones I am forbidden from associating with, could possible be an actual true friend?" Sapphira stared at her blankly. "And now I'm rambling, you see how he makes me ramble!" T he cat just rubbed itself on her, purring. "Anyway, father says that Muggle-borns are imbecilic morons, that they are vile and that, as well as half-bloods are people of less intelligence to us, yet I must disagree; for I have read many masterpieces of literature, that have been written by muggle-borns, half-bloods, even muggles. Father says that purebloods are far superior in intellect then those of lower blood-status, But Crabbe and Goyle can barely make the brain capacity of one person," she exclaimed; Sapphira looked at her blankly,

Lyrisadora sighed to herself, her father would of course never permit her to associated with those that were 'lower then our social status', no matter how much she would beg. Lyrisadora remembered when she was six years, and her father discovered her reading one of the tales, in the original Tales of Beadle and the Bard book, which she had been given by her nanny. She shivered at the memory.

She sighed, in exasperation, knowing her father would not approve of her associating with friends of other social and blood status. Then suddenly a thought occurred to her, so simple, that she had to berate herself for not thinking of it earlier: her father would not be going to Hogwarts. Therefore would be unable to supervise her affectively, this meant she would be able to have friends of whatever social standing or blood status, as long as she kept it a secret. A few lies, a couple actually, a necessary evil at the most.

* * *

><p><em>1st <em>_September __1989_

Lyrisadora stood at platform 9 ¾ with her family. Sapphira was giving annoyed whines constantly in her tight cage. "Do not worry Sapphira, you will be let out very soon," Lyrisadora comforted warmly, stoking her cat's fur through the bars of the cage. "Father, has demanded you must remain in there, until I get on the train with you." The cat moaned. "Shh, don't worry it'll-" she however was interrupted by her father who was growing irritated with her bizarre banter.

"Lyrisadora, will you do be quiet. Stop talking with that infernal cat," he demanded sharply.

"But, she's scared-" she tried to reason, but stopped abruptly by a warning glare from her father, her mother sighed and shook her head at her daughter, Draco sniggering in amusement.

"Now Lyrisadora, hand your luggage to these people," Lucius instructed sharply. She complied hesitant, wincing at their rough handling as they more or less threw her belongings onto the train. She kept the cage with Sapphira in, by her side.

"Goodbye sweetheart, make sure to write weekly, at the least...and if you want, I can send you care packages, containing some treats," suggested Narcissa sweetly.

"Mother, care packages are for _babies_," moaned Lyrisadora.

Her mother's eyes narrowed slightly."Fine, but do not come moaning to me, yearning for some cake,because the blasted school does not supply good enough ones," Narcissa huffed.

"I think I will be able to manage," Lyrisadora responded dryly, earning herself a huff from her mother. "Anyway, goodbye mother, I promise I'll write," she added, embracing her mother warmly.

She then turned to her father, wondering if she should hug him."Goodbye father," Lyrisadora said uncomfortably.

"Yes, well goodbye, and remember our conversation," he replied coolly.

"Yes father, of course I will," she responded nervously,pausing as she contemplated hugging him, telling herself it was silly for her to be hesitant to hug her own father. She hastily embraced the man, her hands becoming clammy. He rested his hand on her shoulder, causing her to relax a little. "And I'll definitely be in Slytherin, it's where I belong," she added quickly, letting him go as she forced a smile for him.

He seemed amused and smiled a little. "Never truer words spoken."

She forced her smile to stick as she nodded, before turning towards her brother, who appeared to be staring at the station floor intensely."Goodbye Draco."

"It isn't fair," muttered Draco, still gazing at the floor. "I mean, who exactly am I supposed to hang around with, now that you're leaving," Draco added.  
>Lyrisadora sighed.<p>

"Oh Draco, I am sure you will manage, you still have Crabbe and Goyle," she reasoned, trying to cheer him up.

Draco suddenly looked up and stared at her. "Crabbe and Goyle? They can't even read, let alone converse with me, on the same intellectual level...and besides...I'll miss you," he mumbled the last bit. Lyrisadora smiled warmly, pulling Draco into a tight hug.

"I will write," she informed.

"Promise?" he pleaded.

"Would I ever lie to you?" she questioned playfully, hugging him tightly.

"Yes, yes, lovely-now, Lyrisadora the train will be leaving soon," said Lucius curtly, causing them to reluctantly un-embraced. With one last goodbye, Lyrisadora briskly made her way towards the train.

"Well here it goes Sapphira, We're going to Hogwarts," she began to talk to her cat, not paying attention to her surroundings. "And I'm sure I'll be in Slytherin, father was sure and he wouldn't lie about this sort of th-" she was interrupted from her conversation with her cat as she smashed into a boy, falling to the ground.

"Oh sorry… my bad, here let me help," the brown-haired boy apologised profusely,he held out his hand, that Lyrisadora gratefully took, getting back onto her feet.

"Don't worry, I mean, I had a hand in the blame, I should have kept my vigilance to my surroundings, I was simply… stroking my cat," Lyrisadora responded quickly.

The boy stared at her for a few moments before grinning. "You talk fast."

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled.

The boy however smiled warmly. "Nothing wrong with. Come on, let's find a seat," he replied, she looked a little puzzled by his response but nodded and followed the boy.

"I didn't catch your name by the way," she called as they moved down the train corridor a sthe whistle sounded.

"It's Cedric Diggory," he replied brightly, both slipping through the busy corridor, avoding the older students, until reaching an empty compartment and sitting down.

"So what's your name?" he questioned.

"My name is Lyrisadora M-m-Lyrisadora,"She spluttered, before laughing nervously and coughed. "Sorry, somthing caught in my throat. My name's Lyrisadora"

"Lyradora?" he questions, finding the name rather unusual.

Her eyes narrowed. "No, it's Lyrisadora." she corrected, he still looked confused by the pronounciation. "My name's pronunciation is Lie-risa-dora. Lyrisadora. Understood?" she stressed.

"Sorry… it's just a long name to remember! Can I call you something shorter, like… um… Lyra instead?" Cedric suggested.

She waved a dismissive hand._ "_Satisfactory," she drawled, smirking. "Besides, Lyrisadora's too formal."

"Glad we agree. So, what's your cats name?" he asked, in a attempt at making conversation, as he glanced at the cat in the cage, who was staring at him with her sapphire eyes.

"Oh, her name's Sapphira," Lyrisadora informed. "Oh, I forgot to let her out," she said in realization. Hastily opening the cages door and placing the cat on her lap, beginning to stroke her affectionately.

"Sapphira's a nice name,"complimented Cedric.

"I know!It's exquisite," replied Lyrisadora brightly; earning herself a strange stare from Cedric.

The compartment doors slid open."Hey… do you mind if I sit here? All the compartments, are basically full," the new arrival said, he seemed to have a Scottish accent.

Lyrisadora, and Cedric, both nodded. "Thanks…" the new arrival replied, seating himself just opposite them. "Name's Oliver Wood by the way, I'm a Gryffindor," he informed them warmly.

"Did somebody say Gryffindor!" came a enthusiastic voice as the compartment door slid open again, A young boy with flaming red hair appearing.

"Bought time we found one, was beginning to worry," said another, an identical boy popping his head round the corner, grinning.

The rest of the occupants looked at them in alarm.

"Can we sit here?" they asked in unison.

Oliver grinned, seeming to recognise them. "Can't believe there's more of you," said Oliver. "Sure sit."

The twins both grinned. "I'm Fred Weasley…" one of the twins said; Lyrisadora stiffened slightly at the surname name; but then remembered that it didn't matter now who she was seen with, as long as she kept it a secret,everything would be fine. "… This is my far less handsome brother George," he introduced, motioning to his twin.

"I think you mean _far more handsome_ brother George," retorted the one named George. "So we've introduced ourselves, so you all be my guest," added George, still grinning, like his twin brother.

"I'm Oliver," said Oliver politely.

"Cedric," Cedric informed curtly.

"I'm Lyrisadora, however I prefer to be called Lyra," Lyrisadora introduced; both of the twins exchanged rather bemused looks, at her introduction.

"Well Lyra, nice to meet you."

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before Oliver began to explain to them what Hogwarts was actually like from his perspective, him being a second year, everyone listened intently.<p>

About around ten minutes later into their journey, the train gave a hard jerk, causing Sapphira to fall of Lyrisadora's lap, and in turn give an annoyed yet surprise 'meow'. They suddenly were surprised when girl, rather taller then them, with peculiar pink hair, seemed to lose her balance, and fall into their compartment, with a yelp. They stared slightly at her rather strange features, she after all, looked rather odd.

The girl seemed to moan, in slight pain and also annoyance. "Don't worry, I'm okay," the girl groaned, hastily plucking herself of the floor, and began to dust herself off. The girl stood in the middle of the compartment, quite bemused by the others expressions. "Anyway, sorry about barging in, or should I say falling in, I was looking for a place to sit, since miss stuck up best friend thinks-" she stopped rambling once she realised how young they looked, quickly clearing her throat. "Anyway I lost my balance, story of my life in a nutshell," informed the girl.

Lyrisadora was the first to recover, followed by Fred and George closely. "Well… would you like to sit with us?" she questioned.

"Yeah, what she said," added Fred.

The girl smirked. "Better company than before," she chimed, taking a seat next to Oliver. " And I though Hufflepuffs were meant to be nice, should have taken my dad's advice and chosen Gryffindor," she sighed, leaning back in the chair as she crossed her legs and arms. "But anyway that's history, the name's Tonks, by the way," informed the girl.

"Tonks? What kind of name is that?" blurted out Lyrisadora, faltering once she realised how rude that was. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," she apologized feebly.

"Nah, it's fine, I guess Tonks is quite odd, but it is my last name, it's way better then my actual first name," Tonks replied, grumbling the last part.

"If you do not mind me asking, what is your first name?" asked Lyrisadora curiously.

"Fine… it's Nymphadora," grumbled Nymphadora Tonks. Nearly everyone in the compartment gave a bemused glance at each other, except Lyrisadora and Nymphadora.

"Well no wonder, you wanted to change it," Fred exclaimed.

"Yeah, I mean, it has nymph in it," Cedric said incredulously.

"Who'd name a kid that?" exclaimed George.

"I feel sorry for you," informed Oliver sincerely.

Lyrisadora felt the reactions were rather over the top, she felt it wasn't such a bad name. "I don't understand why you don't like it, I find the name to hold culture to it-" however she was interrupted.

"I just don't like the name! So call me Tonks," retorted Tonks sharply.

"Can I call you Dora instead then?" inquired Lyrisadora nervously not really liking to call someone by the name Tonks, she found it a rather stupid name. "I just really do not fancy calling someone _Tonks_, no offence intended."

"Hmm… I think Dora's fine" Tonks informed, after a moments thought.

"Marvellous. Now I am quite curious about your hair," Lyrisadora pointed out.

"You mean, why's my hair pink?"Tonks asked. "Well, it's because I'm a metamorphosis," informed Tonks.

"What's a Metamorphosis?" asked Oliver, which had been the question on the other boys minds, as well.

Lyrisadora tried to recall the definition she had read in a textbook."A Metamorphoses is a type of being, who is able to morph their features into that of their desired shape, colour, and things in that categorical type of thing, the ability normally bypasses many generations, therefore making it quite the rare ability, being only bestowed on only a few wizards or witches. Although the metamorphosis are able to shift their body-parts at will, they are unable to differentiate fully into another species, even though however they can imitate said animals features at will, however they are normally only small changes, for some level of concentration is needed, for the change," explained Lyrisadora, instead of Tonks, who seemed rather impressed at her knowledge, Lyrisadora stared at her for a momnet, wondering what it would be like to actually have the ability to change who you are, burying a piece of jealously.

"Yeah, what she said," confirmed Tonks, and she then changed her hair , to a light brown.

Her companions, spent the rest of the train ride talking about Quidditch, which everyone was how you say, pretty much obsessed about. Lyrisadora was rather interest in Quidditch, having watched it, with her father and brother, at some official seemed to look out the window, as if scanning the passing environment.

"Looks like were nearly there, you lot better hurry up, and change-can't hide my head from that stuck up cow forever," informed Tonks, standing up. "Wish me luck while I go face the world of backstabber's," she added, smirking as she tipped her imaginary hat to them and left.

"I better go meet up with the rest of the second years, be careful of the squid in the lake," Oliver said cheerfully, leaving the compartment before they could question him on this supposed squid in the lake.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora quickly noticed a gigantic man in everyone's opinion, start leading the first year students off, she realised it was the half-giant with the horrible name which her father had said was some savage servant,but contrary to that, but contrary to that, he looked friendly.<p>

The first years were following him away from the station, she followed to along with Cedric, halting when she went to touch the place where the strap of her bag should have been.

"I left my bag in the compartment," informed Lyrisadora to Cedric." Just make sure you tell the giant to hold a boat for me," she added, before abruptly whisking herself back inside the train before Cedric could reply. Lyrisadora soon grabbed her bag, which had been laying on the compartment seat. It only took a second of her getting off the train again to smash into someone,causing a few items fall to the floor; Lyrisadora nearly dropped Sapphira's cage, and her bag.

" Not again," exclaimed the person she had bumped into,Lyrisadora tried to focus as she looked up. It was a girl around her age, similar height , with brown hair, which was slicked back in a ponytail, eyes a matching light brown, that were slightly squinted, she had rather oval shaped face, with pale skin.

"I apologise for bumping into you!" Lyrisadora apologised reverently, helping the girl collect her things from the floor.

"To be fair it's both of our faults," responded the girl, giving a weak smile. "Wait, where are the rest of the first years?" added the girl, in realization, looking around the empty platform.

"Probably at the boats," Lyrisadora replied.

The girl became more feverish. "Then if we don't hurry we'll miss them," she said hurriedly, halling her bag over her shoulder, as the two hastily made their was to the direction of where the other first years had gone, reaching it just before the last boat was about to depart.

Cedric had been anxiously been waiting for them. "Well 'bout time you showed up," he said in exasperation as they all clambered themselves into the boat, the boat began to sail across the surface of the deep water, the bottom obscured by shadowed darkness. Lyrisadora started to become rather unnerved by the constant rocking of the boat.

"Oh, I just remembered I haven't introduced myself, I'm Elizabeth Orion," informed the girl. Elizabeth Orion. Lyrisadora remembered her father mentioning a person called Emericus Orion, who was a high-ranking ministry official and how they had been continuously neutral during the wizarding war, she had heard they were quite a wealthy family."So then, what are your names?"

"I'm Cedric," he introduced.

"And I'm Lyrisadora, But I prefer being called Lyra, since Lyrisadora is rather long," informed Lyrisadora, forcing her voice to be steady,

"Are you okay? You do seem rather pale," asked Elizabeth in concern; truthfully besides from being pale, Lyrisadora was trembling slightly, staring unblinking at the black, very deep lake water, they were travelling across. Then Elizabeth realised what Lyrisadora's problem actually was, easily piecing it together. "We won't capsize Lyra." Trying to comfort her.

Cedric also attempted to comfort Lyrisadora. "And anyway, the chances of this boat sinking, are like ten to one." This seemed unsuccessful, for it quite frankly make Lyrisadora feel rather more sick, what Cedric had said, seemed to confirm that there was still a _chance the _ boat could possibly sink, Lyrisadora whimpered. "Anyway, even though this boat could sink-" however Cedric was interrupted by Elizabeth.

"You're not helping matters," informed Elizabeth sharply, casting him a warning glare, whilst she began to try to calm Lyrisadora down. "Don't worry Lyra, this boat won't sink, Cedric is simply being a moron," she comforted, ignoring Cedric's glare, apprehensive before she gave Lyrisadora a pat on the back. "This is magic remember, I'm sure the headmaster would have thought of a fail safe to prevent the boat from sinking."

"Good point..." Lyrisadora mumbled.

To divert Lyrisadora's attention away from the fear of the boat capsizing, and her drowning, Elizabeth hastily changed the subject. "So, anyone read a good book? I've been reading this," Elizabeth said, reaching into her large bag and pulling out a book.

"I've read that.I found that the antidisestablishmentarianism of the Churches quite interesting , I was rather touched by the l amalgamation that occurred between to two lovers but it seemed a bit impractical," responded Lyrisadora, rather quickly_._

Cedric was looking at her, as if she had just spoken another language, however Elizabeth smiled. "Yes I agree that the uniting was rather suspenseful and also very touching. The book to me was good and I praise the author highly," replied Elizabeth.

Cedric appeared rather dumbfounded at what they both had just said to each other.

* * *

><p>"Hey Lyra, remember us, Fred and his less handsome brother George. How you been?" asked Fred, as she found him stood next to her with George as teh first years were left in an old room of the castle, waiting to be calle dto the great hall. "And who's this?" he asked, indicating to Elizabeth.<p>

"Well first, thank you very much for caring about my well-being," responded Lyrisadora warmly. "Second, this is my new friend, her names Elizabeth-"

"I prefer to be called Liz though," Elizabeth interrupted, staring at the twins in interest.

"I wonder how we get sorted," Cedric wondered aloud.

"I don't know what's it either. What do you think oh brother of mine?" asked Fred.

"I think it's a test, to prove your skills to everyone, then it gets you sorted, or maybe-" George was interrupted.

"-We battle something… like a troll," Fred joked; before Lyrisadora could explain why it couldn't be them fighting against a troll , because it would be heinous and illegal, not getting they weren't being serious, however Elizabeth beat her to it.

"That is stupid, you morons. Forcing children to fight against a troll, is _illegal,_ therefore is not obviously the sorting method," Elizabeth snapped rudely, getting rather irritated by the twins already.

"No need to get your knickers in a twist, Lizzie," George responded, rather amused at the annoyed expression forming on her face, along with his brother.

"Don't. Call. Me. Lizzie," Elizabeth growled warningly.

"Temper, temper," Fred replied in mock reprimand. "We'll give you only that wish, nothing more, okay Liz," he added in a rather condescending manner. Elizabeth simply glared at them in annoyance and dislike. "And we stick to our word… for about and over six hours,"

"Yeah Lizard," agreed George, using a far worse nickname in Lyrisadora's opinion.

"Don't you dare call me Lizard!" growled Elizabeth sharply, clenching her fists.

"You wished us not to call you Lizzie…" began Fred.

"…and we did stick to our promise…" added George.

"…we can't grant you another wish…" informed Fred.

"…that's just _ungrateful_," finished George; Elizabeth's response was a growl.

"Leave her alone already," intervened Lyrisadora; before Elizabeth could throw the nastiest jinx she knew.

"But Lyra…" the twins said in a sing-song voice, earning themselves an exasperated groan from Elizabeth. "…It's funny," The both finished. Before Elizabeth could retort, a woman she hadn't noticed came over. The woman was rather severe-looking, and seemed quite old, wearing an emerald-green cloak, that flowed to the floor, she seemed rather strict and sharp.

She guessed she hadn't noticed her because they had been standing at the back of the group, and she only noticed because the group had parted slightly, she wonder where the giant had gone, but she guessed he had handed them over to her whilst she had been detracted talking with her friends.  
>She heard the voice, low to high in sound, emanate from a large, beautifully-carved, door to her right, however the woman did not lead them into it, which surprised her; the woman instead lead them inside a rather small chamber, and then began to explain how the sorting would proceed, which proved no importance to Lyrisadora, already having been explained it by her mother, so she zone out.<p>

Eventually the woman then led them into the Great Hall, after finishing her explanation on sorting, which did not include how they were sorted, so a few other students were slightly panicked, and/or very nervous. The Great Hall was very large, and beautifully decorative, windows aligned the walled, with four tables of each school house rowed the hall in a line, at the very end of the Hall stood the professors table, where many professor sat, with the headmaster at the head, she also noticed there were floating candles above them, providing most of the light.

She recognised two of the people at the head table easily; she could recognise one to be Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school, a very old man, who her father despised for many reasons, so she guessed he was a rather kind man then. She also recognised Severus Snape, who was known as the Potions Professor at Hogwarts, he was also a good friend of her father, and her Godfather, as well as Draco's; he had sometimes visited the manor, he once or twice showed Lyrisadora how to make potions, on her father's request.

"What was the name of the woman leading us? I missed her introduction," Lyrisadora asked Cedric, who stood next to her.

"You want to know what her name is?" Cedric asked, not really paying attention.

"Yes," she responded, rather annoyed he hadn't gotten it the first time.

"Professor McGonagall, I think," Cedric answered.

_"Many years ago it seemingly seems,_

_The great duty fell on me,_

_To put different sorts of __students where they ought to be._

_Chosen by the founders of four,_

_I help young students find their place, __When, befuddled and unsure , they stumble in,_

_On their first Hogwarts day, of which will be of many._

_Four houses await, __Not one less or more,_

_Each one by each founder,_

_To fill with students they adore._

_Gryffindor, of bravery and chivalry, __with those with the hearts of lions do dwell,_

_Or perhaps befits more Slytherin,_ _where in_ _cunning lays their greatest art, with extraordinary a goal forever in mind._

_Or even so perhaps Ravenclaw, forever the clever ones, with those minds nearly vaster than mine._

_Whilst perhaps lays in dear Hufflepuff, where t__hose who are of kindness and justness in heart stand._

_All these students, all so unique and special in ways,_

_Are each a priceless key to this great school's success._

_And if Hogwarts does hopes to shine and live,_

_Then in unity lays the finest tool._

_Therein house should reach hand to house,_

_To leave our various differences aside._

_Only when you work together,_

_Can your great strengths be combined._

_Now at last, the time has come,_

_For me to send you your separate ways._

_But it is imperative to remember,_

_Our division,_

_Could bring the end of our Hogwarts' days and its magnificent shines,_" sang the old Hat in its rather deep voice. This had caused Lyrisadora's full attention on the ragged Hat, of which before the song she had paid no mind to, and she had to admit it was a good and meaningful song.

T

"When I call your name, you will then put on the hat and be sorted," Professor McGonagall informed, she then pulled out a piece of parchment and began to read it out."Bletchley, Miles" Professor McGonagall called out, and the boy made his way to the hat, and put it on. "SLYTHERIN!" The hat yelled.

Then the next name came."Diggory, Cedric," Professor McGonagall called. Cedric nervously walked to the stool, sitting on it, the Sorting Hat was put on his head.

_"I hope I get into the same House as him?"_ Lyrisadora wondered hopfully.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the Sorting Hat.

"...I take it back,"she muttered, watching as Cedric made his way to the cheering Hufflepuff house. Then it was 'Davies, Roger', who was sorted into the Ravenclaw House.

"Johnson, Angelina," was called out by McGonagall and became the very first Gryffindor.

"Jordon, Lee," A dark skinned boy, made his way to the hat, rather enthusiastically. McGonagall placed the hat on the top of his head, and a few seconds later Lee Jordon's fate was decided.

"GRYFFINDOR!" roared the Hat.

_"Hmm Gryffindor wouldn't be too bad… am I being serious? Father would murder me, and I desire to live past the age of eleven,"_ Lyrisadora mulled to herself in her head, shuddering slightly at her thoughts on the consequences. _"Perhaps Hufflepuff… no, father would think me to be pathetic and he hates the pathetic,"_ she thought sadly. _"Well that leaves either Ravenclaw, or Slytherin-" _she was interrupted from her train of thought.

Professor McGonagall read out the next name on the list. "Malfoy, Lyrisadora," Professor McGonagall announced loudly. Lyrisadora knew that the hat would decide her fate, however the magnitude of its decision, was far beyond her imagination. She stepped forward...

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	13. Breaking away II

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

**Quote**** origin: Dumbledore Chamber of secrets**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>It is our choices, that show us who we truly are, far more than our abilities<strong>  
><strong>

**Chapter: Breaking away II**

* * *

><p>She noticed that a majority of the students cast her wary glances, she looked around warily before looking back at the hat, swallowing a lump in her throat as she made her way up towards the wooden stool. Feeling the light weight land on her head, her knuckles gripping the stool tightly.<p>

"H_mm… _" a gruff voice whispered,this caused her to nearly jump in surprise, the hat just chuckled. "_Hm, you're a little different, a little too humble for a Malfoy...still though... snobbish a bit aren't you?" _he chuckled, causing her to thrown slightly_. "But the question remains: where to put you? I see you are intelligent…yes…very… yet you are fair, though not always...very interesting indeed,_" the hat muttered to itself. Lyrisadora started to become nervous and wished that would hurry up already, unable to ignore the many eyes on her. "_Quite loyal, I see… but a little too cold for Hufflepuff,_" the hat argued with itself, which Lyrisadora found rather strange. "_You hold courage, a bravery to be revered… but so reluctant to confrontation…"_ reasoned the hat_"...very good…Ravenclaw or Slytherin?_" the hat questioned."_Which of the two? What do you think?_"

"Me?" Lyrisadora questioned quietly, looking confused, her eyes flickering to the crowd before focusing on a spot on the floor.

"_Yes you. What house do you think you would do greater in_?" the hat asked.

Lyrisadora thought for a few moments, trying to decide. "Well…if I am sorted into the Ravenclaw house, I shall most probably lose my ability of improvisation, in the exchange for book-smarts..." Lyrisadora whispered, trailing off.

The hat nodded. "_True…so very true...go on,_" the Sorting Hat encouraged.

"If I were to be sorted into Slytherin, then..." she faltered, digging her nails into the old wood. "I would develop crucial skills, which I could utilize to my advantage…and also father would not disown me," Lyrisadora continued, weakly at the last bit.

"_So which would you choose?_" the hat asked.

Lyrisadora thought for a moment, before making her final decision. "Slytherin."

"_Well, better be..._" the hat began, in satisfaction. "SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat bellowed the final word.

Curt claps and cheers erupted from the Slytherin table, whilst a good amount of Ravenclaws clapped politely, the Hufflepuffs seemed rather unsure, however a few clapped kindly, and most of the Gryffindors seemed rather disgusted at another Slytherin. Lyrisadora smiled slightly at the Slytherin table, and made her way towards her House Table, sitting in a large gap, which distanced herself from the other students.

"Orion, Elizabeth!" McGonagall called out. Elizabeth stepped up, she looked rather very nervous; she sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat onto her head. The hat taking some time to decide, Elizabeth's face consorting into frustration.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat bellowed finally. Lyrisadora cheered and clapped with the rest of her house, as Elizabeth briskly made her way towards them, happily seating herself next to Lyrisadora.

"Prucey, Adrian," was called,and the boy became a Slytherin. Lyrisadora groaned quietly to this as the dark haired pale boy made his way to the table, his eyes briefly flickered to hers, she frowned and turned away sharply, causing him to smirk before sitting down.

"Potencrest, Cassondria," was called out by Professor McGonagall. Lyrisadora made a distasteful frown as the tanned honey blonde girl, strode arrogantly to the stool. Her memory of the girl strong, childhood memory's bold, the girl seeming still snobbish, arrogant, snide and melodramatic as always. So it came as no surprise when Cassondria became Slytherin, shooting Lyrisadora a smug look before sitting down further away from her.

Next to was: 'Spinnet, Alicia,' who became the second Gryffindor; then 'Stimpson, Patricia' was sorted, however Lyrisadora had missed what House, because she had zone out slightly in thought, of how Slytherin would really be like. Then it was 'Towler, Kenneth' became another Gryffindor.

"Valens, Cordula," called out Professor McGonagall; and the olive dark skinned girl strode confidently to the front, Lyrisadora remembered her to be the dreaded girl's friend.

"Veregreen, Lucretia," Professor McGonagall called. Lyrisadora groaned at the name, another Cassondria's follower/friend. The pale dark haired girl was unsurprisingly sorted into the Slytherin House, an excited smirk on her lips as she practically ran towards the table..

"SLYTHERIN!" The Hat bellowed after a fairly long time. Then it was 'Warrington' next, who became another Slytherin, and then it finally came to the Weasley twins..

"Weasley, Fred," Professor McGonagall called out. She saw Fred make his way from the crowd of yet to be sorted students, confidence in his stride, as he seated himself onto the stool, and the hat was placed onto his head.

After only a few seconds, it was decided. "Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat cried; she tried to bury a twinge of disappointment.

"Weasley, George," George stepped up. The hat was placed on his head, and a few seconds later he was sorted. "Gryffindor!" Lyrisadora wasn't surprised by this, seeing she had thought about it.

After everyone else was sorted, Professor Dumbledore got to his feet, and spoke, with some rather unique words at the end. "I Welcome you all back to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast, I would like to say a few words. And they are: Twiddle! Blubber! Tweak! Diddle!" Lyrisadora stared at him, with many others, as if he were crazy. Then suddenly an enormous amount of food appeared on the House and Staff Tables, completely almost covering them. Lyrisadora felt her stomach grumble hungrily, and she began to eat enthusiastically.

After the main meal, and then the deserts; Headmaster Dumbledore once again got to his feet, she wondered if he would say anything even more insane then before, the Great Hall became quiet. "Ahem, now that we have finished, I have a few start-of-term notices to inform you: First year students should note that the forest is out-of-bounds to all students, and the older student should also remember; also Quidditch trails..." Lyrisadora noticed many people grin "...will occur, any person interested in participating for their House team, should talk to Madam Hooch; our caretaker Filch has requested I must remind you that magic is not allowed to be used outside classed, in the corridors," announced Dumbledore. Then he proceeded to try and make everyone sing the Hogwarts School song, which the Slytherin's seemed mostly not to participate in.

Eventually Lyrisadora and the rest of the first years were being led by the prefects towards their new House. They soon found themselves in the Dungeons, which were rather cold, and seemed slightly damp, eventually stopping outside a wall, the rest of teh first years looking confused as the looked around the corridor for an alternative entrance.

"_Caste Melior_," announced the Prefect who had been leading them. Then a stone door concealed in the stone, sliding open to reveal a dim-lit, large room inside it.

"_Purely better_? Rather snobbish," Lyrisadora whispered to Elizabeth, as they walked into the Common room with the others.

"What?" asked Elizabeth in puzzlement.

"The password, it is Latin for _Purely better_; a bit full of themselves aren't they?" elaborated Lyrisadora.

"Oh, yes quite snobbish," responded Elizabeth dismissively, before perking up a bit as a thought occurred to her. "You know Latin? I don't, although I speak a few other languages," she continued, tagging along at the back of the group. "I'm fluent in French, Bulgarian, Spanish, and Italian. Mother insisted on Italian, probably because of her grandmother's routes."

"I am fluent in French, Bulgarian, Latin and Romanian... but not Spanish or Italian; my tutors' and my father's doing, I don't think he likes the Spanish, don't know why," responded Lyrisadora, srugging the last bit off.. "My little brother Draco is also learning them," she added.

They nearly tripped as the group came to a suddne halt, the prefect clearing her throat to speak. "Now there are a number of dorms, each holding five beds,though we had some extra students last year, so the dorms will be odd this year, a good, each dorm door has your name, as well as your room-mates name on it," he explained, the group looked at him blankly, causing him to sight. "Well go find your dorm," informed the Prefect irritably. There wa ssome hesitation before the group hesitated, Lyrisadora and Elizabeth both swerved their way through the halls, both hopeful they would both be sharing a dorm. They eventually found a door at the end of the corridor, with the names: _Lyrisadora Malfoy, Elizabeth Orion and Lucretia Veregreen. _Lyrisadora grimaced at the last name.

"Urrrr! I can't believe I have to share with _you_," said the sulky voice of Lucretia.

"The feeling, I'm afraid, is mutual," said Lyrisadora coldly. Lucretia just sneered and pushed past them to get into the room. Elizabeth stared eerily after her.

"Is she _always_ like this?" questioned Elizabeth.

"What you se eis what you get," muttered Lyrisadora, walking into the room. Lucretia instantly slumped onto her bed and turned over.

Lyrisadora fell onto her new bed, relaxing, with a smile on her face. Elizabeth smiled in return and sat at the end of Lyrisadora's bed. "Aren't you going to unpack?" asked Elizabeth, however Lyrisadora shook her head. "Come on Lyra, don't be so lazy. Besides parents tend to get annoyed when their kids don't write telling them what house they're in, my father's parents sent him a howler because his letter was two weeks late," reasoned Elizabeth.

Lyrisadora, sighed and sat up. "That sounds like something father would do...alright then," Lyrisadora replied groggily, she got off her bed and rummaged in her trunk for a parchment and quill, once she had found them she squabbled a quick letter.

_Dear mother, father and Draco_

_I have been sorted into Slytherin. I am settling in nicely._

_Yours sincerely_

_Lyrisadora_

* * *

><p><em>1989 September 2nd<em>

Lyrisadora cracked open an eyeball, as the sun rays through the lake waters into her window, which had been enchanted to stop the water pressure from breaking through it. Lyrisadora yawned loudly, stretching her arms, she pushed herself up, her eyes locked on her friend. She felt rather refreshed, jumping out of bed and then skidded toward Elizabeth's.

"Liz," Lyrisadora whispered, loudly, into Elizabeth's ear, Elizabeth moaned loudly, as she stirred in her bed. Lyrisadora rolled her eyes, and smirked, then quickly stripped the bed cover off Elizabeth, who moaned in annoyance, kicking Lyrisadora in the stomach. Lyrisadora moaned as she winded, rubbing her stomach as she tried to regain composer. "Ow," she exclaimed sarcastically, glancing at Elizabeth's sleeping form before sighing. "Alright fine, be late," she said lightly, Elizabeth hummed in agreement, smiling in contentment, before Lyrisadora through a heap of pillows on her face, the feathers going up her nose. She sneezed and groaned, opening her eyes and glaring at her.

"I am not a morning person, in case you haven't noticed," snapped Elizabeth sharply, to this Lyrisadora simply grinned in amusement.

"Well you therefore should better start now," Lyrisadora retorted with a smirk, she looked over to where Lucretia was fast a sleep, throwing a pillow at her face, causing her to yelp.

"Hey!" she snapped angrily.

"Rise and shine Lucretia," said Lyrisadora sweetly, Lucretia growled.

"Merlin, what's wrong with you two!" she growled collapsing back into her pillow.

Once they were ready, they both walked down to the Great hall, while Lucretia went to go complain to Cassondria, as the three entered the Great Hall, met by the noise and bustle of their fellow pupils eating their breakfast. Lyrisadora smiled warmly at Cedric, who sat at his House table, Cedric returned a weak yet warm smile. Elizabeth and Lyrisadora sat down at the end of their house table,away from Cassondria, on Lyrisadora's request.

he noise mounted as the owls started to file in, swooping down and dropping a rain of letters onto the tables. A letter dropped in Lyrisadora's porridge, she stopped and looked taken aback before groaning and removing the letter from the porridge, using a napkin to wipe it clean.

_Dear Lyrisa_

_I and your father are very pleased that you are in Slytherin. We are comforted in the fact you are settling in, your father of course expects you to commence studying immediately, but do not concern yourself too much. I hope you're making friends and do remember to write to Draco, he's been rather a upset and solitary since you left. All of us love you and miss you._

_Your sincerely_

_mother_

She reread her mother's handwriting before smiling, the smile twitching a sit struggled to stay in place.

* * *

><p>"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," Professor Snap began, the whole class as still as rocks as he spoke menacingly. "As there is very little wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you to understand the beauty of simmering cauldrons, with it's shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death, if you aren't a big bunch of dunderheads I usually have to teach." After Professor Snape had finished his rather poetic speech on potions, the door flung open once more, to reveal a rather out of breath Cedric. Snape glared coldly at Cedric.<p>

"S-sorry I'm late sir, I….um got a bit lost," Cedric stammered

Snape continuously glared at Cedric, who cowered. "Name," demanded Professor Snape coldly, a voice sharp as a blade. Lyrisadora twisted her mouth in distaste.

"Uh…Cedric D-Diggory, sir," Cedric spluttered in response.

"Well then _congratulations_ Mr Diggory, you just lost your house 20 points, in the first _five_ minutes of your first lesson. Now sit down at once," Snape snapped, there were some groans from the Hufflepuffs and sniggers from the Slytherins. Cedric was about to sit next to his fellow Hufflepuffs, but was prevented from doing so. "Not there Mr Diggory, over here," Professor Snape informed, pointed to the seat next to Lyrisadora and Elizabeth. Cedric grimaced and sat nervously down on the empty seat next to Lyrisadora Lyrisadora, and then Snape smiled nastily at his obvious disappointment and began. Professor Snape instructed them each to make a simple cure for boils potion.

As the class started, Cedric's situation just seemed to get worse as his potion turned a mouldy yellow, his face melting into despair. Lyrisadora looke dup from her potion and looked at him in pity, before looking up to see Proffessor Snap inspect their potions. "Good work Miss Orion. Keep it up," he praised Elizabeth on her good work, before he turned his attention to Lyrisadora and her potion. "Excellent Miss Malfoy," Professor Snape praised, she struggled to hide a smile, succeeding one she saw him move over to Cedric, eyeing the boy's potion in distain. "Tut, tut, honestly boy, did you even pay a glance at the instructions?" he questioned condescendingly, Cedric's cheeks burned. "This better be fixed by the time I return," Snape threatened, giving the boy a disdainful glance before moving on to the next student.

Cedric looked at the potion worriedly, Lyrisadora looked at him and gave an exasperated sighed. "Oh come on" Lyrisadora groaned to Cedric, as she went to stand next to him. "Hmm... it appears that you have been exorbitant on nettles…I may be able to fix it, if you let me."

Cedric looked at her for a moment, a little confused, he glanced at Snape who was berating a Hufflepuff student on her lack of potion knowledge, making her actually start to cry, and decided. "Be my guest," Cedric replied, stepping aside to allow Lyrisadora to be able to rectify his potion, Elizabeth stared at the two, a little befuddled. Lyrisadora quickly yet carefully added some extra herbs and a drop of crushed snake venom, then she quickly returned to her place after finishing. She then noticed Professor Snape had begun stride towards them, he then examined Cedric's potion for a few moments. "Acceptable, but barely," Snape informed coldly, then turned sharply towards Lyrisadora. "Although that was rather _valiant_ of you Miss Malfoy, I suggest you allow your classmates to fail, on their own in future," said Professor Snape Coldly, Lyrisadora smiled nervously at him before quickly looking down and stirred her potion. Snape sighed, giving Cedric an annoyed look before leaving them be.

Cedric watched him go in relief, before turning back to her. "Thanks Lyra!" Cedric exclaimed gratefully, Lyrisadora merely smiled warmly.

"Well, it's what friends do...We are friends, right?" Lyrisadora questioned, she had noticed Cedric had been rather distant after the sorting,having a rough idea why.

Cedric looked taken slightly a back, but replied warmly. "Course we are, it's just you know..."

"No, I don't know," responded Lyrisadora, refusing to look at him.

"You're a Malfoy, and Malfoy's don't… really _like_ half-bloods," answered Cedric nervously.

"Oh...yes...well I don't really care that much about you being a half-blood," Lyrisadora reassured warmly. "I like you for you."

Cedric smirked at her,before he turned his attention towards Elizabeth. "And you?" he questioned.

"Oh well…I do not really know, I mean, don't get me wrong, my parents are not really that prejudice, they just merely believe purebloods are more pre-eminent. But they are not extremist," Elizabeth exclaimed nervously, then sighed and continued. "But, I think you're an...good person, and…I…would be delighted to be friends with you. Only we can only be friends, without our parents knowledge." Cedric frowned a little, he stared at Lyrisadora and Elizabeth's pleading faces, and sighed.

"It's just because adults, especially our parents, are stubborn," Lyrisadora argued.

"Well...okay, I suppose I understand. Friends?" he asked.

Elizabeth and Lyrisadora exchanged amused looks. "Well of course we are friends," answered Lyrisadora.

Elizabeth nodded firmly. "You bet."

Snape did a laud irritated cough, to signal them to get back to work, which they complied, with grins on their faces.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora stared blankly at the rather ugly plant in front of her, she was in Herbology, which in honest opinion, to put it lightly, she detested. The dirty, smelly environment made her, she didn't like plants, she never would.<p>

"...Alright then, you may begin," Professor Sprout announced, which in turn brought Lyrisadora out of her little daze.

"What?" Lyrisadora questioned, as looked around the classroom frantically, she then turned her attention to Elizabeth. "Um, what are we exactly supposed to do, Liz?" Lyrisadora asked cautiously,

Elizabeth groaned at her friend's lack of attention. "We are meant to deactivate the plant's spikes. Be careful though, I don't like the look of them," Elizabeth answered.

Lyrisadora stared at her plant for a moment, reviewing the situation, then bit her lower lip, in confusion. "Oh….. and how do I exactly do I do that," Lyrisadora questioned a rather frustrated Elizabeth.

"I don't know, just try… pushing the spikes in," Elizabeth replied sharply, before returning her work, not fully aware on what to do herself.

"Cedric would know," Lyrisadora murmured to herself; but their Herbology was with the Gryffindors, a combination that looked to be causing friction as a few Slytherin's and Gryffindors pushed each other as they worked. Lyrisadora decided to ask some else, so she turned to George, who was standing right next to her, he hadn't even said or looked at her during the whole lesson, Lyrisadora had a feeling why.

_"Psst_," Lyrisadora whispered to George,didn't respond, or even acknowledge her at all; so she nudged him a little.

"What?" George snapped, Lyrisadora looked slightly taken a back from his tone, but quickly recovered.

"How do we exactly deactivate this plant?" Lyrisadora questioned, earning a annoyed soft groan from George.

"Well, right I'm not sure… but I think you just need to push in the largest top spike on the left," George whispered back. Lyrisadora looked rather puzzled, but complied anyway, she discovered the spike on the left side and whilst praying to Merlin it would be the correct action, she pushed in the spike nervously. Just a few seconds later, sure enough, half of the spikes disappeared. Lyrisadora smiled in relief, and turned her attention back to George.

"Thanks George," Lyrisadora whispered gratefully.

George glanced at her, his lip twitching as he saw her smile at him. "It's fine Lyra."

Elizabeth who had been observing the two's interaction closely, turned to her plant nervously, hoping she had learned how to do this correctly and used her metal rod to poke a random spike. The following sound was a loud splat noise, echoing throughout the green house. Everyone turned to the cause of disruption, whilst Cassondria smiled sickly at what she saw, George grinned in amusement, whilst Lyrisadora stared in horror. Elizabeth's whole face was covered in sickly green, slime.

"Oh dear!" exclaimed Professor Sprout, as she stared at Elizabeth in pity.

Elizabeth spat some slime out of her mouth ,much to everyone's disgust, onto the work-desk and choked "I hate plants!"

* * *

><p><strong>updated-1411/13**

**Review...**


	14. Breaking away III

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

**Quote**** origin-Lewis Carroll, Alice in wonderland **

* * *

><p><strong>"Where should I go?" -Alice. "That depends on where you want to end up." - The Cheshire Cat." <strong>

**Chapter: Breaking away III**

* * *

><p><em><em>2nd October <em>__1989_

Lyrisadora awoke when a pillow was thrown at her face, wriggling awake as she shoved the pillow away. "Happy Birthday Blondie," chimed Lucretia sweetly, recieving a pillow back in retaliation from Elizabeth.

"Ever the charmer Lucretia," Elizabeth commented lightly, before sitting down on Lyrisadora's bed. "Happy birthday," she added brightly.

"Thanks," yawned Lyrisadora as she propped herself up on her elbows. "So, in hindsight of me being another year older:do I look any different?" she questioned amusingly.

Elizabeth gathered Sapphira in her arms and stood up from the bed. "You're ability to ask poignant questions has dulled," she answered simply before leaving Sapphira on her bed to go get dressed.

Lucretia smirked as Lyrisadora narrowed her eyes. "It was simple enough," Lyrisadora retorted.

"Which pretty much sums it all up," Lucretia countered slyly.

Lyrisadora grumbled something incomprehensible before dragging herself out of bed to get ready.

* * *

><p>"Hey guys," Cedric greeted warmly, while Elizabeth and Lyrisadora sat down, Once of the first year hufflepuffs choking on her porridge once she saw them sit down at the table.<p>

"Why do you call us 'guys'? We're female?" responded Lyrisadora in confusion, earning herself a groan from Cedric.

"A simple hello would have been nice," muttered Cedric.

Elizabeth shook her head, an amused smile on her face." It's a muggle saying," Elizabeth tried to explain to her.

"Oh..still doesn't make sense," Lyrisadora mused to herself.

"Yes, I know, but that's pretty much muggles in a nutshell," responded Elizabeth in amusement, whilst Cedric just simply rolled his eyes at them. "Anyway, enough of that, it's time you opened our presents," she added excitedly, clearing some room on the table, earning some indignant protests from the hufflepuff students. She ignored them and plopped a green and silver wrapped parcel on the table."Open mine first," suggested Elizabeth cheerfully,

"Like she has a choice," stated Cedric dryly.

Lyrisadora smirked in amusement as she unwrapped the gift, grinning once she saw what it was;a grey smallish, soft-plush toy blue eyed cat. "Thank you," she exclaimed, squeezing the toy cat playfully. "I figuired you'd get the hint."

"The fact you like cats is not a hint Lyra," Elizabeth replied amusingly.

"Mine next," said Cedric eagerly, as he handed a yellow striped wrapped present to Lyrisadora hastily unwrapped it. She stopped when she saw what it was. "You really didn't have to get me this," she replied, looking at the silver charm bracelet, of which only had one charm on it, which was a small silver, smiley-face. "It's a lot of effort."

"Don't you like it?" he questioned curiously.

"I do, I just didn't expect you to care so much-but I love it, it's amazing," she quickly answered.

"I can't believe you out ranked me on presents Cedric, that isn't okay," Elizabeth protested.

Cedric shrugged and smirked at her. "You snooze you lose Liz."

Lyrisadora looked confused by the phrase, but kept silent, a shadow came up from behind her as an amused voice interrupted the two bickering. "You should have sticked to the no more than one Galleon rule."

All three turned their attention towards the noise, revealed to be Nymphadora Tonks, the girl flashed them a grin before squeezing herself in a seat opposite them , a purple envelope in her hand.

"Hi," Tonks greeted, looking at Lyrisadora.

She looked a little surprised, but quickly forced a smile. "Hello, is there anything you wanted?" asked Lyrisadora.

"Well, you know we're cousins, right?" questioned Tonks. Lyrisadora nodded, she had been aware for some time now.

"Well….we are family and all... so you know,happy birthday," Tonks replied, smiling nervously, as she thrust the card further in to their view. Lyrisadora smiled and gladly took the card from Tonks; opening it eagerly.

_To Lyra_

_Happy Birthday little Malfoy._

_Love from_

_Tonks_

"Thank you Dora, " Lyrisadora replied brightly

"No problem at all," responded Tonks casually, waving a dismissive hand as she smirked.

"Hey Lyra, we got something for you!" sang a familiar voice, or two voices for that matter. They all turned, to discoverFred and George running towards them, carrying one present each, both wrapped in vibrant purple and gold wrapping paper, tied with a thick, gold bow.

"What do you want Weasleys_,go away,_" Elizabeth snapped sharply, it seemed their first impression had left a burn.

The twins grinned at Elizabeth comment, which further annoyed her, glaring at them in disdain. "Oh dear Lizard..." Fred began, earning himself a growl from Elizabeth "...so greedy, we've done ya enough favours, we ain't calling you Lizzie anymore, that's what you wanted; we won't do anymore," ended Fred, grinning rather foolishly, whilst Elizabeth growled louder in response, her fists clenched.

"Please, don't start," drawled Lyrisadora, disrupting Elizabeth's retort. The twins both simply shrugged and then seated themselves next to Lyrisadora, nudging Elizabeth and Cedric aside, which they were not happy about, to make room.

"Open mine, it's far the _best,_" urged Fred smugly, as he handed Lyrisadora the gift, of which she hastily unwrapped. Inside was a rather small, brown-backed book.

"_New Age Slang: By Maggie Bakes,_" Lyrisadora read the books cover aloud. "Oh, thank you Fred," said Lyrisadora, unsure why she would need such a book.

"Yeah, thought it was about time you learned a new vocabulary_,_" Fred said cheerfully and smirked as Lyrisadora looked at him questionably.

"Now open mine," George urged suddenly, handing her his gift, which was slightly smaller then Fred's had been. Lyrisadora smiled warmly and proceeded to unwrap the present. Once the wrapping paper had been shredded off, there was a weirdly shaped pointed necklace, with the inscription 'weird sisters' on it.

"Thank you George, however..." Lyrisadora paused and stared at the necklace wording for a moment in confusion before turning to George."Who are these 'Weird Sisters' this necklace advertises?" Lyrisadora questioned George curiously.

The twins stared at each other in complete surprised shock, Cedric looked very surprised at her, Tonks stared at Lyrisadora like she had just admitted being a Death-Eater, whilst Elizabeth just rolled her eyes at their antics. "You don't know who the Weird Sisters are!" Fred exclaimed in utter awe.

"They're like the m-most popular band in the whole wizard world," spluttered Tonks in disbelief.

"Yeah, I mean come on, ya must have heard of them, they're like the greatest rock and roll band ever," exclaimed George.

"They are not the 'greatest' band ever! They're rubbish, Rock and Roll is for those who like to participate in drugs, foolish dancing and unintelligent conversation," Elizabeth retorted in a haughty manner , earning herself some angry glares from Nymphadora,the twins and some fellow Hufflepuffs who had overheard, the conversation.

"Don't listen to her! They're amazing," Fred protested.

"Are they really?" asked Lyrisadora curiously..

"Yes!" hollered the twins in response, whilst they ignored the odd stares of their fellow students, that hadn't heard the conversation.

"Yeah, they're the best," concurred Tonks.

"They're not even close to superlative Lyra, saying the _Weird Sisters are superlative_ is a true oxymoron, they're simply a idiotic group of boys, that cannot sing, nor have any adequate songs to sing. Don't listen to the others, all they're saying is hogwash," implored Elizabeth, earning herself more glares and indignant splutters and yells, but she took no notice.

"They're great! What in Merlin is going through your head!" hollered Fred in anger.

"You have no taste in music!" Tonks retorted.

"They're the greatest!-" George however was interrupted by Lyrisadora.

"I'm sorry for causing you all to argue. It's just,well, I have never heard the 'Rock and Roll' ever," informed Lyrisadora feebly, trying to put a halt to any further argument.

"You mean you've never ever heard any rock music?" questioned Fred in disbelief; Lyrisadora shook her head in response.

"Never?" asked George skeptically

"It simply isn't how our parents raised us...well mainly the traditional ones," Elizabeth said.

"And my family is as traditional as they get," Lyrisadora added. "So needless to say, I have never ever heard, or listened to the rock music. The only music I am allowed to listen to is classical music, for it is befitting for someone of my status, as father said. Father says uncultured music will contaminate my mind," Lyrisadora explained dully looking down. She felt so out of tune with the outside world while at Hogwarts.

The twins looked at each other for a few mere moment, before beginning to grin mischievously. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, oh dear brother of mine?" asked Fred slyly.

"Oh dear brother of mine, I believe I am," George responded, with the sly tone as his brother. Lyrisadora stared at the both of them for a few moment in confusion. But before Lyrisadora could ask what on earth they were talking, Fred and George linked arms with her abruptly and lifted her to her feet, she gave a surprised yelp.

"Hey! Get off me,"" Lyrisadora demanded indignantly, trying to break free from their grasp, they ignored her and proceeded to drag her towards the Great Hall exit. "What are you doing? Stop manhandling me, let me go this instant. Where are we going?" demanded Lyrisadora, very irritated and confused. The twins just simply proceeded to drag Lyrisadora towards the exit.

"Weasley! Let go of Lyra now," demanded Elizabeth, Lyrisadora noticed Elizabeth was trying to get over to her, to help her escape the twins grasp, however Tonks continuously kept bocking her way. "Tonks, Move!" yelled Elizabeth angrily, trying to slip her way past the sixth year.

But the girl's protests were cut off when the Great Hall doors twins continuously dragged her through and then up the the grand staircase. "I didn't even get to finish my breakfast!" she moaned,however the twins just seemed to ignore her. Lyrisadora gave an exasperated sigh and began to calm herself, realizing demanding them to let her go would not work. "Well if you will not unhand me, at least tell me the reason why you are doing this, what are you going to do to me exactly?" Lyrisadora questioned curiously.

The twins simply grinned in amusement. "Why to contaminate you, dear Lyra, with the sound of the brilliant lyrics of the Weird sisters," Fred informed, laughing 'evilly' with George.

"You've been in the nest for far too long, my dear," George added cheerfully.a

"You'll thank us later," informed Fred, as he and George proceeded to drag the rather confused Lyrisadora, further towards the Gryffindor Common room.

* * *

><p><em>23rd <em>December <em>__1989_

Lyrisadora followed the rest of her family into the grand dining room. This was her first night back from Hogwarts and herself and her family where settling down for their evening dinner. They all took their designated seats silently as the House Elves began to lay out the food before them.

"Now Lyrisa, is everything alright at school, are you settling in?" asked Narcissa, opposite to Lyrisadora on her father's left, whilst she began to stir her pumpkin soup with her spoon. "I do hope everything is going well. You're letters tend to be vague."

"Yes mother,everything is wonderful, I have met a lot of rather… intriguing people, and I'm learning a lot of new things," responded Lyrisadora curtly, to which her mother smiled warmly in response. Draco sat down next to Lyrisadora as he eyed the scene curiously.

"The _right _type of people, I assume?" her father questioned lightly, sitting at the head of the table, as he examined the food laid out for any imperfection.

Lyrisadora looked at him. "Yes, of course father," she said, he looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly and for one terrifying second, she thought he had seen through her lie, however he simply shrugged it off and turned his gaze away from her. She quickly focused on her starter course laid out in front of her. Draco sunk lower in his seat as the tension rose.

"Marvellous, remember the reason why you must keep to the right people, we wouldn't want the family name to be brought down now would we?" reminded Lucius calmly.

"No, of course not," she muttered, refusing to look at him as she stirred her soup with her spoon.

The spoon clinked around the bowl as the silence started to become unbearable."How are you doing in your lessons, dear?" Narcissa asked quickly.

Lyrisadora turned her attention back towards her mother. "I think I am doing well, I know that Professor Snape is pleased of my work, and it's all really challenging since the workloads quite heavy..." she said hastily, clenching her spoon a little tighter when she felt her father's gaze rest on her. "But I enjoy the challenge, and all the professors are pleased with my work." She faltered slightly. "...However Professor Sprout has commented that I need guidance in Herbology," added Lyrisadora carefully, quite frankly yearning for some praise.

"That is very good, excellent work," Narcissa praised sincerely, earning a pointed look from her husband. "Herbology...Oh well, don't worry, Herbology was never my strong point ether," reassured Narcissa warmly. Lyrisadora smiled. However her father did not seem as pleased.

He brielfy arched an eyebrow at his wife who frowned at him, the couple communicating silently."That does not mean Narcissa, she should fail," her father pointed out evenly, Lyrisadora winced. "Herbology is still a rather valuable subject to learn, therefore I expect her to improve," he announced lightly. "Is this understood?" he inquired coldly , focusing his eyes on her.

Lyrisadora wondered if her father had achieved a decent mark in Herbology? She quickly buried the bitter though...he only wanted her to achieve her best, she reminded herself."Yes father, I shall try harder next time," replied Lyrisadora softly, whilst staring intensely at her soup.

There was a pause, before it was broken by Draco, as his stmach rumbled hungrily. "May we eat now?" he moaned loudly.

Lucius sighed in annoyance, before nodding his head in consent, and then taking the first bite of food from his plate, and therefore the meal began.

* * *

><p><em>5th <em>_January __1989_

It was starting to get dark, as the Weasley twins quickly scampered towards the Slytherin Common room, carrying a small bottle of green liquid with them, it concealed in Fred's hands,keeping to the shadows of the hallways. They held mischievous grins on their faces, as they whispered to each other.

"C'mere George, I think it's that way," whispered Fred, as they made their way down the hallway.

"Are you sure about this Fred? I mean, I know how funny she is when she's angry, but don't you think we're going a _little_ too far," George questioned, with a uncertain expression on his face.

Fred stopped abruptly and sighed at his brothers lack feeling the fun of what they would soon do. "Oh, it's only a bit of fun and come on, you know you just _love_ it when she gets all melodramatic," implored Fred with a goofy grin.

George seemed to think it over for a small moment of time. "Suppose you're right," George responded finally. And with that the twins carried on their way towards the Slytherin dungeons. They stopped just as the supposed Slytherin entrance came into their view, then hid behind a rather Gaulish-looking statue by the entrance, he showed the green-liquid filled bottle to George, before then handing it to him, who grinned once receiving it.

"When do you think she'll come out?" asked George, as they continuously stared at the entrance, as they waited behind the statue. They soon found their patience running rather thin. "Do you think that slimy git lied to us, about the entrance?" George whispered, feeling doubtful, seeing they had been basically staring at a blank, stone wall for about ten minutes.

"I think he wasn't," Fred replied simply.

"Well haven't seen single Slytherin," argued George quietly. Before Fred could reply, they noticed at that moment that the wall had begun to break away, they crossed their fingers in hope of it being their target, their victim emerged from the hole, which then rebuilt itself. Their victim soon neared their hiding place.

"Now on my cue," whispered Fred. "Three..." he began to count.

Elizabeth Orion continued to walked down the hallway towards the twins hiding spot, totally oblivious on the plot that was about to unfold in a few mere seconds.

"Two..." whispered Fred, as George un-capped the little bottle.

"One!" shouted Fred loudly, they both leapt forward towards Elizabeth, before she could even react to them in time, George had already flung the green liquid from the bottle into Elizabeth's brown auburn hair.

"What in Merlin!" yelled Elizabeth in shock and confusion, as she felt the green liquid soak into her hair. The twins hollered in laughter as Elizabeth soon began to realize the full extent of the liquids affects. Elizabeth gasped in horror as she stared at a strand of her hair, which before her eyes had turned from brown to bright, vibrant green. "What have you filthy, little blood-traitors done to me!" Elizabeth screamed in absolute rage, her voice soaked with venomous content , her knuckles turning white as she clenched them hard.

The twins laughter stifled sightly, as Fred began to reply between laughs. "Well... isn't it... obvious... dear... Lizard,"

"You see, we decided to give you a little _makeover_," George interjected, whilst trying to control his laughter, succeeding partly, however he burst out into another laughing fit after speaking.

"We personally think it's a improvement. It how you say represents... your _house pride,_" joked Fred, with a grin.

Elizabeth however seemed to, not get the hilarity of this prank by the twins. Her pale skin turned a sort of blotchy red colouring, glaring at the amused twins with utter venomous loathing. "You're _dead_, Weasleys!" Elizabeth snarled, as she bound towards the twins, similar to a wild-bull rampaging towards its target .

For a brief moment the twins exchanged slight looks of fear, before then simply both exchanging grins and promptly running for their lives, continuously laughing. After chasing the twins for over a hour, Elizabeth was eventually found by Cedric, on Fred's back trying to strangle him, which she would have succeeded in, if Cedric hadn't intervened, and pulled her off him.

Luckily for Elizabeth the potion wasn't permanent and would easily wash out, in an estimated forty-eight hours, the time period was rather too long in Elizabeth's disdain. Weasley twins however grinned in amusement, praising themselves about and bragging about their prank constantly. These events and its repercussions sadly only increased Elizabeth's utter hatred of the Weasley twins far more.

The next day at breakfast, Elizabeth was stabbing her toast angrily, Lyrisadora didn't comment,perhaps it was wrong that she thought their prank funny, but in hindsight, she couldn't deny that Twins had an adventurous appeal them, who was she to deny such company

* * *

><p><strong>Review.<strong>


	15. The mask that hides our doubts

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Always a Malfoy<strong>

**Chapter: The mask that hides our doubts**

* * *

><p><em>24th December 1990<em>

Lucius Malfoy briskly walked down the halls of Malfoy Manor, a small rectangular emerald green box in his left hand. He had been busy all morning dealing with his mother; the woman's annoyance had only intensified over the years. Narcissa was helping organize the ball for tomorrow, while Draco had wondered off to get ready for dinner. Everyone was expected at dinner in 47 minutes. Lucius was already ready, so he had one thing left to do before he'd be expected down at dinner. He continued to wonder down the hall until he reached his destination. He stood outside the door belonging to his eldest child; Lyrisadora Malfoy. Lucius silently opened the door.

He saw Lyrisadora stood in front of a large mirror,wearing her evening gown, pinning up her hair. Lyrisadora hadn't noticed him. He wondered if he should make himself known. He stood there awkwardly for a minutes unsure what to do. Just then, he saw Lyrisadora's cat yawn loudly and turn over. Lucius' eyes narrowed at the cat in great dislike. Oh how he hated that cat. The filthy little street urchin. Why Lyrisadora had chose to save that cat from the streets, was a rune to Lucius. Who cared if the little beast died from starvation, who cared if it became ill and died, Lucius sure didn't. All that cat ever did was eat,sleep and annoy him. Plus he couldn't stand it, when Lyrisadora would actually talk to the thing. It unhinged him greatly.

But he was stuck with it, why? Because, if he so more than, suggested or threatened that the cat be stuffed in a bag and thrown into the lake, Lyrisadora would have a fit and hold onto the beast for dear life, and Narcissa would tell him to not be so cruel. He was thankful his mother detested cats, he would have hated to grow up with one, he had managed to persuade Narcissa not to get a cat when they had just got married, as she wanted one for a wedding present. However it seemed the fates had decided he was destined to live his peaceful days, with a filthy beast reluctantly by his side.

He sighed loudly after he finished his train of thought. Lyrisadora heard him and jumped slightly, dropping her clips, as she swerved around to face the intruder. She sighed in relief upon recognition of her father's face. She smiled at him and picked up her clips off the floor.

"Hello father," she greeted warmly. Lucius nodded and stepped into her room, closing the door behind him.

"Hello Lyrisadora," he said. Lyrisadora gave him a small smile before turning back to the mirror, and continued pinning up her hair. Lucius watched her for a moment.

"Is there anything you wanted,father?" questioned Lyrisadora as she glanced at him expectantly.

"Oh, yes," said Lucius remembering. "I just came, to give you something," elaborated Lucius, he brought the box into clear view.

"But father, Christmas is tomorrow," said Lyrisadora in befuddlement.

"I know. This was meant to be given on your 13th birthday-however, since you were at school, I didn't manage to send it off on time-so this is a late birthday gift," explained Lucius.

"Oh, I see-thank you," said Lyrisadora, she carefully took the box from her father and opened it. Lucius watched for her reaction."Father, It's beautiful," said Lyrisadora softly, she held up the gift; it was a heavy white gold heart shaped locket, with the emblem letter 'M' on it.

"I'm glad you like it ," said Lucius sincerely. "I had it made when you were four, I had planned to give it to you earlier; but your mother said it would be better if I gave it to you when you turned 13, apparently it was more symbolic, or something," exclaimed Lucius dully. Lyrisadora smiled gratefully up at him.

"Thank you father," said Lyrisadora warmly, she placed the empty box on her vanity next to her. "I shall wear it always," stated Lyrisadora. Lucius smiled slightly at this.

"Well, it's just a little reminder of who you are-after all, even when you're married,to a pure-blood, you'll always be a Malfoy," stated Lucius proudly. He saw Lyrisadora's smile waver slightly, as she stroked the 'M' of the locket.

"Yes of course," said Lyrisadora slightly nervously. She turned to the mirror and tried to put the locket on.

"Allow me," said Lucius, Lyrisadora smiled slightly and allowed him to fasten the locket. "There, you look beautiful," he said stiffly, then coughed awkwardly. He wasn't very good at expressing his emotions, he hoped that the compliment didn't sound too forced. Lyrisadora smiled at him warmly. Before looking back at the mirror.

Lyrisadora fingered the locket, as she looked deep in thought. Lucius decided maybe it was best he leave, when he turned away from her, his eyes locked onto something square red striped black, on her bed, which her cat was sleeping on. Lucius went over and slipped the object from under the cat, the cat moaned as it was awakened from its sleep and jumped off the bed, Lucius eyed the object curiously. The object appeared to be a tattered record case,with an eccentric background and a bold wild heading on the front.

"_The weird sisters: Never give up," _read Lucius aloud, he glanced over at Lyrisadora, who looked very alert. Lyrisadora stood frozen in front of the mirror, he saw her reflection's eyes fill with fear as her facial expression showed immense worry. Lucius knew instantly something was up. It was obvious Lyrisadora did not want him to find this particular object, as he noticed her instant fear. "And who are these 'Weird sisters' Lyrisadora?" drawled Lucius, while he examined the back of the record case. Lyrisadora turned around to face him.

"A band," she said nervously, she wriggled her hands nervously. Lucius knew there was something she wasn't telling him.

"What _type_ of band?" questioned Lucius sharply.

"A music band," replied Lyrisadora as she laughed nervously. Lucius was not amused. He walked closure to her, so they were but an arms length away.

"What _type_ of music?" questioned Lucius coldly. Lyrisadora looked down.

"Rock music," said Lyrisadora feebly. Lucius pursed his lips; he loathed 'rock music'. He stared at his daughter with disapproval.

"What have I told you about listening to uncultured music?" questioned Lucius coldly. Lyrisadora looked up at him and sighed sadly.

"That it will contaminate my mind, with savagery and preposterous ways," recited Lyrisadora dully.

"Exactly-you should not be listening to_ this_," sneered Lucius, as he gesture violently to the record. Lyrisadora flinched slightly.

"I'm sorry father-I-I was just curious," said Lyrisadora weakly.

"That's no excuse, you should know better," lectured Lucius. He couldn't believe what that school had done to her, she was still only halfway through her second year, and already she was listening to rock music. Before she started that school, she had no idea that the word 'rock music' even existed; Lucius made sure to keep her away from such urban filthy books. Now look what had happened, Lucius knew he should have just sent her to 'Dama instituto de etiqueta', even if it was in spain, at least she wouldn't be contaminated by the filthy savagery that roamed Hogwarts.

Then another thought occurred to him."Where did you get this from?" he questioned suspiciously. Lyrisadora stiffened."Surely the other Slytherins wouldn't have given it to you," thought Lucius aloud as he swirled the record absently. He glanced at Lyrisadora, who looked very stiff. Lucius stared at her suspiciously, a horrible thought occurred to Lucius. _"She wouldn't,"_ thought Lucius, upon pondering on this thought,after all, the night before Lyrisadora's departure to Hogwarts, he had been _Very _clear, of who he wanted her to and not to befriend. It was obvious she hadn't bought the record, as it was too warn to be new and she couldn't go to Hogsmead yet, and he definitely would have seen her buy it.

"Well, I'm waiting," said Lucius coldly. Lyrisadora grimaced.

"Someone allowed me to borrow it, just for Christmas," Lyrisadora replied quietly, she stared at him nervously.

"And who was this person?" pressed Lucius.

"No one important, just a classmate," answered Lyrisadora. Lucius wasn't convinced.

"Really? Well they must think you to be important,if they allow you to borrow their things," pushed Lucius coldly. He was not going to drop it until she was truthful.

"They were only being nice, when I first heard it I was..." Lyrisadora trailed off.

"What? Don't tell me you actually liked it," snapped Lucius coldly. Lyrisadora quickly shook her head.

"I was just-just, I was just curious," repeated Lyrisadora desperately. Lucius looked at her face, it was full of fear, Lucius jaw stiffened slightly, maybe she was just curious, she was a teenager after all, these slight signs of rebellion were expected. However, he couldn't just let these things go unpunished, she had to learn that acting this way was unacceptable.

"Perhaps you should spend the summer at your grandmother's," thought Lucius out loud; his mother had further pressed on about Lyrisadora staying with her, maybe he should just give in and send her there. Lyrisadora went a deathly pale. She shook her head violently.

"Oh please no, father, father please don't leave me with her," pleaded Lyrisadora desperately.

"Ah yes, well, that all depends ,dearest, on how you behave in the future," said Lucius coldly. Lyrisadora looked at him worriedly. "Now, I know these curiosities may tempt you,Lyrisadora-one can only imagine such temptation, while attending such a filthy school-however, you must resist these blood traitorous urges, you're a_ Malfoy_ and _Malfoys_ don't listen to 'rock-music', do you understand?"questioned Lucius sternly, Lyrisadora shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, she looked up at him, for second Lucius saw a glimer of doubt in her eyes.

"Yes father," she answered softly. She turned away from him. Lucius glanced at the clock; dinner would be ready in 23 minutes.

"Good, I am glad we had this conversation-I'm confiscating this, so you won't be tempted anymore," said Lucius as he held the record and made to leave. Lyrisadora looked like she was about to protest, but Lucius glared icily at her and she quickly looked down. Lucius opened the door to leave. However he unfortunately crushed the cat's tail, it hissed angrily and dug its claws deep into Lucius' leg. Lucius swore loudly, as he tried to kick the beast off. Lyrisadora gasped as she tried to pulled Sapphira off him. Lucius squeezed his leg in slight pain. He heard Lyrisadora giggle, he gave her a icy death glare, which caused her to try and cover her giggle with a cough and turn away. Lucius jaw tightened, but he said nothing and exited the room.

Lucius walked down the hall, angrily muttering under his breath. That girl was becoming too rebellious for his liking. He made a mental note to burn the filthy object as soon as possible. There was no way, he was going to allow his daughter to be contaminated by the filth. The girl was a Slytherin, she was a Malfoy, she was going to beat the Mudbloods in all her exams, she was going to marry a rich pure-blood and she was _going_ to behave. He had not sheltered and raised her for thirteen years, to have all his work shattered by some unworthy filth from that so called school.

Lucius continued to grumble under his breath as he stormed into his bedroom and through the record onto the bed. He sighed deeply. He glanced around and found Narcissa staring at him at her vanity,with arched eyebrows.

"Is everything alright, dear?" inquired Narcissa carefully.

"No everything is not alright, our daughter is becoming rebellious," snapped Lucius. He sat on the bed. Narcissa sighed and got up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What's wrong?" said Narcissa soothingly.

"Our daughter; she's becoming rebellious," repeated Lucius irritably.

"Why, what has she done?" questioned Narcissa.

"I found _this_ in her room," replied Lucius, holding up the record. "She has been listening to _rock music_," sneered Lucius.

"Oh Lucius," sighed Narcissa.

"This is serious Narcissa, she's being contaminated at that school," snapped Lucius.

"Lucius, it's not _that_ awful-bad yes,but not that awful-she's probably just curious, she's at that age were she wants to explore new things," reasoned Narcissa warmly, as she massaged Lucius' shoulders. "It's not like she's dating a _Weasley_, or even worse a Mudblood," joked Narcissa.

"Don't even joke about that," snapped Lucius coldly; the mere thought disgusted him.

"What I'm trying to say is, that she's growing up and she's bound to be tempted to listen to music that's forbade," reassured Narcissa. Lucius sighed.

"I suppose you're right, maybe I overreacted _slightly_," said Lucius. Narcissa kissed him tenderly on the neck.

"Exactly," she said.

"I still don't like this though, It means she's forgetting her duty presentation to this family, she's becoming _doubtful,_" said Lucius coldly.

"It _means_,she's growing up," argued Narcissa, hugging him tightly. Lucius grumbled. Though he knew Narcissa was right, even though he would never admit it. "Come now, it's time for dinner," announced Narcissa as she un-embraced Lucius and sprayed some perfume quickly on, before hanging onto his arm pulling him up. Lucius left with Narcissa, still lost in his train of thought. His little girl was growing up and he_ loathed_ the truth of it all.

* * *

><p><strong>It's Lucius Pov I know, but I wanted to put this chapter in and oh well.<strong>

**I've uplouded like 14 chapters in 4hours, I consider that a achievement.**

**Reviewwwwww**


	16. New Year, New Problems

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>New year, new surprises <strong>

**Chapter: New Year, New Problems**

* * *

><p><em>1st<em>_ September __1991_

Lyrisadora stood next to her father on the Platform, her arms folded in impatience. She continued to stare impatiently at her mothers rather overbearing antics toward her brother Draco, she was continuously hugging him, her hug tightening as if he was never going to return. Draco was heading off for his first Year at Hogwarts, whilst Lyrisadora was heading off into her third year. Still, after a long time of doing this, her mother still continued to hug Draco lovingly, wanting him not to leave her. Lyrisadora could not help but have to suppress the feeling of jealousy.

Anyway besides a quite a few hormonal, and if not a few physical changes, Lyrisadora had quite frankly stayed fairly much the same as she had always been, perhaps slightly more mature-looking. She wore the same style of clothing, which consisted of normally as a plaid, pleated skirts, with perhaps some sweaters, or blouses with maybe t-shirts over long shirts, which she accessorised with a series of matching headbands, of course.

Meanwhile, whilst Lyrisadora had been reviewing the changes that had occurred over the last two years and few months. Draco's face had begun to variant between the colour of a deep red to a blotchy purple, from of lack of oxygen, yet their mother did not seem to take notice of her son's predicament, however Lucius and Lyrisadora did notice. Lucius rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance at his wife's overemotional and undignified antics, to which was attracting rather bemused stares from others on the platform.

"Oh Narcissa, cease your smothering of the poor boy. You will be reunited with the children in less than a mere few months, I advise you to dignify yourself this very instant, for people are _staring,_" snapped Lucius impatiently, a tone sharp as a blade, obviously annoyed, and rather embarrassed.

Reluctantly, after a few seconds, Narcissa untangled herself from Draco, much to the his relievement, who soon felt the air return into his lungs and his colourful face faded back to the regular pale tone. "It is essential you write to me everyday in the least, understood dearest? Oh, I shall miss you tremendously darling. But do not be so worried, I shall send you care-packages constantly," Narcissa informed in a rather excessive manner, sorrowful of her youngest child leaving her; her eyes begging Draco not to leave. Lyrisadora, found this goodbye between her mother and brother rather frustrating, but was also amused by it.

Then Lyrisadora heard Draco breath a long sigh of annoyance, his cheeks tinted a light pink-colouring from embarrassment, whilst his face contorted in a frustrated frown, of which Narcissa misinterpreted as quite frankly 'his sadness of leaving her' frown, Draco's frustration, embarrassment and annoyance was the fact of himself being babied so much by his mother. However he replied in the same polite tone toward his mother. "Yes mother, I promise," he responded, forcing the irritation out of his tone. Narcissa nodded.

"Lyrisadora, take care of your brother," she reminded.

"Yes mother," replied Lyrisadora dully.

"And remember to study- and to _behave_, I still can't understand how you possibly received that detention last year," said Lucius sharply, Lyrisadora smiled nervously, it wasn't her fault she got a detention, Fred and George had gotten her mixed up in a prank of there's involving Filch, earning herself a detention when they all got caught.

"Yes father," she said dully. The train whistled as students began to board.

"Come on Draco, the Express will depart in a few moments," Lyrisadora informed curtly.

Narcissa lips had begun quiver, and for a moment Lyrisadora was wondering in dread if she was actually going to cry, however instead she merely sighed sorrowfully. Lyrisadora had of course noticed that her mother was acting as if this was the final farewell to her son, and that she would never see him again.

Lyrisadora and Draco soon found themselves saying their last goodbyes to their parents. "Goodbye mother, father.I promise to write, I hope I hear from you soon," said Lyrisadora, she noticed the slight suppression of a grimace when Draco had heard the last part about hearing from them soon, the reason for this was mainly the thought of probably his mother's letters, and how they would probably baby him, and annoy him greatly. Narcissa choked back a sob as he lip quivered, causing Lucius to groan in frustration at his wife. Lyrisadora grabbed Draco by the arm, and commenced promptly to drag him down the platform, towards the Express, whilst Lucius held Narcissa back from following them.

Finally the two siblings managed to board the train, which was full of numerous students steaming through, either shoving or squeezing or both, through the rather narrow hallway. They both began to manoeuvre their way through the busy crowd. Draco then slipped himself from his sister's grasp, then proceeded to make his way down the narrow corridor,"Excuse me! Where, may I inquire, are you going?" inquired Lyrisadora sharply, as she caught up with Draco, grasping him by the arm, to prevent him from wondering off any further.

"Well is it not obvious? The Slytherin compartments," responded Draco curtly, seemingly disbelieved at his sister question. "Father told me the exact location of them, and even if I haven't been sorted into Slytherin yet,I'm a _Malfoy_ , so I'm practically Slytherin from the start," elaborated Draco.

"Oh, I well….um... I do not think you should," Lyrisadora implored, rather quite nervously.

"Why shouldn't I?" asked Draco inquisitive manner, rather confused as why his sister would not want to join her fellow Slytherins.

Lyrisadora then paused, she could not exactly just tell Draco that the majority of the Slytherin's disliked, if not hated her, because of her association with those of a lower blood-status, for a response, although honest, would be have rather negative consequences, presumable. On the subject of the Slytherin's views on her, even though the they disliked her, she had managed to gain some respect from them. So in conclusion, they still were rather cold toward her, yet it retained civil attributes

"Well... to inform you of the justification for the reason of my reasons for distancing of my fellow Slytherins... and that answer I am going to answer, which is... um... that I... I therefore will inform you that my reason are as follows... that I... " began Lyrisadora very nervously, milking out the answer severely, trying to think of what to say, Draco also seemed annoyed at talking, clutching his head as though it had begun to ache. However Lyrisadora luckily did not have to finish her sentence, as the two sibling where abruptly joined by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, two heavily built, quite bulky boys ,and if not a bit thick, Lyrisadora had occasionally seen, visiting the manor time to time.

"Oh, hey Crabbe, Goyle," greeted Draco in barely an acknowledgement. The two large boys nodded and both of them let out a loud gruff in response. Then Draco returned his attention back towards Lyrisadora. "So, why can't we go to the Slytherin compartment?" he questioned.

"Because Draco, I desire my _own_ compartment, for the simplistic reason of that I find the House Compartment to be far too crowded, and noisy," responded Lyrisadora curtly. Draco gave a slight groan of impatience,but for once kept back is retort, they began to make their way down the narrow corridor, which had emptied considerable since they had first entered the surveyed the area around her whilst walking, for an empty compartment.

After a while she managed to spot one, a few rows down, she smiled in satisfaction. "Draco, by my searching, I have achieved the discovery of an unoccupied compartment," informed Lyrisadora.

"You're saying it as if you deserve a medal," muttered Draco, slightly irritated. Lyrisadora's smile drooped as she sneered at him, ignoring is comment.

She strode towards the vacant compartment, beckoning Draco to follow they had all entered the compartment, Lyrisadora set her bag down at the foot of the seat, Sapphira happily scampered out of the bag, and onto Lyrisadora's comfortable lap.

The other three occupants of the compartment sat opposite to her. There was a rather awkward silence that had dispersed upon them, for a mere few moments, before the silence was swiftly murdered by a new arrival. "Oh there you are Drakey!" squealed the high-pitched voice of a certain overbearing pug-face. Lyrisadora prayed to Merlin for it not to belong to a certain pug faced, spoiled, obnoxious pure-blooded girl, by the dreaded name Pansy Parkinson. Draco cast his head in half-turn towards the girl and drawled in confirmation. "Oh, hey Pansy."

_"Why? Why must it be HER? __ Pansy Parkinson! " _Lyrisadora moaned in her head.

Pansy squealed sickly at the fact Draco had spoken, and said her name, Pansy sat next to Lyrisadora (much to Lyrisadora's detest), giggling to herself slightly and blushing deeply ,as if Draco had just said an embarrassing flirt... quite a weird one. _"Perhaps I should have tried for the Slytherins, I would rather them then Pansy."_thought Lyrisadora in bitter regret and grimness... perhaps she was overreacting slightly, however she really did not fancy spending the whole train ride listening to Pansy's constant yapping, scatterbrained gossip, how 'handsomely captivating and charming' her younger brother was (much to Lyrisadora's disgust) and how 'revolting' and 'unintelligent' Muggle-borns were.

About ten minutes of listening to Pansy's constant antics, Lyrisadora felt the need to simply knock the girl unconscious to shut her up, and then just throw her off the train, just to get the migraine for which was Pansy Parkinson away from them, Draco was getting rather frustrated and even Crabbe and Goyle seemed slightly irritated at the constant girlish babble. "Oh Lyra! I've been searching nearly everywhere for you," exclaimed Elizabeth suddenly, as she walked through the compartment door, closing it behind her.

Elizabeth had grown during the summer quite a lot. Her hair had rather a bit longer then before grown, which she now wore down, in a side parting, past her shoulders. She was wearing a black sweater vest, with a white blouse and a green pleated skirt.

Lyrisadora smiled warmly at Elizabeth, who returned it. "Sorry Liz. It is just I could not find you, also I had to chaperone dear Draco, as mother obligated me to do so," apologised Lyrisadora, as she gestured towards Draco.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh well, I suppose it's fine," Elizabeth responded with a shrug, before walking further into the compartment and arrived at the seat Pansy sat. "Well Parkinson, aren't you going to move ?" said Elizabeth, her tone laced with a demanding one, as she shuffled Pansy along, so she could sit next to Lyrisadora. Pansy 'huffed', rather upset about being told what to do, but reluctantly complied anyway.

"So Lyra, how was your summer?" asked Elizabeth curiously, and Draco groaned, as Lyrisadora opened her mouth and began to speak.

"Well firstly, the Summer holidays was rather upsetting, as I had recognised the fact that I would be away from Hogwarts and my numerous classes..." Elizabeth rolled her eyes at Lyrisadora along with Draco, whilst Pansy was puzzled as to why anyone would enjoy School. "...And the Summer remained quite uninteresting, until that flower orchard we visited, which was more interesting, had far more magnitude and variety then I expected, much to my delight, it was beauteous, I found myself favoring the Gladiolus, Lisianthus, Wisteria, Calendulas and Begonias, I believe they are called, so colourful and radiant, so concinnous-" however Lyrisadora was interrupted from her babbling.

"Why do you use such long words?" questioned Pansy annoyingly.

"Are you trying to imply I am sesquipedalian?" responded Lyrisadora in question.

"See! You're doing it again! All these long sentences are unnecessary!" Pansy responded in an even more high-pitched tone.

"So you are saying I am sesquipedalian and circumlocutory?" questioned Lyrisadora sharply. Pansy however did not respond, just giving an annoyed and exasperated huff, having already given up. "Anyway before I was so _crudely_ interrupted for an unimportant reason, I'll elaborate on my Summer Holidays,so hmm, I did read quite a few good books..." and Lyrisadora proceeded to converse, for the remainder of the train ride with Elizabeth, sort of forgetting about the other occupants; who had been amerced in talk of the famous Harry Potter being on the train; though Lyrisadora heard none of this, as she was busy telling Elizabeth a very detailed retelling of the summers events, and then after, Elizabeth telling what her summer was like, and then they eventually they moved onto numerous other subjects.

"... I loved how the riddled orchestrated on actual work of Shakespeare to convert into actual numbers, that was the answer, and the exceptionable detail was superlative, yet it held a dark undertone,setting the mood for the book,I found it fascinating that in the end the answer was the beautiful Calendula flower, for it was heart-wrenchingly ironic that the very flower to end the nightmare, was the very thing that reminded him of his wife's death in the valley of the very same flowers, and the fact the flower differentiated between red, symbolising blood, anger, horror and fighting, black as a symbolic representation of mourning and death, as well as a suggestion of sinister play, white as a symbol of goodness yet a slight symbol of emptiness and green as a representation of greed, and it all connected to..." however Lyrisadora trailed off, as she had made glanced outside and realised they were nearly there.

She turned to Draco, who was exchanging numerous insults about Harry Potter between Crabbe and Goyle, Draco kept questioning 'how could that moron Potter want to hang about with dirty riff-raff instead of them' and how 'he defended a bloody _Weasley_ against me' and 'how dare that brat, does he even know who I am'. Lyrisadora could pieced together that they must have sneaked out to find Harry Potter when they were distracted."Oh, Draco you best get changed, we shall be arriving soon," informed Lyrisadora. Draco nodded. And Lyrisadora, Elizabeth and a reluctant Pansy left to leave the boys to change into their School Robes.

Soon the train began to slow itself, once it had stopped Elizabeth and Lyrisadora exited the train and proceeded to find Cedric, who would probably be mingling with his fellow Hufflepuffs. They found him waiting by the carriages, however instead of with Hufflepuffs, he was with a a Ravenclaw girl of Asian decent; Lyrisadora believed the girl to be named Cho Chang, who was a student a year below herself.

"Hello Cedric," greeted Elizabeth warmly, causing Cedric to realise their presence and turn around to face them. Cedric had changed quite a bit over the Summer, he had grown more taller then before, his face had become more matured, sharper and handsomer, his hair had become more unkempt and longer but retained a strange neatness to it, but besides that he had pretty much had remained the same as he was before.

"Oh hey guys," greeted Cedric warmly.

Cho scanned both Lyrisadora and Elizabeth, and her smile dimmed when she easily noticed that they were both Slytherin students.

Lyrisadora and Cho both eyed each other for a moment ."Oh yeah, forgot to introduce you guys. Cho, this is Lyra..." said Cedric gesturing towards said girl. "... And this is Liz..." gesturing to Liz "...They're my friends... and guys, this is Cho Chang," he finished his clarification.

There was a awkward silence that thickened the air before Cho smiled slightly in a rather curt manner. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you to," greeted Elizabeth.

Lyrisadora stayed silent, examining Cho with her brown eyes for a moment, before then deciding to reply. "What a pleasure to forge an acquaintanceship with you, I assure you that a friend of Cedric, is a friend of mine," she greeted enthusiastically.

Cho stared blankly at Lyrisadora for a moment, rather confused as to why her speech was needlessly long. "Uh right... well I think my friends are calling…..so see you around Cedric," replied Cho, as she rather hastily made her way back to her fellow Ravenclaws.

"Wonder what _her_ problem is? " questioned Elizabeth, as she frowned and folded her arms in haughtiness, Lyrisadora just simply shrugged in response. Cedric then promptly boarded the carriage, with Elizabeth and finally Lyrisadora who had finished her smothering and whispering to, her cat.

Just before the carriage pulled away they heard the sound of a cough, and turned around to notice Fred and George Weasley clambering onto the carriage with grins. Elizabeth groaned bitterly, whilst Cedric frowned and Lyrisadora smiled warmly. The Weasley twins seated themselves next to Lyrisadora, George shuffling Cedric aside ,much to his annoyance. "Good Evening George, and Fred. It is good to see you both after such a substantial period of time," Lyrisadora greeted warmly, to which George grinned widely, whilst Fred grinned at his brother's expression, Cedric huffed in annoyance, and Elizabeth simply rolled her eyes.

"Hello Lyra," replied George.

"Nice to see ya Lyra and your _wonderful_ vocabulary," replied Fred. "Well ain't anyone else gonna say hello?" asked Fred, he got grumbles in response from Cedric and even more of a reluctant 'hello' from Elizabeth. "Wow... did anything die?" exclaimed Fred in amusement.

"'My will not to kill you did," murmured Elizabeth venomously.

* * *

><p><em>10th September 1991<em>

"He _asked_ you out?" questioned Elizabeth to Lyrisadora. The two friends were turning the corner towards the Slytherin entrance.

"Yes Liz, Cedric; as I repeated before. Asked me to be his girlfriend, which I accepted. I see no reason for you to be angry, I and Cedric as you know are best friends, and both share a mental and physical attraction to each other," Lyrisadora answered curtly.

"I know that, it's just….oh you know," argued Elizabeth weakly.

"Know I do not understand, what you are talking about?" questioned Lyrisadora.

"He's a half-blood. I mean what will your mother and father say," said Elizabeth.

Lyrisadora came to an abrupt halt, just outside the Slytherin entrance. She had not really thought about how she was going to keep this from her family. After all what if herself and Cedric got serious. What if he wanted her to marry him! Lyrisadora questioned worriedly in her mind. She bit her lip.

"They haven't found out about my secret friendships, so how will they find out about this?" Lyrisadora argued weakly.

"Oh well I don't know, hmmm. Oh wait what about little wannabe pure-blood poster boy. Who happens to go to school here. And, oh wait and isn't he you know, your brother!" Elizabeth said sarcastically.

"Oh Draco won't tell. I am his sister, he would never betray me," Lyrisadora said confidently.  
>Elizabeth snorted.<p>

"Pah! Yeah right," said Elizabeth smugly.

"Oh, well! I shall make Draco then, to promise, not to inform mother and father, of my secret," Lyrisadora said stubbornly. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at Lyrisadora, her friend could be so naïve sometimes. They stopped outside of the entrance.

"_Pure-blood,_" said Elizabeth. The walls opened, and the two friend stepped into the common room.

" I shall converse with Draco on the subject, as soon as I see hi, and I will not delay the topic in anyway possible, as soon I see him I shall confront him," Lyrisadora said, as they stepped into the lounge.

"Well here I am," said a familiar smug voice from behind them. It was Draco, leaning against the wall, by the entrance, with a very bemused expression on his face.

Lyrisadora froze, she opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again and bit her lip nervously. Elizabeth smirked and said "I'll just leave you two _alone_, so you can have your little chat."  
>Elizabeth then strode towards her dorm, leaving Lyrisadora and Draco alone. Lyrisadora glared after her before facing Draco.<p>

"Oh, hi," she said feebly.

"Okay, I'll get straight to the point, what's the deal with you and that Hufflepuff, you said you were friends with him, but he's a _Hufflepuff_. What's going on?" he questioned. Lyrisadora sighed, she knew this day would one day come.

"Draco," she began, walking towards him. "I...Draco, I..." she trailed off, having no idea where to begin.

"What?" he questioned, his tone softening.

"I'm different," Lyrisadora burst out, Draco was confused.

"What do ya mean?" he questioned slowly.

"It's hard to explain,let's sit," she suggested, sitting on the green sofa, Draco complied. "I have different views to you, Hogwarts, it's opened my eyes, I don't care about blood or status, I'm friends with the Weasley twins, Gryffindor half-blood Oliver Wood! I was friends with a disowned relative who recently left, oh Draco I'm dating a half-blood Hufflepuff!" she cried, unable to contain it anymore. Draco was shell shocked.

"What? What!" he said indignently, standing up. "W-why? You-How-Father-what!" he spluttered.

"Draco please," she pleaded weakly.

"How could you be so stupid! What's wrong with you?" he questioned, Lyrisadora felt a pang of rage.

"Nothing's wrong with me, I just think different, that's all," she snapped.

"But your a Slytherin! You're a-a-a Bloo-" he began, but stopped when Lyrisadora pulled out her wand sharply.

"I'm _not_ a Blood Traitor," said Lyrisadora coldly. "I _love_ my family, I just think differently, that's all, I would _never_ leave or betray _our_ family," she said strongly. Draco gulped as she gradually lowered her wand, he started to calm. "I'm sorry," she whispered, sitting back down, her head bowed. "I can't help the way I think," she said softly, Draco sighed and sat back down.

"Sorry, for overreacting," he mumbled.

"It's fine," she said quietly, there was a pause. "Please promise not to tell father, my friends make me happy, Draco," she said, her voice strained as she looked at him, her eyes pleading. Draco looked away and thought for a moment.

"This thing with Diggory, it's just a fling right?" he implored carefully, Lyrisadora sighed.

"I don't know, it's not serious, I'm only 13," she answered. Draco nodded.

"Well, can't say I agree on the _Weasleys_, but family stick together..." he trailed of. Lyrisadora looked at him hopefully. He sighed in frustration. "Family stick together...Oh okay! I won't tell," he groaned. Lyrisadora's face lit up as she beamed.

"Oh thank you Draco!" she squealed as she hugged him tightly. "Oh you are the best brother in the entire world," she said enthusiastically, squeezing him tighter.

"Lyra-can't -breath," he choked as his face stated to tinge purple.

"Hm? Oh! Sorry," she apologized sheepishly, releasing him.

"Whatever," he muttered dully. "I'm going to bed," he mumbled as he got up to leave.

"Okay, thanks, oh you are the best," she praised as Draco disappeared towards the boy dorms. Lyrisadora grinned, for the first time everything seemed right in the world, this year was definitely going to be fun.

* * *

><p><em>25th November 1991<em>

Lyrisadora sat by the lake reading Romeo and Juliet , that she bought from the muggle book store in Hogsmead.  
>"Hello beautiful," said the familiar voice of Cedric. Lyrisadora smiled up at Cedric and closed her book.<p>

"Hello Cedric, what a immaculate occasion to see you again," replied Lyrisadora happily.

Cedric sat next to her.

"So what ya reading?" he questioned , noticing the book in her hand.

"Romeo and Juliet it was written by a muggle by the name of William Shakespeare, it is one of my favourite tales. I find the story romantic, exhilarating, however I did feel a tad blue upon reading the ending, as I found it quite cheerless. Do you to enjoy to read these type of books?" said Lyrisadora happily.

"Yeah, but I kinda like the famous five, I think it's pretty cool," replied Cedric.

Lyrisadora nodded in agreement. There was a awkward silence.

The two teens stared each other for a moment.

"Nice weather," muttered Cedric.

"Yes, a bit chilly though," stated Lyrisadora, hugging her scarf closure to her.

"Yeah it is," he said, he shuffled closure. "You seem cold, you look pale."

"We Malfoys often look pale," she stated nervously.

"It suits you, especially when you blush," he said, causing Lyrisadora to blush.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"Your lips seem cold," he muttered.

"What?" questioned Lyrisadora sharply in awe.

"Oh, I mean-there red, well rosy, they look cold," he spluttered quickly.

"Oh...thank you, I think," she said awkwardly. There was a tense silence, Cedric furrowed her brow as he seemed to be struggling to find the right words.

"Lyrisadora," he said strongly, looking at her dead in the eye.

"Yes?" she inquired, looking slightly affronted. Cedric hesitated before moving closure to stared into his brown eyes, he had nice eyes.

He leant in further, Lyrisadora could feel his breathing. She closed her eyes as he moved closure. His face a mere few inches away from her.

Cedric closed his eyes and placed a warm tender kiss on Lyrisadora's lips.  
>Lyrisadora's stomach did summersaults, she felt a rush suddenly fill her.<p>

Cedric and her lips parted, Lyrisadora's eyes where still closed.

"Huh…wow," said Lyrisadora breathlessly.

"Yeah," said Cedric in the same tone.

They both faced the lake.

"Our first kiss," said Lyrisadora.

"Yeah," repeated Cedric."Was…did it feel good?" he questioned.

"Oh um yes, I found it quite pleasurable, you are rather good," Lyrisadora replied quickly.

Cedric smiled slightly. "Thanks. You where amazing," he said simply.

Lyrisadora blushed and said, "as where you also, in my opinion."

There was a long pause.

"So…we'd better be getting back," stated Cedric.

Lyrisadora paused and then said, "correct….we should, as you said, be heading back, however…." Lyrisadora turned to Cedric, placing her hand on his.

"We could stay a little while longer, if that is acceptable to you also?" Lyrisadora reasoned, staring into Cedric's eyes.

Cedric smiled and moved in for another kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>Never before seen chapter! Romance a bit sloppy, I know. There kiss is awkward, but I didn't want it to be like the Twilight kiss (Edward and Bella), so I did it awkward, nearly every first kiss is awkward.<strong>

**Review let me know what you think.**


	17. Malfoy Family Christmas

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>When parents expect too much, they are easily disappointed<strong>

**Chapter: Malfoy Family Christmas**

* * *

><p><em>25th December 1991<em>

Lyrisadora sighed as she glanced at her clock, it had just turned 6:30am, she had half an hour to get ready for breakfast.  
>She groaned . It was Christmas day, a time of love and peace on earth, it was a time for family.<p>

Well or at least pretend it was a time for family and not a compulsive tradition.

It was the same every year; go have a family breakfast at seven, wait two hours until you're allowed to open presents, spend an hour unwrapping and fake happiness for said presents, spend all day alone, then at 7pm to get ready for the annual Malfoy dinner Christmas ball; which is basically four hours of non-stop painful smiling and associating with disdainful people. Then when that's all over go to bed and wait another twelve months to redo the whole thing.

Lyrisadora groaned loudly, just once she wishing things would be different, feeling that would take a very large dose of optimism to believe. She stretch out before getting up and beginning to get dressed,hesitating before deciding to wear a red turtle neck, as it was festive, before she headed to breakfast.

She walked in to find her family already sat down eating silently; her father at the head of the table, her mother on his right , Draco next to mother, grandfather Abraxas on her father's left, grandmother Brasilia next to grandfather Abraxes, and the remaining relatives taking up the eight remaining seats; sh ecouldn't help but notice Clara had gaine d abit more weight this year.

Lyrisadora strained a smile, forcing herself to get through this. She took the vacant seat next to Draco, as soon as she sat down her grandmother's hawk eyes locked onto her eyeing her up and down, like a lion. "What on _earth_ are you wearing?" Grandmother questioned.

"It's called a turtle neck jumper, grandmother," replied Lyrisadora, keeping her tone even, removing a condescending tone.

"I know_ that_-why is it red?" Basilia snapped harshly.

"Because it's Christmas grandmother, it's festive," answered Lyrisadora dismissively, what one earth was wrong with the colour red?

"_Festive_," Basilia spat, a sneer curling onto her lip. "I suppose you bought it for her _Narcissa_," snapped Basilia, glaring at the said woman.

Narcissa sighed as she stopped eating her porridge and placed her spoon down."Yes I did, it suits her," said Narcissa calmly, Basilia's eyes narrowed. Lyrisadora noticed nearly all of the table had stopped eating and was now intently watching the two Mrs Malfoys.

"But of course, you always did favour that colour, no doubt a result of having so many blo-" Basilia began to insult, but was stopped by Lucius. Because linking a colour to blood-traitors was a little bit on the pathetic side.

"Yes well, we all have our opinions on fashion," said her father coldly, not wishing for another argument, especially one concerning the 'Black' relatives family tree, those arguments never ended well. "Now mother, if you don't mind, we are in the middle of eating," he pointed out icily, causing his mother's lips to purse like she had swallowed a melon. But Basilia didn't retort and resumed eating, which everyone else quickly followed suit to.

Even though the argument had been cut short, the tension still hung in the air, waiting for another biting remark so it could fall again.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora knelled on the floor of the living room, beside the enormous Christmas tree, followed by the rest of her family who took seat on the nearby chairs, while Draco knelled next to her. He began to unwrap his gifts happily, Lyrisadora picked at her nails and sighed quietly, she eyed the presents dully; when you're a girl your presents tend to be predictable.<p>

Lyrisadora decided to get this over with and picked up a random present. Finding it was from her cousin; or was it third cousin? Antonella Malfoy.

She lazily unwrapped it, inside was a 'how to make your own party invitation kit' , Lyrisadora smiled politely at her cousin, "Thank you Antonella, how thoughtful," Lyrisadora said with fake cheerfulness, the middle aged dark haired witch nodded curtly, not looking that interested as she examined her polished nails. While Draco unwrapped his new sweet maker. Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at this, forcing her frown to fade as she searched for her parents gift;being more optimistic that she'd like there's better. She found a medium sized rectangular package, and began to unwrap it.

Inside was an advanced theorem on Potions, then anothe rbook on Transfiguration, Lyrisadora smiled happily at this. "Thank you mother, father," Lyrisadora said cheerfully. Narcissa smiled warmly and was about to reply until she was interrupted.

"Open mine next," snapped Basilia, with a sneer etched on her face, as she eyed Narcissa with distaste, Lyrisadora reluctantly complied.

While unwrapping her grandmother's gift she noted that it was not book shaped, instead fairly bulky. She examined the gift with frustration and confusion, the rest of the room looked curiously at the gift as well. "Oh… a corset…..how…um_…lovely_," said Lyrisadora, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, was her grandmother really still stuck in the 1920's?

"I knew you would love it. Every young lady; of such status, should have their own corset, it's only proper," stated Basilia proudly. "Well?" Basilia said tightly, frowning slightly at her lack of enthusiasm.

Lyrisadora didn't know how to reply, but a warning glare from her father indicated to her that it would be rude not to. "Oh yes, I am grandmother, this gift is very thoughtful…however, I must inquire as to why I would need it...?" Lyrisadora questioned nervously.

"Why to attract boys of course! You'll need a perfect figure. You need to start looking as soon as possible you know, or all the good ones shall be taken," answered grandmother mildly.

Lyrisadora stared at her grandmother in horror. "B-but…I'm only fourteen!" she spluttered indignantly.

"So? When I was your age I was already engaged to your grandfather. Isn't that right dear?" responded Basilia, she nudged Abraxes to agree with her.

"What? Oh yes…we were…yes it was truly…um, a lovely occasion," responded Abraxes hesistently.

"_See_, At fourteen you should already be engaged, especially since you're the eldest. Lucius I really don't see why you've not brought this up before? Then again, you've probably had distractions," said Basilia, eyeing Narcissa distastefully; who in response rolled her eyes and frowned.

"Well mother, I and Narcissa believe such a delicate subject, should be discussed at a more appropriate time, when Lyrisadora is older," Lucius reasoned. Lyrisadora sighed in relief, truthfully not liking the subject of marriage at all, the thought of marrying someone like Adrian Pucey or Marcus Flint made her stomach churn.

"That doesn't mean you should not consider candidates," resound Brasilia. It appeared she wasn't going to let this go."Well Lyrisadora, has any boys taken an interest in you?" questioned Basilia sharply.

Lyrisadora fiddled with her fingers apprehensively as all eyes in the room fell on her. "Um…well…I could not possibly say…I do not really take note of the boys in my house…in fact I-I don't even fancy anyone," replied Lyrisadora nervously.

"Well you must fancy someone," snapped Basilia harshly, Lyrisadora shook her head.

"No, I prefer to study, boys are a distraction," said Lyrisadora, hoping they wouldn't push the subject, Basilia scoffed.

"Can we discuss this subject at a later date Brasilia? I don't think now is an appropriate time," Narcissa spoke up.

"Nonsense, what about Miles Bletchley?" questioned Basilia, completely ignoring Narcissa. Lyrisadora's stomach churned slightly at the name, besides that idiot was too wrapped up Cassondria these days. "Or how about Adrian Pucey?" added Basilia. Draco smirked in amusement.

_Not if you paid me!_thought Lyrisadora angrily, besides the boy was a creep, he was alway...watching her...and he was always so rude, and apprantly he'd already slept with a girl older than him-

"Marcus Flint?" grandmother continued, Lyrisadora's stomach did a summer salt, she went slightly pale, Draco seemed to be fighting a laugh.

"Oh I know! What about Gregory Goyle?" burst out Basilia, to this Draco could no longer retain his laughter as he clutched his sides, and burst out laughing.

" I think I am going to be sick," mumbled Lyrisadora.

"Why what's wrong Vesperia? _Narcissa!_ What did you feed my granddaughter? Look at her you've poisoned her," snapped Basilia.

Narcissa looked shocked, and shot back. "I have done nothing of the sort!"

"I'm fine just a stomach ache….to much toast…um I'm going to lye down for a bit," Lyrisadora said quickly; not wanting another argument to commence, she bolted up to her feet and quickly exited the room before anyone could ask questions.

She bounded up the stairs to her room, and sighed in relief as she collapsed on her bed. Sapphira nuzzled her head, and purred loudly.

"This is going to be a long Christmas," groaned Lyrisadora.

* * *

><p>"Ow! Mother not so tight," groaned Lyrisadora, as her mother fastened her new corset.<p>

"Oh calm yourself Lyrisa, it is not that tight," said Narcissa, tutting at her daughter's antics.

Lyrisadora sighed and bit her lip in impatience. "Must I wear this dreadful thing mother?" she pleaded.

"Yes, it is a gift from your grandmother,therefore you must; you'll only have to wear it for special occasion," answered Narcissa curtly, Lyrisadora pouted."Now breathe in now, I'm nearly finished," saidher mother sharply, Lyrisadora groaned, but complied, taking a deep breath as her mother finished tightening the corset."And…..done!" announced Narcissa , Lyrisadora choked, her eyes bulged, as the corset was tightened."There perfect, now you may put on your dress," said Narcissa.

"But mother I can't _breathe_," Lyrisadora choked as she clenched her stomach.

"Oh you'll get used to the feeling soon enough, besides the party is only four hours long," her mother stated calmly. Lyrisadora groaned , she really didn't know if she could survive four hours, especially since she could barely breath.

"Now hurry up and get changed, you are expected downstairs to greet the guests in half an hour," announced her mother, before she proceeded downstairs to overlook the last minute preparations.

Lyrisadora groaned loudly, she truly did tire of these parties. She glanced at her dress on the bed, it was a dark silk green, ball gown, tube lined dress, that clung to her hips. "Well I might as well get this over with," mumbled Lyrisadora bitterly. Once she finished changing she moved onto her hair, attempting to comb it as it knotted biting down on her tongue as she ran the comb through her hair before tying it up in a tight bun, clipping some stray hairs up with some silver clips. She sighed, rubbing her pale cheeks, trying to get some colour in them, hoping her grandmother wouldn't think she was growing ill.

She flicked her bottom lip with her teeth before applying some lip gloss, before wondering if her grandmother would think her lips too pale, Lyrisadora stopped at this, growling in frustration and throwing the lip gloss to the ground. She hated it when her grandmother got under her skin and made her obsess over her looks, her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked back in the mirror, reminding herself that her grandmother was a senile and deluded old woman who had know idea what she was talking about.

Deciding not to obsess any further, she carefully added some eyeliner before standing up and leaving her room for downstairs, where her parents had already begun greeting, she slowly made her way over to stand next to her brother, glancing at him, her lip twitching upwards as she noted that he looked just as bored as she did.

"Are you having fun?" she questioned sweetly.

"Tons," replied Draco grimly, Lyrisadora sighed and waited for the rest of the guest to finish arriving, her eyes wondering around the regal decorated entrance, noting a numerous amount of flowers. She heard her grandmother laugh shrilly, herself showing guests towards the ballroom, Lyrisadora could smell her rank decayed perfume a mile away, turning away as she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

As the party droned on,Lyrisadora found herself near the ballrooms window, alone as everyone around her conversed pompously, having enough of enduring these people. Her feet had begun to ache from all the standing, and 'dance' invitations; which she reluctantly accepted, she scowled and folded her arms, leaning against the pillar of the window as she gazed outside.

"Not bored are we Malfoy?" a smug familiar voice questioned from behind her.

Lyrisadora jumped in surprise, whipping her head around, her jaw tightening as she recognized it to be Adrian Pucey.

Adrian gave her a crooken smile. "No need to be so jumpy."

She flushed in embarrassment."What do you desire Adrian?" she questioned in a clipped tone.

"Why to ask you to dance _my lady._ Who wouldn't want the company of such a fine specimen as yourself," Adrian replied, earning a growl from Lyrisadora. "Tut tut, this is no way a lady of such should be acting, what would _daddy_ say if he saw you not acting like the proper hostess?" he mocked, she fought the urge to smack him then and there.

"Your opinion on what my father thinks of me, is none of your business," Lyrisadora stated curtly, Adrian just grinned."Anyway do you not have something else to attend to, like snogging some random girl you just met?" she sneered.

"Oh you know you're the only girl for me Lyra," Adrian sneered, she bristled at the use of her nickname.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at him. "Well in case you have not been notified already, I already have a boyfriend," she drawled.

Adrian chuckled. "Oh yeah, heard you took pity on that Hufflepuff guy who tags along with you, what's his name? Kirk,Clark,Sid?" he inquired lightly.

Lyrisadora frowned. "His name is _Cedric_ for your information. And I did not take pity on him, he is my best friend and my, now, boyfriend," she hissed. Adrian just shrugged, angering her more.

"Doesn't matter really anyway, I mean, it's not like it'll last," drawled Adrian, leaning on the pillar next to her, being a bit too close for her liking

"What? What do you mean? of course it will last," said Lyrisadora curiously, taking a step back.

"Yeah maybe until fifth or maybe even seventh year. But what are you going to do when you and him leave Hogwarts?" argued Adrian, not looking at all really interested in the subject.

Lyrisadora thought for a moment, she didn't know how to reply, as much as she hated Adrian she couldn't deny that he had a point. "I…" she choked.

Adrian smirked, he smiled at her, a hunger in his eyes, closing the distance between them, his cold hand fluttering across her cheek. Her skin tingled, making her shiver as she stayed rooted to the spot. "Oh but don't worry, I promise I'll take _care_ of you, you might have to calm that feistiness a bit, but I'm sure when we're married it'll sort it's self out," Adrian said softly, drawing in closer.

Lyrisadora's eyes widened when she realised how close he was, she hastily pushed him away. "Never! I would _never_ marry _you_," hissed Lyrisadora fearfully, like hell she'd marry this creep.

Adrian rolled his eyes at her. "And who said you have a choice? True it's not declared officially, _yet,_ however the way our fathers are talking it should be pretty soon. Your father even thinks we should start spending more time _together_," said Adrian cheerfully.

Did he get off seeing her in distress?

She glared at him with loathing, Adrian simply smirked then said mockingly. "So, you still want to dance?"

Lyrisadora growled and stormed away,not wanting to be in the presence of this slimy git any longer. She hid in a nearby corner,watching her parents mingle from a far, Adrian was such a prat, however she knew everything he said was true.

Even if she didn't marry Adrian that didn't rule out the subject, she knew, no doubt she would be forced to marry someone else, someone probably more worse than Adrian. Her mother was lucky in her opinion, she married for love; a rare occurrence. A privilege Lyrisadora knew would not occur for her."I suppose I shall have to cross that bridge when it comes around," muttered Lyrisadora bitterly to herself.

"There you are!" said the familiar voice or her mother. Lyrisadora turned to face her. "I have been looking everywhere for you. The party has two hours left,dear, we mustn't be bad hostesses and abandon our guest," said Narcissa sharply.

Lyrisadora bit back a sigh, her mother ever still ignorant. "Yes mother," she replied tonelessly.

Her mother eyed her curiously for a moment before nodding. "Good, now come," she instructed sharply, gesturing Lyrisadora to follow her to mingle with the guests. Lyrisadora sighed and complied, reminding herself that this was just another Christmas at the Malfoys.

* * *

><p><strong>R-E-V-I-E-W-!-!-!-!-!<strong>


	18. The Funny Quirks Of Friendship

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Even Malfoys Need Friends<strong>

**Chapter: The Funny Quirks Of Friendship **

* * *

><p><em>1st April 1992<em>

George Weasley casually walked through the abandoned Hogwart's halls. It was his birthday, well technically it was his and Fred's birthday. George frowned slightly at the thought of Fred.

Fred had decided to ditch him for Angelina for the rest of the day. And even though he could understand why; Angelina was quite attractive after all. It didn't mean, he wasn't slightly hurt. After all they were still brothers, twins, the tightest type you could find. George just sighed, he knew he was acting like a baby, he'd just have to entertain himself while Fred was off callow-dancing with Angelina, especially since his best friend Lee was still in the hospital wing after accidentally receiving the wrong end of one of their usual pranks

Then just as he started to turn a corner, a familiar voice called.

"George!"

George turned abruptly. It was Lyrisadora; she was carrying a smallish, slightly blue stained, box in her hands.

"Hey Lyra," George said simply, as his spirits lifted slightly. Lyrisadora beamed.

"Happy birthday!" she said enthusiastically, she excitedly shoved the box into his hands.

"Gee thanks," said George apprehensively. He stared puzzled at the box.

"Open it!" she said, hardly able to contain her excitement. George stared at her warily; wondering what could possibly be so amazing inside.

George smiled nervously and opened the box lid. He smirked and tried to refrain a snort, inside was a plain, thick messy blue iced, glitter coved, cupcake with red word icing that read 'Hoppy oirtnduy' on it.

"How very….creative," said George amusingly.

"I-I know it is not accurately perfect, I admit I did have trouble involving the icing of said words, but it was my first attempt," Lyrisadora said nervously, obviously aware of the present's lack of good appearance.

"Well as long as it tastes good, I think I'll survive," reassured George. He picked up the cake, and took a bite; Lyrisadora watched anxiously.

"Pretty good….though I would try to use less sugar next time," said George, after swallowing his first bite. Lyrisadora smiled in relief.

"Where did you learn to bake anyway?" asked George curiously; the Malfoys didn't exactly seem the baking type to him.

"Oh, well I suppose I learned through books mostly; mother and father would never allow me to enter the kitchens you see. So I learnt through recipe books. That cake was my first attempt," she said, then pointed to the half eaten cake in George's hand.

"I managed to convince the house-elves to let me cook, it took about three tries to get the recipe right though. Plus the house-elves wouldn't stop pestering me, telling me they wanted to help," added Lyrisadora.

"Well at least you know your better at something, other than reading," teased George, his smirk grew as Lyrisadora flushed pink.

"I am good at other things!" she protested.

"Like what?" drawled George, enjoying how easy it was to wind her up. "And it can't be related to school work," added George. Lyrisadora frowned.

"Well, I'm….I can dance, ballroom. I suppose I can sketch a little, I'm better at drawing objects than people and I like baking," said Lyrisadora slowly. "I actually enjoy baking very much. I wish I could do it more," she added more enthusiastically.

"Cool, nice to know. So why can't you bake more often?" questioned George.

"My parents. They say that cooking and baking is house-elf work, so I dare not practise it at home," stated Lyrisadora.

"Oh," said George simply. There was a pause. "Well that sucks, but at least you can practise here," added George.

" I suppose you are correct, do you think I should bake more?" questioned Lyrisadora. George just nodded plainly.

"If it makes you happy, go for it," he replied casually. Lyrisadora beamed and embraced George.

George looked at her for a moment with surprise, but returned the hug. A warm silence issued, but was soon broken by a wolf whistle.

"Get in there Georgey boy!" called a voice.

George and Lyrisadora froze, they both turned to face the source of the frowned; it was his brother Fred Weasley, standing smugly by the corridor archway. Lyrisadora quickly un-embraced George, looking flushed and embarrassed.

Fred grinned. "Sorry, sorry I know, I shouldn't have interrupted 'your _moment_'," Fred said casually.

"W-what!" spluttered George and Lyrisadora in unison.

"We-were-not-having-a-moment!" stressed George, his cheeks burnt red.

"Oh right, right, of course," mocked Fred playfully, he winked at Lyrisadora who groaned loudly.

"Fred, stop being a prick," groaned George.

"Hey don't have a go at me, just because I accidentally interrupted your hug-hug session," said Fred casually.

"_Fred_…" growled George. Lyrisadora quickly cleared her throat.

"Well…..oh look at the time, I simply must be going-studying and what not-I shall see you all at a later date then?" interrupted Lyrisadora, she smiled nervously. "Hope you have a exuberant birthday George…and you also Fred," added Lyrisadora hastily, as she quickly zoomed down the corridor out of sight.

George turned back to his , still grinning, brother.

"_Seriously_? Could you not have embarrassed me anymore," moaned George.

"What? I was only messing," replied Fred innocently. George groaned.

"You're a right prick, do you know that?" sighed George.

"Yeah, but I'm still better looking than you," said Fred smugly. George smirked and shook his head.

"C'mon then, lets go see if we can sneak a toilet seat in for Lee, without Madam Pomfrey finding out," suggested George brightly. Fred grinned mischievously.

"It's like you read my mind," said Fred, as he followed George down the corridor to the old abandoned girls' bathroom.

* * *

><p><em>8th April 1992<em>

Lyrisadora sat in the library,writing with her quill, she had a potions essay that needed to be handed in tomorrow, she was nearly finished and did not want to delay it any longer, Professor Snape _hated_ unfinished work, to the point where hate was a understatement.

"Pssst! Pssst, Lyra," hissed George opposite her, Lyrisadora looked up from her essay to see Fred and George looking at her. Lyrisadora looked around hesitantly. Seeing Madam Pince was examining books at her desk.

"What?" she snapped in a hushed tone.

"Let us copy from your work," hissed Fred.

"No," hissed Lyrisadora.

"C'mon," whispered Fred.

"_No_," she said firmly, there was no way she was letting them copy from her.

"Pleasssseee," whispered George.

"_No,_" growled Lyrisadora through gritted teeth, she ignored their looks as she turned back to her work. After a few minutes of silent working Lyrisadora was hit by a paper ball and stopped writing and started muttering darkly under her breath as she continued to ignore them.

"_Lyra_," hissed the familiar voice of George. But Lyrisadora ignored him.

"Lyra,Lyra...Lyra, hey _Lyra_," hissed Fred, as Lyrisadora continued to write.

"Lyra,"

"Lyra, Lyra, _Lyra, Lyra, **Lyra**_**.**.." Lyrisadora stopped writing as she gripped her quill tighter, not looking up.

"Hey, hey Lyra, I just wanna ask you something, Lyra, Lyra, Lyra, oh Lyra, _Lyyyyraaaa_-"

"WHAT!" roared Lyrisadora standing up, hands slammed on the table as she glared at the twins fiercely. The twins looked taken aback, but Fred was the first to recover.

"Can we copy from you?" he asked brightly, Lyrisadora growled.

"Miss Malfoy! There will be no shouting in the library!" cried Madam Pince shrilly from her desk.

"But-I was just-" Lyrisadora tried to argue, but Madam Pince cut her short.

"_No_ back chat! Leave!" she ordered angrily. Lyrisadora humphed and gathered up her quill and essay.

"Can we copy it later?" asked George hopefully. Causing Lyrisadora to groan and scream through gritted teeth as she stomped out of the library.

* * *

><p><em>16th April 1992<em>

"Hey Malfoy!" yeld the familiar voice of Oliver Wood, as Lyrisadora walked down the halls, she stopped and turned.

"Yes Oliver?" she inquired curtly.

"I need to talk about your brother," he said, getting straight to the point.

"What about him?" Lyrisadora questioned, frowning slightly.

"I've heard he's been giving Harry a hard time, I need you to get him to lay off," said Oliver, Lyrisadora arched a eyebrow.

"And ,if I may inquire,how am I meant to do that?" she asked. Oliver looked slightly taken aback.

"Well...he's your brother, can't you tell him to leave him alone?" implored Oliver. Lyrisadora held back a snort.

"Have you _met_ my brother, Oliver I can't convince my brother to do his homework, let alone tell him to be nice to others," scoffed Lyrisadora. "My brother is a git and a bully, I may love him, but he's a stereotypical Slytherin."

"Well, you could _try_," implored Oliver, but Lyrisadora just shook her head.

"When my brother decides he dislikes someone, no one can change his mind, if he's decided Potter is his enemy, then there's no stopping him," said Lyrisadora, shrugging, Oliver sighed.

"But he's our _Seeker_! I can't afford him getting psyched out and us losing the match," stressed Oliver, Lyrisadora was beginning to tire of his pestering.

"Yes well I'm in _Slytherin_, so, it's not my problem," she exclaimed brightly, smirking, causing Oliver to scowl.

"But Lyra," he moaned.

"_No_, besides he already promised to keep my friendships secret, I don't want to push my luck, Potter's just going to have to bare my brother's tongue," drawled Lyrisadora. Oliver's eyes narrowed.

"You're evil," he spat, Lyrisadora just shrugged.

"I'm a _Malfoy_, what do you expect?" she implored smugly, before resuming walking down the hall. Oliver grumbled darkly but huffed.

"_Whatever,_" said Oliver grudgingly, catching up to her.

"How was your holidays?" she questioned politely, trying to lighten the mood.

"Alright," said Oliver curtly.

"Quidditch was good," said Lyrisadora simply, this changed Olivers mood drastically as his face brightened up.

"I know! Did you see the latest Quidditch math between Puddlemere United and the Tutshill Tornados over the holidays?" he questioned excitedly. Lyrisadora shook her head, already knowing Oliver would enthusiastically tell her. "I did! It was awesome, they slammed the Tutshill Tornados into the groaned!" he yelled.

"Really," she drawled.

"_Really_. It was awesome; you should have seen the goals they scored..." exclaimed Oliver jubilantly, as he animatedly described the match to Lyrisadora, who was half listening, while the two friends walked down the hall.

* * *

><p><em>20th April 1992<em>

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed in impatience as she waited for her two best friends to stop snogging, outside of the Three broomsticks. She tapped her foot and folded her arms as she waited. They ignored her quelling look as they continued.

"_Seriously_, you guys need a room," groaned Elizabeth. But they seemed to have not heard her. "Guys! Come on, I didn't come here to stand and watch you eat each others faces,," she moaned, finally Lyrisadora and Cedric un-embraced, both their cheeks flushed.

"Sorry, just got cought up in the moment," mumbled Lyrisadora, licking her lips. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because Cedric saying he likes your hair, is_ so_ romantic," said Elizabeth sarcastically sneering and walking int the Three broomsticks. Lyrisadora and Cedric exchanged puzzled looks and shrugged, before following her into the pub.

The three friends sat at a table in the corner, Elizabeth sat opposit them as Lyrisadora held Cedric's hand under the table. There was a awkward silence around them as they stared at each other.

"So, Professor Snape's potion lesson last week, I swear he was going to murder me, I suck at Potions without you guys," said Cedric brightly, trying to get the conversation going.

"I'm sure he wasn't that bad..." began Lyrisadora carefully. Cedric just rolled his eyes at her.

"Please don't try to defend him, he's a git Lyra, the only reason he's not harsh on you is because you're a Slytherin," said Cedric. Lyrisadora seemd visibly annoyed.

"I know that, I know he can be unfair, but he is a good teacher and a very talented man," defended Lyrisadora.

"Still a git though," said Cedric as he leaned back on his chair slightly.

"Aren't Huffleuffs meant to be nice to _everyone_?" questioned Elizabeth amusingly.

"No, we're allowed to dislike people you know," Cedric stated.

"Learn something new every day," said Elizabeth dramatically, to which Cedric rolled his eyes to and shook his head. "Anyway, I'll get us some drinks," announced Elizabeth, standing up. "Butterbeer, butterbeer, butterbeer," drawled Elizabeth, before Lyrisadora and Cedric could tell her what drinks they wanted.

"Well _actually_-" Lyrisadora began, but Elizabeth ignored her and walked over to the bar. Which visibly annoyed Lyrisadora as she folded her arms and huffed. Cedric looked at her confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not allowed too much sugar, I'm only allowed a certain amount," explained Lyrisadora. Cedric was slightly stuck.

"But...why?" he implored, not understanding why she had to control how much sugar she ate.

"Well, mother says, that young ladies must retain a good figure, I have diet I must stick to," answered Lyrisadora, slightly glum.

"But that's stupid, you don't need a diet, you're a size 8,for crying out loud," retorted Cedric. Lyrisadora looked visibly frustrated.

"I know that! But mother says, I must stick to it, she's even more stricter now I have to wear corsets to balls, it is not like I like it, I want eat whatever I want, I want to drink butterbeer without having to worry about conducting acne or gaining fat from the sugar, " protested Lyrisadora sadly. Cedric looked guilty for upsetting her.

"Sorry, I didn't...know," he apologized, he hesitated before wrapping his arm around her. Lyrisadora smiled slightly and snuggled into him. After a minute of tender silence, Elizabeth returned, struggling to carry the three butterbeers.

"Oh, Liz, sorry to be a burden, but could I just have water instead?" inquired Lyrisadora hopefully, causing Elizabeth's eyes to narrow and her lips to purse before she dumped the two butterbeers onto the table, causing them to to spill a bit, and to huff before stalking off,causing quite a number of students around to stop and stare. Cedric and Lyrisadora watched her go, both befuddled.

"Is she, on her period?" asked Cedric, Lyrisadora scoffed and unembraced him, punching him in the arm.

"No," she said indigently. "_Honestly,_ do all boys just assume that a girl is on her period is she is in a bad mood?" she questioned.

"Well I don't know, I heard my dad ask my mom once," exclaimed Cedric.

"Oh and how did she react?" inquired Lyrisadora sarcastically.

"She started firing stinging hexes at him," he replied. "She didn't talk to him for a month," he added.

"A little extreme," she stated.

"Yeah but, the main reason she was angry with him in the first place, was because she found out he turned her mother into a goat a week earlier, because he was tired of her nagging," added Cedric.

"I can relate," sighed Lyrisadora. Cedric looked curious.

"Grandmother issues?" he implored. Lyrisadora sighed in exasperation.

"_Grandmother_ issues," she replied, before describing everything that was Basilia Malfoy to Cedric in full detail.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope Cedric isn't OOC, I think he's a cool kind of guy, soppy romantic (he dated Cho) so there will be soppy, "I love <em>you<em> more", bits time to time, but I'll try and keep the page as damp as possible.**

**So what do ya think?**

**REVIEW!**


	19. A Entangled Family Relationship

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Malfoys Don't Often Speak Their Mind<strong>

**Chapter: A Entangled Family Relationship**

* * *

><p><em>30th July 1992<em>

Narcissa sat alone in the manors library sipping tea. She sighed quietly as she stared out the magnificent library window. Lucius and Draco had gone to attend a Quidditch match together, leaving Narcissa and Lyrisadora alone. Lyrisadora had quickly abandoned her mother, to go study in her room.

A sad sigh escaped Narcissa; though she loved her daughter very much, she never really understood her. When Lyrisadora was born Narcissa imagined dressing her up and doing her hair all the time, she imagined they would be close and inseparable. But as Lyrisadora had grown Narcissa's dreams were soon crushed. Lyrisadora did not like shopping or wearing make-up all the time, tea parties or ballet.

Lyrisadora enjoyed reading, Lyrisadora liked to be un-sociable, Lyrisadora hated tea parties and did not like ballet. All Lyrisadora did in her spare time was study and read and lock herself in her room.  
>Narcissa often blamed Lucius for their daughters odd behaviour. Lucius always pushed her to study; she remembered when Lyrisadora was seven, he made Lyrisadora stay in all day studying Latin with him while Draco and his friends played; the worst part was, that Lyrisadora never complained, she actually enjoyed it.<p>

Narcissa had never protested to his strict discipline with the children; he was her husband therefore she must be supportive. She loved Lucius, and like the children, she wanted to please him. Narcissa smiled weakly at this, though it was true that she had Lucius wrapped around her finger sometimes, that didn't mean he wasn't in charge, it also didn't stop him from dictating everyone's life.

Narcissa clasped her tea cup tightly, as she looked into her milky tea. Suddenly Narcissa was brought out of her daze by a loud thud that caused her to nearly spill her tea.

She peered around the corner. It was Lyrisadora.  
>Lyrisadora quickly bent down and picked up the book she had dropped, tucking a loose long blond hair behind her ear. Lyrisadora caught sight of her mother and smiled warmly.<p>

"Hello mother," she said politely, clutching the book against her chest. Narcissa beamed.

"Lyrisa, how lovely. Would you like some tea?" Narcissa asked eagerly, gesturing to the empty seat opposite her. Lyrisadora squirmed uncomfortably.

"Oh I would love to mother….however, I do have quite the amount of studying to do," Lyrisadora said carefully. Narcissa's smile faded, her eyes cast downcast.

"Oh, I see. Very well then," she said softly, not looking at Lyrisadora. There was a tense silence.

Lyrisadora's face turned to guilt as she saw her mother's expression. "But I could always study later," she quickly replied.

Narcissa looked up, she smiled and gestured again to the vacant seat. Lyrisadora smiled warmly and sat down opposite her.

Narcissa began to pour Lyrisadora a cup. Lyrisadora thanked her politely. They drank in silence for a few moments, both unsure what to say.

"What are you reading?" said Narcissa nervously; trying to make conversation. She pointed to the book on Lyrisadora's lap.

"Hmm? Oh this. This is called_ Hairy snout, Human heart,_" Lyrisadora replied cheerfully; Narcissa always noticed her face seemed to light up when books were mentioned. Narcissa looked confused.

"Is that a fairy tale?" she questioned. Lyrisadora sighed quietly.

"No it is not. It is a book about lycanthropy," stated Lyrisadora, a hint of irritation in her voice. Narcissa looked worried.

"Lyrisa, are you sure that is appropriate for a girl of your age?" Narcissa said nervously. Lyrisadora looked visibly annoyed.

"Mother it is perfectly fine. Do not worry," Lyrisadora drawled. Narcissa sighed and shook her head disapprovingly.

"Does your father know you have such a book?" Narcissa said sternly. Lyrisadora looked slightly more alert.

"Well no, I haven't informed him," Lyrisadora said carefully.

"Lyrisadora," sighed Narcissa. She lightly placed her cup on her saucer, she looked at her daughter with concern.

"You know your father likes to be knowledgeable in what you read," Narcissa lectured. Lyrisadora sighed.

"Mother please, I am not a baby," Lyrisadora argued.

"Lyrisadora, your father just wants to make sure you are not making the wrong choices," said Narcissa tiredly.

"More like control me," mumbled Lyrisadora bitterly. Narcissa looked at her daughter with pity.

"He just wants what's best for you," Narcissa said softly. Lyrisadora took no notice , she just drank her tea slowly. Narcissa shook her head.

"I know your father can be…" Narcissa began carefully.

"Overbearing, a perfectionist, a tyrant," Lyrisadora suggested snidely.

"_Protective_," Narcissa finished, Lyrisadora didn't seem convinced. "Understand that he only acts this way because he loves you," said Narcissa warmly.

"He never says it," Lyrisadora muttered sadly.

"I know, trust me I know. You're not the only one who grew up with a strict father," reassured Narcissa. Lyrisadora looked at her curiously. Narcissa went on.

"When I was your age, my father was always criticising me, telling me what to wear, what to do, who to be friends with and who to be," she said, her tone holding a sense of sadness.

Lyrisadora kept quiet and listened to her mother, wanting her to continue.

"I always tried to please him you see, I didn't have your brains, so my grades weren't that good," Narcissa exclaimed sadly, she continued, as though she couldn't stop herself. "The only way I could make him proud was to well, act perfect. I had to do as I was told, never question him, always act polite, make my family proud and be the proper lady," finished Narcissa with fake cheerfulness. Lyrisadora looked at her mother sadly.

"And it worked. He was so proud that I became a Malfoy, he was happy I repaired the family's reputation. You should have seen his face when I gave birth to you and then Draco. He was proud that I had fulfilled my family duty," Narcissa finished happily, remembering how it felt. Lyrisadora looked pale as she processed her mother's words, trying to understand that what was expected from her mother, was also expected from her too.

"Lyrisadora are you alright, you look rather pale," Narcissa asked worriedly.

"Oh, yes mother I'm fine. I found what you had to say very enlightening," Lyrisadora replied softly. Narcissa smiled brightly. She glanced out the window, then looked back at Lyrisadora; who sat elegantly in her seat like a true lady, taking polite sips of tea. Narcissa examined Lyrisadora's appearance: Lyrisadora had grown into quite the young lady, though only 14, she still had matured greatly. Her body had started to take shape, revealing her curves more.

Narcissa remembered just last week in Diagon ally, when a young brunette haired boy had been looking at Lyrisadora inappropriately, Lucius had looked like he would have maimed the boy then and there; however Narcissa had quickly dragged Lucius out of the shop before he could do any harm to the boy. And naturally Lucius had angrily lectured Lyrisadora on her clothing. Narcissa remembered watching her daughter with pity, as Lucius lectured the poor girl on proper lady like conduct, while Lyrisadora simply said submissively "_Yes father_," which pained Narcissa greatly.

Lucius constantly had Lyrisadora under his thumb, he ruled her life with an iron fist. Lyrisadora reminded Narcissa of herself sometimes, though she often noticed Lyrisadora had hidden spirit, something that she felt not even Lucius could break.

But Narcissa knew she could do nothing, Lucius was the girl's father, therefore she belonged to him until she was wed. Narcissa hoped Lyrisadora would be lucky enough to wed a pure-blood she loved, like she herself had done; but a small voice told her this would not be. Narcissa held her head high and shook these childish thoughts from her head. Lyrisadora was a Malfoy and she would just have to deal with the family expectations ,as Narcissa had, had to do.

"Mother?" questioned Lyrisadora, bringing Narcissa out of her daze. Narcissa smiled warmly.

"Yes dear?" she replied.

Lyrisadora lightly placed her cup on her saucer. Then began to explain nervously, "Well…I was just wondering if you wanted-"

"Mother! Mother, you'll never guess!" came the voice of Draco, Lyrisadora and Narcissa stopped and turned to him; he was standing in front of the library door, his face holding his usual smug look.

"What is it Draco?" questioned Narcissa, forgetting about Lyrisadora.

"Puddlemere united and the Holyhead harpies. _What_ a match," Draco stated cheerfully. Narcissa smiled.

"I'm glad you had a good time dear. Now Lyrisadora what did you want to ask me?" said Narcissa pleasantly, turning back to Lyrisadora. Lyrisadora looked back at her mother and forced a smile.

"Oh nothing mother, nothing. I better get back to studying. Father has asked be to recite a French poem to him before dinner, " said Lyrisadora with fake happiness, getting up and collecting her book. Narcissa looked disappointed, but smiled warmly.

" Oh I see…have fun then," said Narcissa softly, Lyrisadora nodded stiffly and strode out of the library.

Draco looked back at her curiously but shrugged it off, he came and sat in the now vacant seat opposite Narcissa , he began to babble on about the match. Narcissa smiled warmly in return, nodding politely now and then while sipping her tea. Still wondering what Lyrisadora had to say.

* * *

><p><strong>Mother daughter Chapter! Some things just never change. So hope you guys liked this chapter, pretty short, but not every chapter needs to be long.<strong>

**Anyway, yeah,yada yada Review.**


	20. Weasley Confrontation Never Ends Well

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Malfoys and Weasleys Have The Most Creative Arguments <strong>

**Chapter: Weasley Confrontation Never Ends Well**

* * *

><p><em>19th August 1992<em>

Lyrisadora followed her father into Borgin and Burkes. Lyrisadora scanned the shop with distaste, she never liked it here, it was dim, creepy and unnatural.

She quickly followed her father as he walked towards the counter. He rang the bell on the counter, then turned to Lyrisadora and Draco.

"Touch nothing children," Lucius instructed sharply. Lyrisadora nodded.

Draco who had reached for a glass eye, said "I thought you were going to buy me a present?" Lyrisadora rolled her eyes, but stayed silent.

"I said I would buy you a racing broom," her father said, drumming his fingers on the counter.

"What's the good of that if I'm not on the house team?" said Draco, looking sulky and bad tempered.  
>Lyrisadora turned to her brother and tried to reassure him warmly.<p>

"Oh Draco, I am sure if you try out they will accept you. All you must do is practise and-" Lyrisadora however was cut off, as Draco decided to simply ignore her and continue to complain.

"Harry Potter got a Nimbus two thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He's not even that good…."

Lyrisadora groaned as she tried to drown out Draco's voice; her brother had been complaining all summer, with 'rubbish potter' this and 'stupid scar head' and just plain whining, it was starting to annoy Lyrisadora as she found she was getting a headache.

Draco droned on. "…..Everyone thinks he's _so_ smart, wonderful Potter with his _scar_ and his _broomstick_-"

"You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Lucius, with a quelling look at Draco, "And I would remind you that it is not-prudent-to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark lord disappear-ah-Mr Borgin."

Lyrisadora turned around, and grimaced as she saw Mr Borgin smooth his greasy hair back from his face. Mr Borgin had always made Lyrisadora feel uneasy; she remembered meeting him when she was seven, he had given her the creeps, so she had mostly hidden behind her father while Mr Borgin had been doing a business deal with him.

"Mr Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr Borgin in his usual oily voice. "Delighted-ah and the young Master and Miss Malfoy, too-charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and _very_ reasonably priced-"

"I'm not buying today Borgin I'm selling," said Lucius sharply, Lyrisadora smirked as the smile from Mr Borgin's face faded slightly.

"Selling?"

"You have heard, of course, that the ministry is conducting more raids," said Lucius as he rolled out a roll of parchment from his inside pocket. Lyrisadora sighed quietly. _"So this is the reason we are here,"_ Lyrisadora thought annoyingly, she expected her father to still hold on to dark objects, why? Was a total mystery to Lyrisadora.

Lyrisadora zoned back in as she heard Mr Borgin's oily voice, "The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you sir, surely?"

Her father's lip curled. _"Of course they wouldn't,"_ Lyrisadora thought, fully aware of how much influence her father had in the ministry.

"I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the ministry grows more meddlesome. There are rumours about a new Muggle Protection act-no doubt that flea bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it-" Lyrisadora shifted uncomfortably on the spot at the mention of Fred and George's father.

Lyrisadora didn't want to hear anymore, she walked towards Draco who was examining some objects on a old wooden shelf.  
>"Can I have that?" Draco interrupted Lucius from conversation with Mr Borgin. Lyrisadora grimaced as she saw what Draco was pointing at, it was a withered hand on a dusty cushion.<p>

"Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr Borgin, as he abandoned Lucius's list and scurried over to Draco. Lyrisadora leaned in closer to hear what they were talking about.

"Insert candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friends of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fine taste sir," said Mr Borgin oily.

Lyrisadora tried to hide a smirk, she knew her father wouldn't be exactly_ 'happy'_ his son being compared to a thief and plunderer.

"I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin," her father said coldly.

Mr Borgin's smile dropped as he quickly said, "no offence sir, no offence meant-"

"Though if his school marks don't pick up," her father said coldly. Lyrisadora bit her lip, as her father belittled Draco. "That may indeed all he's fit for," he finished even more coldly.

"It's not my fault," retorted Draco. "The teachers all have favourites, that Hermione Granger-"

"I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam," snapped her father."Anyway, it's no excuse, your sister has managed to remain top of her class throughout her entire school education," added Lucius coldly.

Lyrisadora went tense as Draco's eyes narrowed at her. Lyrisadora hated it when her father compared them.

"She has achieved _almost_ perfect grades," Lucius said even more icily. Lyrisadora looked shocked, she had tried her very best to achieve perfect grades last term.

"But father, I did not get anything below an 'O' or an 'E' this year," Lyrisadora protested.

"True Lyrisadora you achieved very good results, however you still failed to get an 'O' in Ancient Ruins and Astronomy , you also only achieved a 'A' in Herbology, a subject I instructed you to improve on, if I recall correctly," her father said stonily. Lyrisadora stared at the dirty shop stone floor."Still, your grades are far better than Draco's, that is for certain," Lucius added.

"It isn't my fault she's a know it all," grumbled Draco loudly. Lyrisadora frowned and looked back up.

"I am not a know it all Draco, the main reason I achieve good grades is because I study, you should try it some time," snapped Lyrisadora.

"Stop telling me what to do!" snapped Draco.

"Stop being a spoilt _brat_ then!" spat Lyrisadora.

"Enough! Cease this childish bickering at once," snapped Lucius. Draco and Lyrisadora stopped instantly, but still exchanged angry glares.

"Draco stop arguing with your sister this instant!" Lucius ordered sharply, Draco crossed his arms and pouted.

"Lyrisadora, this is not the type of behaviour I expect from my eldest daughter. You should know better than to resort to arguing like a child," Lucius said coldly; Lyrisadora shifted under his disapproving gaze.

"Yes father," Lyrisadora said softly.

There was a tense silence, which was broken by Mr Borgin's oily voice.

"It's the same all over. Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere-"

"Not with me," said Lucius sharply, his nostrils flaring.

"No, sir, nor with me, sir," said Mr Borgin with a deep bow.

"In that case, perhaps we can return to my list. I am in something of a hurry, Borgin, I have important business elsewhere today," said Lucius.

As her father and Mr Borgin started to haggle, Lyrisadora strode towards her brother, who was examining some objects near a large black cabinet.

"Draco! Father said not to touch anything," hissed Lyrisadora as she saw him hold up a label ,attached magnificent necklace, in his hand.  
>Draco glared at her and hissed, "Oh stop being a spoil sport, I'm just looking." Draco then turned to the black cabinet.<p>

"Draco!" Lyrisadora hissed angrily. He rolled his eyes and reached for the cabinet handle.

"Done!" said Lucius. "Come, children," Lucius said sharply. Draco lowered his hand and followed his father out of the store with Lyrisadora.

Lyrisadora quickly shut the shop door behind her, happy to be out of that dismal place, and quickly followed her father out of Nockturn ally, into the pleasant Diagon ally.

Lyrisadora followed her father through the crowed. Draco turned to him, "Father may I go to Flourish and Blotts?" Draco asked.

Lucius nodded, then drawled "I suppose, Lyrisadora accompany your broth-"

"I don't need a babysitter," Draco snapped. Lucius's eyes narrowed slightly, he sighed.

"Oh very well, you may go unaccompanied," Lucius groaned. Draco smiled.

"Thank you father," said Draco, as he hurried off to Flourish and Blotts.

Lucius turned to Lyrisadora, "I suppose you and I shall require the rest of your school supplies," announced Lucius, Lyrisadora nodded and followed him down the street.

After requiring the correct school supplies Lyrisadora and her father headed to Flourish and Blotts.

As she and her father neared the open door Lyrisadora overheard a load yell.  
>"Ron!" snapped a familiar voice, Lyrisadora's stomach dropped as she prayed to Merlin; that the Weasley's were not in said bookstore, Draco was not causing trouble, and her father would not start another argument;she found them embarrassing and pointless.<p>

"Well, well, well-Arthur Weasley," her father sneered.

_"Dammit Merlin! Why does this always happen. I'm frankly surprised we're not banned from here, considering our track record,"_ Lyrisadora thought angrily.

She reluctantly stepped into the bookstore, where she was greeted by the said Weasleys, Arthur, Fred, George, Ron, and two others who she believed Fred mentioned were called Percy and Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and a very smug looking Draco.

She groaned quietly, knowing exactly what was about to happen. _"Oh joy, it's another Weasley bashing,"_ thought Lyrisadora sarcastically.

"Lucius," said Mr Weasley nodding coldly, Lyrisadora had to admire his politeness.

"Busy time at the ministry , I hear," said her father coldly, "All those raids…I hope they're paying you overtime?"

_"Oh for the love of Merlin, not the 'you're poor' insults. Father really needs to find a different hobby,"_ Lyrisadora thought and quietly groaned.

She saw her father pick up a very old, battered copy of a Beginners guide to Transfiguration, from the girl she believed was called Ginny's, cauldron.

"Obviously not," her father said icily. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name wizard if they don't even pay you well?"  
>Lyrisadora could see the Weasley's eyes darken.<p>

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," Mr Weasley said.

"Clearly," her father said coldly, as he slipped the ,slightly fatter than before, book back into Ginny's cauldron. Lyrisadora bit her lip as the tension rose.

She then saw her father's gaze shift towards a middle aged couple who where watching apprehensively and where oddly dressed in Lyrisadora's opinion. Then she realised.  
><em>"Oooh Muggles! How fascinating, real Muggles! This is definitely going in my journal tonight! Oh wait, this is bad,"<em> Lyrisadora thought suddenly.

Her father sneered. "The company you keep, Weasley….and I thought your family could sink no lower," her father finished coldly.

Lyrisadora knew that if she didn't intervene now she would be spending the rest of her day at her father's bedside in St Mungos. Mr Weasley went a tomato colouring, he looked furious. Just as he was about to pounce on her father, Lyrisadora did something very, very Griffindorkish.

Lyrisadora closed her eyes tightly and let out a load high pitched scream, that caused everything and everyone in the bookstore to stop instantly.  
>She eased her eyes open, everyone was staring at her, some shocked, some confused and some, well were just plain freaked out.<p>

Lyrisadora laughed nervously. "Errrr….oh my gosh it's….Gilderoy Lockhart," Lyrisadora said anxiously. Causing Gilderoy Lockhart to smile brightly and wink at Lyrisadora. Fred and George tried to stifle their laughter, Draco arched a eyebrow and stared at her in confusion and amusement. Lucius stared at his daughter disbelievingly, not fully comprehending what she just did.

Lyrisadora smiled hopefully up at her father. "Umm perhaps we should leave father?…I'm not really feeling well," Lyrisadora implored timidly.

Lucius nodded stiffly; believing that his daughter, was truly not well. He turned and sneered at the Weasley's, "I'll see you at work," he said coldly to Arthur Weasley , before beckoning to Draco to follow.

Lyrisadora quickly smiled apologetically at the Weasley's before being led out by her father.

"The filthy blood traitor," Lucius spat, as he briskly strode down the street, followed closely by Lyrisadora and Draco.

"Would it _kill_ you to be civil for once, Draco," Lyrisadora hissed.

Draco sneered, and hissed back. "Why should I be civil with a load of filthy blood traitors and Mud-"

"How many times have I told you Draco! Don't use that word," Lyrisadora hissed warningly.

Draco rolled his eyes and ignored his sister. Lyrisadora scowled at her brothers immature behaviour.

The three Malfoys quickly entered the local Floo station, Lyrisadora grabbed some powder and stepped into the fireplace and said clearly, "Malfoy Manor!"  
>The green flames quickly consumed Lyrisadora as she swirled, and arrived home in a matter of a few seconds.<p>

Her father and brother quickly followed suit. Lucius straitened his robes and turned to Lyrisadora sharply. "Well Lyrisadora? Did you not say you were not feeling well?" questioned her father.

"What? Oh! Yes father…I was just about to go upstairs to lye down," replied Lyrisadora quickly, he arched an eyebrow but said nothing.

Lyrisadora smiled feebly and quickly walked upstairs to her bedroom.

Lyrisadora lay on her bed, happily reading her new schoolbooks.  
>"<em>Seriously?<em> 'Oh my gosh it's Gilderoy Lockhart'," said the familiar sarcastic voice of her brother, who was leaning on Lyrisadora's shrugged.

"Well I had to think of something. Did you not see how angry Mr Weasley was? I certainly did not want a fight to issue. I don't know about you Draco, but I for one find father's belittling of the Weasleys quite pointless and embarrassing," reasoned Lyrisadora, placing her book down to face her brother.

"Hmm, suppose you have a point. Still though, I wouldn't have minded if father had put those filthy Blood traitors in their place," drawled Draco. Lyrisadora clenched her fists.

"Do not speak of the Weasleys in such a cruel tone," said Lyrisadora coldly, as her eyes narrowed at her brother.

"Oh yeah, forgot you're friends with those _Weasley twins_," spat Draco. Lyrisadora frowned, she narrowed her eyes, Draco was talking a little too load; luckily her father was not in hearing distance. Draco ignored her and continued.

"When will you see sense Lyra, those Weasley twins aren't worthy to be your friends," Draco said arrogantly.

"I do not need you, _little brother_, to tell me who and not to be friends with!" Lyrisadora snapped.

"I'm trying to look out for you! Hanging round with people like that, will only get you in trouble," snapped Draco. Lyrisadora got to her feet.

"Stop telling me what to do! I'm the eldest Draco! I'm meant to boss you around!" snapped Lyrisadora loudly.

"Are you two fighting again!" boomed their father's voice from downstairs.

"No father!" chorused Lyrisadora and Draco.

Lyrisadora and Draco then exchanged daggers. For a while both siblings stood their ground. Until Lyrisadora hissed, "_Draco!"_

"Yes?" hissed Draco venomously. There was a tense silence until…

"Get out of my room!" Lyrisadora wined, as she pushed Draco through the door and slammed it in his face. She then heard the slightly muffled yell of her father.

"Don't slam doors!" he yelled.

"Sorry father!" Lyrisadora quickly yelled back, she then collapsed on her bed and sighed. Man she couldn't wait for school.

* * *

><p><strong>'Oh my gosh Gilderoy Lockhart' was random I know. But that fight scene in the book just didn't suit the mood in my opinion. Though Arthur was awesome when he did that in the book and he's worth twenty of Lucius. <strong>

**Anyway, over a 1,000 hits yay! Hardly any reviews though, but it's ok I post because I like to write.**

**However...REVIEW!**


	21. Balancing Life

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>People change<strong>

**Chapter: Balancing Life**

* * *

><p><em>12h September 1992<em>

Lyrisadora sat at one of the long wooden tables in the schools library; scanning endless pieces of scrolls and books.  
>She sighed loudly as she rubbed her temples in tiredness.<p>

"Hey Lyra."

Lyrisadora jumped in surprise at the sudden noise. She looked up from her work and scanned the library. She sighed in relief when she saw the familiar grinning face of Fred and George.

"Oh, Fred, George I didn't hear you come in," she exclaimed.

"Well of course you wouldn't have, you've had your face glued to that mouldy old piece of parchment for hours," replied George irritably.

"Yeah Lyra , what's with all the anti-social behaviour?" questioned Fred playfully. Lyrisadora bit her lip and shifted uncomfortably.

"Well…it's just, my father. He was not fully pleased with my marks last year," Lyrisadora stated sadly. Fred snorted in disbelief.

"What marks does he expect you to get, all O's?" said Fred.

"That is pretty much expected, correct," replied Lyrisadora. George stared at her in disbelief.

"Your dad's mental, not even Bill or Charlie got all O's in their fourth year. Sides, I don't see why he's complaining, you're the smartest in our year," said George.

"Well he doesn't expect my grades to be all perfect, however he does expect me to get all O's in certain subject areas," argued Lyrisadora feebly. Fred rolled his eyes.

"Lyra you need to start standing up for yourself," said Fred irritably.

"I know it's just…." Lyrisadora trailed off.

"Come on Fred, it's obviously hard for her, just leave it," defended George, Lyrisadora smiled thankfully up at him. Fred grumbled, but said nothing.

There was a tense silence. George decided to break it.

"Anyway, Lyra you wanna hang out, me and Fred were heading down to Hogsmead with Lee, you wanna come?" asked George hopefully. Lyrisadora looked conflicted.

"Well… I'm not sure George, father _really_ does expect me to study, I do not want to disappoint him," Lyrisadora replied carefully, George looked crestfallen and frustrated.

"Oh come on, I'm sure you wont die if you displease him," said George irritably.

"I told you George I can not, you wouldn't understand," said Lyrisadora.

"Oh fine then, go ahead and study. Besides I'm sure your '_father_' wouldn't approve of you having actual _fun_," snapped George angrily. Lyrisadora looked hurt, she said nothing and just turned back to her work. George shook his head and walked away, Fred followed hastily after him.

And Lyrisadora was alone again, the only other occupants of the library was Madam Pince and Percy Weasley; who was sat in a far corner engrossed in a copy of _Prefects who gained power._

Lyrisadora sighed sadly. A strong voice, in her head, told her to do as she was told and study, and the other said to go have fun. However the strong voice sounded a lot like her father's and was a lot Lyrisadora sighed and resumed studying alone.

* * *

><p><em>15th September 1992<em>

Lyrisadora stood at her desk in Potions as she concentrated fiercely on what she was making. The Slytherins currently had Potions with the Gryffindors, but having been like this for two years already, they had gotten used to it, though it didn't mean they liked it.

Lyrisadora was partnered with Elizabeth. She stole a glance a the Weasley twins who were at a table with Lee, Lyrisadora would have liked them to sit with herself and Elizabeth, however Elizabeth's hatred of them prevented that.

"Ten more minutes," drawled Professor Snape, Lyrisadora carefully stirred her mixture six times.

"What are those morons up to?" questioned Elizabeth in a hushed tone, Lyrisadora looked up, having a good idea who Elizabeth was on about. Fred and George were up to something and their potion had turned a dark crimson, the exact opposite of the correct potion colour. Lyrisadora broke away from her potion as she watched them carefully, it wasn't uncommon for them to pull pranks in Potions, Professor Snape was their favorite person to prank, to them it was a thrill, like poking a dragon in the eye, to which they nearly always got burnt.

She saw Fred drop something glittery into his potion, she glanced at Professor Snape who was busy berating Alicia Spinnet on her poor potion, not noticing the twins plot unfolding. Lyrisadora glanced at Elizabeth who had abandoned her potion to stare questionably at the twins.

Fred's potion bubbled as George and Lee stepped back as a bright crimson drop slid down the cauldron. Lyrisadora's eyes widened in shock as a small purple hand splashed up, grabbing the cauldron top. Elizabeth gaped as Cassondria screamed as the small eyeless purple potato like creature jumped out of the potion onto the hard dungeon stone floor.

Professor Snape's head snapped towards the commotion his eyes wide with fury. All the Gryffindors laughed as the creature waddled quickly under the desks. Snape tried to stun the creature, but the potato blob dodged his attacks. Lyrisadora found herself grinning.

The creature scrambled onto the shelves, knocking over ingredients as Professor Snape furiously fired hexes at it. The whole dungeon was eloped in laughter as the chase continued. Lyrisadora clutched her sides as she watched the creature summer-salt into Miles Bletchley's potion and disappearing.

The laughter died as Professor Snape's lips tightened as his face turned icy. His eyes locked onto the Weasley twins, daggers stabbing them ceaselessly.

"Weasleys, twenty points from Gryffindor, _each_, detention for a month, potion _failed_," he spat coldly. The Gryffindors groaned quietly while the Slytherins smirked. "Now get out of my sight!" he hissed, none of the class needed a second notice as they hastily packed up their things and made to leave. Lyrisadora flung on her satchel as she made for the door.

"Hold on Miss Malfoy, I would like a word with you," said Professor Snape, stopping her in her tracks. Elizabeth looked concerned but Lyrisadora told her she'd meet her at the library. Lyrisadora turned to Professor Snape.

"Yes Professor?" she asked, her tone slightly nervous.

"Miss Malfoy, you are aware that your Potion scores are quite impressive," said Snape.

"Thank you Professor," said Lyrisadora, slightly confused as to where he was going with this.

"Which is why, I have decided to select you as my new Potions assistant," he continued. Lyrisadora blinked.

"Potions assistant?" she spluttered.

"Yes, I only select my top older students for the job, my last one left three years ago and I haven't found anyone capable enough to fill in his shoes, until now," he elaborated.

"I see, I am honored," said Lyrisadora, feeling it was the right thing to say. "What, would my job involve?-Besides the obvious," she asked.

"It's simple enough, I need someone to help me organize the potion store cupboard, carry out stocking errands, assist me in potion brewing. Potions, as you know, is a very delicate subject, taking both time and effort," exclaimed Professor Snape.

"I see," said Lyrisadora as she processed the information, the job did seem interesting and fun, she could learn a lot and the twins did always push her to do other things beside reading and studying, she smiled. "I look forward to the challenge," she said excitedly. Professor Snape nodded, his expression blank.

"I'm pleased by your enthusiasm-you begin tomorrow after study period, for one hour you will help me make Herbicide Potion for my first years class," he said, Lyrisadora nodded. "Good. Dismissed," he said lazily as he began to clean up the forgotten Potions, while sneering at the Weasley's with distaste. Lyrisadora nodded and walked towards the door, turning the door nob and exiting the dungeon.

* * *

><p><em>31st October 1992<em>

Lyrisadora swerved her way through the students towards her brother, fuming. Mrs Norris had just been petrified and Potter and co had been asked to stay behind. But Lyrisadora wasn't angry about that, no she was angry about what her brother had called that Granger girl. Lyrisadora had constantly tried to get through to Draco that he should never say the word 'Mudblood', let alone use it to insult a fellow student. She knew that when they were younger they used it all the time, but they were older know, they should know better. Lyrisadora's eyes locked onto the back of her brother's blond head, she quickened her pace and grabbed the back of his cloak hood, pulling him back away from the Slytherin entrance.

He let out a gasp of breath as his sister tugged him around a corner and was completely stunned by the gesture. Lyrisadora glared at him.

"What?" he implored, his tone holding surprise.

"Don't you 'what' me, you know what you did," spat Lyrisadora.

"Did what?" he sneered. Lyrisadora bit her tongue.

"You called that Granger girl a,a Mudblood," exclaimed Lyrisadora as she spat out the just shrugged.

"So_?_" he questioned, not looking at all fazed in the slightest.

"_So," _cried Lyrisadora in outrage, she shook her head at him; her brother knew she hated the word, mocking someone was one thing, bullying another, freely using the 'M' word at a young girl, knowing full well what it meant was a whole different story. "I'll tell you why it's so; using the word is one thing, but actually calling someone it to their face is another. And saying 'you're next' was horrible, it was like, like you wanted her dead," said Lyrisadora, the last bit shakily. Draco just looked at her passively.

"So what if I do, she's a Mudblood, she's filthy, ugly and a know it all, who cares if she dies," he sneered. Lyrisadora looked at him shocked, herself troubled, she knew her brother could be cruel, but she never thought he'd actually wish someone dead, it wasn't something a normal twelve year old would want.

"Why would you say such a thing?" she questioned, her voice strained.

"Because it's true-and don't look at me like that, she's filth Lyra, father thinks the same and it's about time you did to," said Draco coldly, before walking away from her towards the Slytherin entrance, leaving Lyrisadora frozen. Lyrisadora tried understand what her brother was saying. She didn't know what had gotten into him, even though she knew he believed in blood-purity, she had never imagined he would want a actually person dead, that Granger girl had done nothing to him, her only crime was being a Muggle-born. Her brother was becoming twisted.

Lyrisadora shook her head desperately, she didn't want to think about it, she didn't want her brother to change, he may be a brat, but at least he had a innocence to him, but now, she didn't know how much he had changed in the short space of a year. In fact the truth was she didn't want to know, she wanted to ignore it, ignorance was bliss.

"Lyra?" said a familiar voice, Lyrisadora looked up from the groaned she had been transfixed on. It was Elizabeth, her face holding concern. "Draco told me you were out here-are you okay?" she asked, Lyrisadora sighed and tried to shake her troubled thoughts.

"I'm fine, I just feel sorry for Mr Filch, I know I'd be devastated if anything happened to Sapphira," said Lyrisadora, stepping out of the corner.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will heal her, she'll be fine; anyway the halls will be a lot more peaceful without her," reassured Elizabeth, Lyrisadora smiled weakly.

"Right," said Lyrisadora. Elizabeth gave her a small smile.

"Come on then-I'm sure they'll catch who did it," she said as the two walked towards the Slytherin entrance. Lyrisadora nodded, but felt a horrible feeling in her gut, that things were going to get worse.

* * *

><p><em>2nd November 1992<em>

Lyrisadora hurried down the hallway, carrying a fresh batch of potion, the keys to the potion cabinet jiggling against her chest, she had to quickly supply the the cupboard then meet Cedric for their stroll around Hogwarts grounds.

She turned a corner and glanced down at the box of potions, silently counting that all were accounted for, the last thing she needed was Professor Snape checking them and her having to fill out a potion missing report. Lyrisadora was pulled out of her train of thought by a loud...

CRASH

As she colided with someone, dropping the box of potion, causing them to roll on the floor and nearly losing her balance. The figure she bumped into straitened up, revealing to be a lanky black haired green eyed boy with glasses, she recognized to be Harry Potter.

"Sorry," he said slightly out of breath, eyeing the fallen box with guilt. Lyrisadora sighed.

"It's fine," she said as she bent down to pick up the potions, Harry did the same.

"So, why have you got all these potions?" he questioned as he placed a potion into the box.

"Oh, well, it's because I'm Professor Snape's potion assistant," she elaborated, slight pride in her voice.

"Oh, right," Harry said a little uncertainly, not sure why anyone would want the job. "You're Malfoy's sister, from Flourish and Blotts?" he implored. Lyrisadora nodded.

"Yes, I am-oh that reminds me, I never introduced myself," she exclaimed, pausing from picking up the potions and holding out her hand. "My name is Lyrisadora," she said. Harry looked at the hand questionably and hesitated before shaking her hand.

"Harry Potter," he said.

"Oh I know," she said cheerfully, but then regretted it. "Not from my brother-I don't listen to what he says-because you're famous," she added quickly.

"Right," he said, as he continued to help, Lyrisadora bit her bottom lip.

"Sorry about the Flourish and Blotts incident-you know my brother, so you can only begin to imagine what my father is like," she apologized feebly.

"It's fine," Harry mumbled, he then placed the last vile into the box, before standing up, Lyrisadora soon followed. "By the way, where do these potions go?" asked Harry curiously.

"Oh, well they go into the main storage cupboard which belongs to Professor Snape," explained Lyrisadora brightly.

"Is it always locked?" he asked carefully.

"Yes, well except during lessons, that's when it's unlocked," answered Lyrisadora casually, she then stopped and reviewed his question. "Why would you want to know?" she asked suspiciously.

"Uh, no reason, just curious," added Harry quickly, Lyrisadora eyed him suspiciously. "Uh, anyway, I better go-sorry about bumping into you-bye," he said anxiously, quickly walking past her down the hall. Lyrisadora watched him walk away, still wondering why on earth he wanted to know if the cupboard was locked all the time, unless...

"Hey Lyra!" called a familiar voice, Lyrisadora turned around as her face lit up once she saw Cedric.

"I was just finishing up," she said, as he walked towards her.

"Yeah well,I came to see what was taking you so long," said Cedric, he glanced at the box. "You spend more time over a cauldron and book then you do outside," he joked, though there was a hint of bitter in his tone.

"Professor Snape says I have potential, also father has insisted that I continue to study hard," reasoned Lyrisadora. "I just have to put these in the cupboard and then we may have our stroll," she reassured.

"Well I'll come with you-call it a extended stroll," he said, Lyrisadora shrugged.

"Alright then," she said as she began to walk down the hall, Cedric by her side.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay I rated this chapter average. Also I can't remember if it was Hermione who found out where Snape held his ingredients or Harry and I couldn't be bothered looking it up in the book so I just added this scene-plus I wanted Harry and Lyrisadora to officially meet.<strong>

**Review!**


	22. Hurt,Love,Live and Eat

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter: Hurt,Love,Live and Eat<strong>

* * *

><p><em>5th November 1992<em>

Lyrisadora walked down the hallway with three large books in her arms. The hallway was all but abandoned, aside from Cassondria Pottencrest, Cordula Valens and Lucretia Veregreen. Lyrisadora tried to remember to breath as she contnued to walk down the corridor. The three girls stopped chatting once they caught sight of her. Lyrisadora avoided their gaze and tried to focus on the path staright ahead.

"Are you alright Lyrisadora?" questioned Cassondria, stepping up from partly leaning on the wall.

"Fine," said Lyrisadora curtly as she continued to walk. Cassondria smiled. Lyrisadora walked past her

"_Really_, because I heard a rumour, that you've been cheating Cedric Diggory, with George Weasley," said Cassondria pleasently, stopping Lyrisadora in her tracks. Lyrisadora paused before turning around.

"Exuse me?" she questioned. Cassondria's smile grew.

"I must say, it's a bit of a fall, even for Diggory-he may be a half-blood and a Hufflepuff-but a Weasley's a bit low for even _your_ standards," she said scathingly, Lucretia and Cordula giggled from behind Cassondria. Lyrisadora felt anger bottle up.

"I don't know what you're talking about-George is just a friend," she protested, some slight fear in her voice, knowing Cassondria would twist her words and start a nasty rumour.

"Oh come on Malfoy, don't lie, I saw you hugging him last year, Hogsmead trips together and not forgetting all that alone time you've spent with him," she said mockingly.

"I was helping hinm with his homework! And besides, that's no evidence that I would be cheating on Cedric," Lyrisadora argued. Cassondria shrugged.

"Still good enough for the rumour mill-we'll see what everyone else thinks tomorrow," said Cassondria, smirking. Lyrisadora opened and closed her mouth, wanting to retort with a nasty name for Cassondria but couldn't bring herself to say it, even though she oh so wanted to. Instead she just glared at Cassondria.

"Whatever," Lyrisadora spat as she began to walk away. She turned away and stepped forward. Lucretia stuck her foot out, causing her to trip. Lyrisadora's books fell to the floor as she landed onto the cold stone floor. Cassondria and Co burst out laughing, Lyrisadora felt her cheeks burn red as she scrambled to her feet and ran off.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora sat on her bed, holding her knees as Sapphira nuzzled her. Oh how she hated Cassondria with a passion, for some reason the girl had gotten meaner. Maybe it was hormones. But whatever the reason, it seemed she had a perminent vendeta against her. The only thing Lyrisadora had ever done to Cassondria, had been when she accidently knocked her into a lake at a tea party she had been forced to attend with her mother, when she was six. She had thought Cassondria would get over it, but appearently the girl could hold a grudge.<p>

Lyrisadora sighed deeply, before she snapped her head upwards at the sound of the dormatry door opening. She hoped it wasn't Lucretia, she was the last person she wanted to see right now. The door opened and to Lyrisadora's relief it was Elizabeth. Elizabeth walked into the room, not looking at Lyrisadora as she had her eyes fully locked onto a charms essay in her hand as she proof read it.

"Hey Lyra," she drawled, not looking up as she sat on her bed.

"Hello Liz," greeted Lyrisadora, forcing her voice to be cheerful. "Finished your charm essay?" she inquired, trying to make conversation. Elizabeth noddede dully as she made some corrections with her quil.

"Nearly finished, just some spelling errors," she said plainly.

"That's good!" said Lyrisadora overly enthusiastically, causing Elizabeth to look up from her essay, arching a eyebrow at her.

"_Very,"_ she drawled, she stared at her for a second before puting down her work. "Are you okay Lyra?" she asked. Lyrisadora forced a smile.

"Fine, never better-just a tad tired," she lied sweetly.

"Right..." said Elizabeth carefully. Lyrisadora squirmed uncomfortably.

"Well, I best get ready for bed," she said, standing up.

"But it's only 8pm," protested Elizabeth in confusion.

"Oh is it, well, like I said, I'm tired," Lyrisadora insisted, as she started to walk towardsthe door, before Elizabeth could further protest. But the door opened before her hand could turn the doornob. Lyrisadora stepped back as Lucretia walked though the door, Lyrisadora kept her expression blank as Lucretia smirked but said nothing as she let her pass. Elizabeth looked between the two questionably, but Lyrisadora hastily walked through the door before she could bonbard her with questions.

* * *

><p><em>6th November 1992<em>

Lyrisadora sat next to her brother at the Slytherin table during breakfast. She played with her porridge, stirring it until it started to become water, her head rested on her lft hand knuckle. She didn't look up as the owls came swooping into the hall, dropping letters in front of them all. She heard Draco next to her rip open him.

"Apperently Mother and father are to be away this Christmas," he said aloud. Lyrisadora looked up and turned to him, he was looking directly at her, the letter in his hand.

"Why?" she asked, their parents never went away at christmas without them. Draco scanned the rest of the letter.

"It appears they're going away to Paris, to spend _'quality time together'_," drawled Draco, grimacing at the last sentence, Lyrisadora was confused, but after a second of ignorence, she gagged and dropped her spoon.

"Ewww, but they're _old_," she protested, Draco's grimace deepened.

"Uh, I know," he agreed.

"So it looks like we're here for Christmas," stated Lyrisadora, her spirits slighty more lifted after the funny yet digusting realization what their parents would be doing over Christmas.

"Great, I'll be stuck here with _Potter_," spat Draco acidly. Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at him.

"It isn't that bad Draco. I do not see why you're complaining, it's your fault that Potter is your enemy-if you were only civil," lectured Lyrisadora lightly.

"_Civil_," spat Draco. "He doesn't deserve it-he's a goody two shoes who thinks he owns the place," retorted Draco. Lyrisadora looked at him skeptically, he was being a tad hypocritical, if anyone thought they owned the 'place', it was Draco.

"If you say so," she breathed as she began to eat her porridge.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora waved goodbye to her brother as she exited the Great Hall. She walked in silence before screaming as Fred and George jumped out from behind the corner.<p>

"You!" she snapped, she hated it when they did that. The twins just laughed.

"Works everytime," laughed Fred, Lyrisadora huffed and folded her arms, as the two calmed down.

"What do you want anyway?" she questioned in frustration.

"Just wondering if you wanted to come to Hogsmead with us; we're heading off to Honeydukes," invited George.

"Honeydukes," said Lyrisadora brightly, she had been craving one of their Cauldron Cakes lately. But then she remembered her plans. "Oh, but I already promised to meet Cedric at the three Broomsticks already," she said slightly gloomily. Fred moaned.

"Uh, pretty boy Diggory," sighed Fred.

"He's all looks and no brains," retorted George.

"And that's saying something, saying he's more hansome than us two," said Fred in mocked outrage.

"I know-as if he could _compare_," huffed George in fake snobbery, slicking back his hair. Lyrisadora faught a snort and swallowed her laugh as she tried to look serious.

"Oh stop it,I'll have you know that Cedric is very smart-I don't what your problem with him is," said Lyrisadora.

"_Our Problem? _He's the one who has a problem with us, barely says a second word to us," scoffed George, Fred nodded strongly in agreement. Lyrisadora waved a dismisive hand.

"Oh don't be silly, he likes you, you just don't know him like I do," reasoned Lyrisadora.

"Wouldn't want to," whispered Fred in George's ear, causing him to chuckle. Lyrisadora scowled at them.

"Oh will you stop it. I'm going to prove to you that Cedric is a great guy, I'll meet you at Honeydukes later on, with Cedric," she elaberated. The Weasley twins exchanged looks.

"_Right,_ because that'll work out great," said Fred sarcastically.

"It will," Lyrisadora said firmly. "And you_ will_ be civil and friendly to him," added Lyrisadora, her tone indicating that it was a order, not a request. "Understood?" she inquired coolly.

"Uh, understood," said George, slightly awe. Lyrisadora smiled.

"Good, then I shall see you then," she said pleasently before walking off. Once she was gone Fred turned to his brother.

"Definitely inherited the the Malfoy phsyco gene," said Fred, gesturing his thumb behind him to where Lyrisadora had disappeared down the corridor.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora walked down Hogsmead path in hand with Cedric, as the rest of the Hogwarts groups spread out.<p>

"So where are we going again?" he asked.

"I told you,it's a surprise," said Lyrisadora brightly, playfully punching him in the arm. Though she was slightly anxious, she hadn't exactly told Cedric they were to meet up with the Weasley twins and Lee. She had said that they would be meeting up with some people after their date, but she hadn't said who.

"Right, ok," he said, shrugging.

They soon neared Honeydukes, the Weasley's flaming hair standing out in the crowd. Lyrisadora glanced at their direction in confusion, Lyrisadora looked away and ignored his questioning look. She let go of his hand and smiled at her friends.

"George, Fred,Lee. Sorry we're late," she apologized.

"It's fine-hiya Lyra," greeted George warmly.

"S'up Malfoy," greeted Lee friendly.

"Lyra my girl," greeted Fred brightly. She smiled then turned to Cedric, who looked slightly awe of the four.

"You all Cedric," she said cheerfully, there was a pause, Cedric cleared his throat.

"Hey," he greeted plainly.

"S'up," greeted Lee.

"Hiya."

"...Hey."

Lyrisadora laughed nervously.

"Well, let's go, I can't wait to try the Charm choc," said Lyrisadora.

"But Lyra, didn't you sya you had a diet to stick to or something?" questioned Cedric, Lyrisadora's smile drooped. She had forgotten, she hadn't had sweets in a while though, her mother had almost nearly fobade her to eat cake during the summer and had questioned her suger intake of tea.

"Oh who cares," groaned Fred in irritation. "Lyra, your parents aren't here, you can do what you like, relax already," he reassured.

"Yeah Malfoy take a chill pill," pushed Lee.

"Be a rebel!" joked George. Lyrisadora bit the bottom of her lip, conflicted.

"Oh, I don't know...mother would be-and father wouldn't like-but the chocolate...Oh Alright!" snapped Lyrisadora, she grapped hold of Cedric's arm. "Let's eat jelly slugs until we turn green!" she yelled before dragging Cedric into the shop.

Lyrisadora eyed the sweets excitedly, she felt so bad, like she could eat as much as she wanted, she wouldn't be going home this holiday, which meant she could do this again! She wondered how many Chocolate Cauldrons she could eat before her teeth started to hurt, or how many packets of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans she could devour before throwing up and how muck Salt Water Taffy she could eat before her mouth went numb.

"What are you going to buy Cedric?" she questioned.

"Hm? Oh well I'm not really hungry, so I'm just gonna buy a chocolate frog," he repplied, Lyrisadora nodded.

"Hey Lyra, come over here!" called Fred from the far corner of the brightly coloured shop.

"Come on," said Lyrisadora as she led Cedric towards them. When she walked over, Lee was chewing on a jelly slug watching Fred and George hold up a packet of sweets that read 'Exploding bonbons', causing Lyrisadora to roll her eyes, she smelt trouble.

"Check it," said George, holding the packet up for closure view. "Awesome aren't they, fresh and new-let's test them,"he said enthusiastically.

"Are you sure?" asked Cedric skeptically.

"Course we're sure," protested Fred.

"Yeah, what's the worse that could happen?" implored Lee, which didn't settle the for shadowing of a risk.

"Gee I don't know,should we..." Lyrisadora started to worry.

"Yes we should-to the counter!" cried Lee dramatically, the twins soon followed him, Lyrisadora sighed and shook her head.

"Do they ever listen?" questioned edric, who was shaking his head in disbelief at them.

"No, they don't," sighed Lyrisadora. "Come on, let's watch the plot unfold," she groaned as she walked towards them.

Once they had all paid, teh group huddled around the packet of Exploding Bonbons.

"Who wants to go first?" asked Lee, everyon's eyes shifted around the group.

"Diggory?" offered George, Cedric arched a Eyebrow at him.

"Yeah right," he scoffed.

"Oh come on, it's just a bit of fun," sighed Fred, smirking. Cedric shook his head.

"Oh will you two stop it already," snapped Lyrisadora, hands on hips.

"Malfoy it's only a bit of fun," moaned Lee.

"yeah, sides it isn't our fault he's chicken," added George, Cedric's eyes narrowed at the two.

"Chicken huh? Well if you're so brave _you_ try them," retorted Cedric. George hesitated, his eyes flickered to Lyrisadora then at the bonbons.

"Alright," said George defiantly as he began to unwrap the smirked at the look of surprise on Cedric's face. "_I _will."

"Me two," piped up Fred, stepping forward, showing that is his brother was going to look like a idiot, then he would too.

Fred and George took out a BonBon each,chewing it, then they stopped, both looking troubled, Lyrisadora watched eagerly. Her eyes widened as she saw the twins cheeks start to puff out. Fred frantically felt his as he started to moan as his mouh was glued shut, until finally...

"Ahhh!" screamed Fred, his mouth appeared to be having siezure, he slapped his cheeks as he gritted his teeth, George did the same as he started to run around in circles. Cedric burst out laughing as Lee tried to stop the two.

"What should we do?" questioned Lyrisadora shrilly.

"Who cares," laughed Cedric, Lyrisadora groaned.

"I knew this was a bad idea," she sighed, she then smirked, George was an idiot, but he had guts.

* * *

><p><em>7th November 1992<em>

"Oh, Liz I'm sure the swelling will go down...just give it-time," Lyrisadora tried to reassure as she sat at her friend's bedside. The sound of the Slytherin Vs Gryffindor match could be heard. Lyrisadora sighed, she would have preffered to be outside cheering on her team, even though they were rotten cheaters at times. She had seen her father enter the Slytherin quidditch top box, which could only add more pressure to the game for her brother. Elizabeth moaned loudly. Lyrisadora turned back to her friend who was staring at her with pursed lips.

"Liz calm down, it's not _that_ bad," reasoned Lyrisadora. Elizabeth's eyes widened.

"Gugrrrlaaa."

"Oh come on, you're making a mountain out of dragon dung."

"Mememuuuh!"

"Madame Ponfrey says you'll be cured by tomorrow morning."

"Maaaaaaaamuuueee!" screamed Elizabeth, sticking out her swollen blotchy orange tongue. Lyrisadora grimaced, she heard a roar, which was soon followed by a worried 'ewww'. Lyrisadora wondered what was going on out there. She was broaght out of her musing, by the sound of Elizabeth's muffled screams. Lyrisadora was starting to get a headache.

"Calm down Liz, it's not like you're dead," said Lyrisadora brightly, earning a glare from Elizabeth. "Anyway, the teachers have allowed you a break until you're well enough to work, so you won't be behind in lessons," she added. Elizabeth merely groaned, though it sounded like a choke against her tongue.

Just then, the door burst open, revealing two crowds of people, one group in emerald green, the other in bright red. She stood once she recognised her brother being carried by Crabbe and Goyle, himself moaning dramatically. The second she recognised to be Harry Potter and co with the entire Gryffindor team behind him. Oliver looked frantic as he started to moan about how on earth would they manage with seeker with no bones.

Lyrisadora hesitated before walking towards her brother. She examined him and fought a smirth as she saw him holding his crotch for dear life. She sighed.

"What's happened Draco?" she asked.

"What_ hasn't_ happened!" screatched Pansy from Behind Crabbe, she rushed over to Draco's side, grabbing a chair as she stared at him with soppy mushy eyes. Lyrisadora felt sick.

"Okay, let me rephrase-Draco what _has_ happened?" Lyrisadora inquired. Drcao moaned.

"Potter-knocked...me off my broom," he gasped. Lyrisadora looked at him skeptically, she could tell when her brother was lieing to her.

"Draco, _seriously_?" drawled Lyrisadora, crossing her arms and raising a skeptic eyebrow at him. He stopped moaning and glared at her.

"It was Potter's fault, him and that stupis bludger knocked be off my broom," hissed Draco. Lyrisadora shook her head at him, she glanced over at Harry.

"So what happened to him?" she asked, trying to see over the sea of red. Draco looked at her disgruntled at her lack of concern.

"Oh him, he just broke his arm, catching the snitch-stupid scar head-" he started to mutter darkly but Lyrisadora stopped him, she already had a headache from Elizabeth, she didn't need another.

"Yes I know-why is his arm like that?" she asked, grimacing once catching sight of his floppy arm.

"Lockheart, tried to head his arm-serves Potter right," spat Draco. Lyrisadora shook her head, Lockheart was an idiot. Just then Drcao started moaning again as Madame Ponfrey briskly emerged, racing towards Potter with a potion, Lyrisadora recognised to be 'Skelogrow.' She glanced at Draco and rolled her eyes.

"Oh Mr Malfoy you are fine, you can go," she snapped as she hastily ran to Potter's side. Draco scowled at her, Pansy looked like she was going to cry out in outrage, but Lyrisadora stopped her.

"It's best you go Draco, I'm sure you'll be fine, Pansy will dote on you I'm sure," said Lyrisadora, Draco looked like he was going to protest, but Lyrisadora gave him a firm stare. "_Now,"_ she ordered strongly, Draco glared at her and muttered something darkly under his breath before grudgenly getting out of bed. Pansy quickly ran to his side as Draco tried to push her away. Lyrisadora had to admit, it was kinda cute, but sickening all the same. Once Draco's gang was gone, Lyrisadora walked back over to Elizabeth,who was watching the quidditch team with interest.

"Whahowemd?" she questioned.

"Lockheart made Potter's bones disappear," Lyrisadora elaberated dully. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes suddenlt at the two red headed figures breaking away from the group. It was Fred and George, both wearing identical grins.

"Lizard!" they cheered.

"Gowabowaaay!" Elizabeth screetched, the twins burst out laughing.

"What-ha-oh-wow-what hap-pened?" questioned Fred inbetween laughs. Elizabeth's face turned red in fury.

"She had an allergic reaction," drawled Lyrisadora.

"To-to what?" questioned George, calming down.

"It's starnge actually," began Lyrisadora, looking befuddled."It turns out she's allergic to cocoa, which is more strange, because her tongue started swelling when she started eating some cake her mother sent her..." Lyrisadora trailed off and frowned, she glanced at the twins who were exchanging nervous looks.

"Urrr, she's allergic to cocoa?" inquired George nervously.

"Yes, it's even more bizarre considering the cake was meant to be plain vanilla," replied Lyrisadora suspiciously. "Why do you ask?" she said sternly, folding her arms and looking at them with disapproval.

"Uhhh..." they both trailed off, having no idea what to say. Then it all became clear, Lyrisadora groaned.

"Oh tell me you didn't," moaned Lyrisadora, putting her forehead inbetween her thumb and index finger.

"Well..." began Fred.

"It wasn't intential..." continued George.

"It was just a joke..."

"...we didn't know she had allergies..."

"...and she's so easy to wind up..."

"_Fred, George,"_ said Lyrisadora sternly, signalling them to get to the point.

"We put cut up bits of Exploding bonbons in that cake..." confessed Fred.

"...just to see if they would explode in her mouth!" George added quickly. Lyrisadora glared at them.

"You idiots!" she snapped harshly. George winced.

"It was Fred's idea!" he claimed.

"What! It was your idea to put it in the cake," protested Fred.

"But it was you who forged her mother's hand writing," pointed out George.

"Why I-" started Fred, but stopped at the sound of growing growls. Lyrisadora looked behind her. Elizabeth was glowing red, her fist were turning white, her teeth were gritted and she was staring at the Weasley twins with utter loathing.

"Foo!" she spat, literally. George laughed nervously.

"Now now Liza-zie, let's not do anything rash," said George carefully, holding up his hands in surrender.

"It was only a joke," argued Fred, copying his twin's actions. Elizabeth growled.

"Would you two like some advice?" questioned Lyrisadora, the twins nodded. "_Run_," she said strongly. The twins nodded swiftly before bolting towards the door, Elizabeth screamed and through off her covers as she jumped out of bed and ran after them in bear feet.

"Wamgowagwefoo!" she roared. Lyrisadora shook her head as she watched them run down the hall, she sighed and turned around as she felt someone's eyes on her. It was Potter, gaping at her with both confusion and awe. She laughed anxiously.

"Friends," she said playfully, waving a dismissive hand as if this happened all the time, she smiled weakly. "If you would excuse me," Lyrisadora said warmly before sprinting towards the door. The sound of her muffled yells echoing from down the corridor.

"Don't do anything rash Liz! Count to ten and remember what the therapist said!"

* * *

><p><strong>A month ahhhh! Sigh, late I know, but college has been stressful, but I swore to devote a whole day for this chapter and I have...I really need to finish my homework-But anyway yeah, chapter names are getting harder, Fourth year and onwards I have good chapter names, it's just second year and third I'm strugging with (not much happens) it's mostly just character developement. But anyway yeah.<strong>

**Oh and thanks weasleygirlalltheway for the advice.**

**Review please-lol that reminded me of the amanda show catchphase Amanda Please! lol**

**Anyway Review**

"


	23. Ducks and Hexes

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>Quaking Troubles<strong>

**Chapter: Ducks and Hexes**

* * *

><p><em>17th December 1992<em>

Lyrisadora sat on the opene window ledge in the courtyard, reading her Potions book. Elizabeth was opposite her, reading a _Witch Weekly_ magazine. Lyrisadora hugged her emerald scarf closure to her throat.

"Hey Lyra," chorused two familiar male voices. Lyrisadora recognised them instently.

"Fred, George," she drawled, not bothering to look up as she turned a page. Elizabeth glared at them as her mouth twitched. The twins eyed her warily as the peered over Lyrisadora's shoulder to see what she was reading. Fred was the first to register the books contents.

"Uhhh, _Potions_," he said with a grimace.

"How do you find _that_ interesting?" questioned George, wearing an identical grimace as his brother's.

"Oh shush, we'll be starting our OWLS next year, we have to prepare," stated Lyrisadora. The twins rolled their eyes at her.

"You sound like _Percy_," moaned Fred. George groaned.

"_Prefect_ extraordinaire," he declared sarcasically. Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at their childish antics.

"Well at least he's ambitiouse, it's important to be studious," said Lyrisadora, slightly pompusely. George looked at her warily.

"You sound _just_ like _him._" George shivered.

"Lyra you're no fun anymore," wined Fred, pauting.

"Yeah, ever since you started dating Diggory and became Snape's TA, alls you ever do is work,read, lecture, snog and _work_," stressed George.

"I'm just acting mature, I'm fun," Lyrisadora protested.

"You're in denial," snapped Fred.

"You've been corrupted!" cried George dramatically.

"By the _norms_," hissed Fred, his eyes narrowing at Elizabeth, who sneered and rolled her eyes at them.

"Come on, we have to save her, before she becomes _boring_," ordered George firmly, grabbing hold of Lyrisadora's left arm.

"Agreed!" yelled Fred, grabbing hold of her right arm. Lyrisadora sighed and groaned, already knowing what was about to happen,she had grown used to the Twins spontaniouse behaviour over the years.

"For Merlin's sake," she muttered as the twins lifted her onto the ground and proceeded to drag her down the hall.

"Hey, where are you going?" snapped Elizabeth, her voice echoing down the corridor.

"Yes, where are we going?" questioned Lyrisadora.

"Somewhere fun, crazy and is gaurenteed to get out of control," answered George.

"The new dueling club," elaberated Fred cheerfully.

"But I don't want to duel," protested Lyrisadora. George and Fred gaped at her.

"What happened to you?"choked Fred, in a fake crying voice. Lyrisadora sighed, Fred and George were way to over dramatic, dueling just wasn't her thing, father had been a little pushy she learn the basics, but it just didn't appeal to her.

"It's more worse then we thought," said George looking at her with concern. "She's starting to become _sensible_."

"Quicken your pace brother," ordered Fred urgently. George nodded his head strongly, as Lyrisadora tried to keep up with their pace.

They were greeted by the sound of excited chatter as they stepped into the Great hall. It was jam packed, all former dining tablesvanished, with students, ages ranging from first year to seventh, all gathered around a large long dueling pale blue stage in the middle of the hall with wands at the ready. Once the doors were shut behind them, Fred and George released her. Lyrisadora scowled at them both, but decided to stay and investigate this 'dueling club'. The three friends walked over to Oliver and Angelina, who were borth chatting to Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet.

" Hey guys," greeted Fred.

"Hey Fred," said Angelina brightly, smiling.

"Look who we managed to drag along," said George cheerfully, stepping aside so Lyrisadora was in view. Lyrisadora gave them a weak smile as Angelina, Alicia and Katie looked at her curiously.

"Albino Malfoy's big sister?" questioned Katie.

"Yeah, she's in our year," stated Alicia.

"And standing right in front of you," chimed Lyrisadora, not liking being talked about. Angelina look slightly affronted, but said nothing. Oliver decided to try and lighten the awkwardness.

"So, who do you think is teaching the class?" he implored.

"Dumbledore," suggested Katie casually.

"Be wicked if he did," quipped Fred.

"Mcgonagall is probably a decent dueler," sugested George.

"Anyone's fine, as long as it isn't Snape," declared Oliver, Lyrisadora scowled, cruel Professor Snape may be, but he was a good capable talented teacher.

"Uh, you may want to add to that list Oliver," said Fred, as he looked to wards the opened doors. "Look who's just arrived," he added, everyone turned, the sound of girlish screaming echoed around the hall as Lyrisadora groaned. It was Gildoroy Lockhart.

"Oh for the love of Merlin," cried Lyrisadora, the boys shared her woes, but the girls screetched with delight as Lockhart fully swaggered into the room, winking at the excited schoolgirls in his wake as he walked onto the stage. She heard George groan loudly over the crowd as he caught sight of another figure.

"You've jinxed it Oliver," he moaned as Professor Snape followed behind Lockhart.

"Well at least we'll learn something," said Lyrisadora, silently hoping that with any luck, Professor Snape would send Lokhart to a one way ticket to St Mungos to which he would never return.

Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent." The shuffling of feet was heard, as everyone squeezed towards the stage. "

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions — for full details, see my published works. (Oh for love of-).Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself." Lyrisadora scoffed at this, but said nothing. "...And has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry — you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"We won't," muttered Fred and George in hushed unison. Lyrisadora smirked as she saw Professor Snape's upper lip begin to curl upwards. Oh this would be _fun, _she thought with malice.

Lockhart bowed as Professor Snape jerked his head stiffly. They both raised there wands at each other.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

"Tell that to _him_," muttered Fred, his eyes flickering to Professor Snape. Angelina turned around and shushed him crossly.

"One — two — three —"

They both fired their wands."Expelliarmus!"Professor Snape cried, there was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feetblowing him backwards off the stage, smashing into the wall, sliding down it to sprawl on the floor.

Lyrisadora heard her brother cheer, as did some other Slytherins. Lyrisadora felt the urge to cheer along as well, but since Angelina and her friends seemed to be part of the Lockhart fan club, she faught against it.

Lockhart was getting unsteadily to his feet, his hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end.

"Well, there you have it!" he said, tottering back onto the platform. "That was a Disarming Charm — as you see, I've lost my wand — ah, thank you, Miss Brown!"

Lavender looked like she'd swoon.

"—Yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was _very_ obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only _too_ easy —"

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Of _course,"_ she muttered scathingly.

George gave her a crooked smile. "So hateful," he whispered amusingly, she rolled her eyes at him, hiding a smile.

"...However, I felt it would be instructive to let them see…" Lockart droned on. Professor Snape looked homicidal, Lockhart may have caught onto this as he quickly decided to delay another attack. "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me —"They moved through the crowd, Lyrisadora watched them partner up students, she caught sight of Professor Snape walking towards Potter.

"Time to split up the dream team, I think," she heard Snape sneer. "Weasley, you can partner Finnigan. Potter —" Lyrisadora saw Potter move closure to the Granger girl. Big mistake she thought, while observing the scene.

"Bet Snape will split us up," she heard George say from behind, causing Lyrisadora to miss what Professor Snape had said next.

Fred followed Lyrisadora's gaze. "Looks like trouble's brewing," clicked Fred.

"I'm sure it isn't that bad," reasoned Lyrisadora.

"Wanna bet," said George, his eyes resting on a moving figure, Lyrisadora was slightly befuddled, but groaned once she found who he was looking at, swaggering over from the Slytherin side across the room was her brother, wearing his trademark smirk, followed by a bulky chubby haggish girl.

"Oh look George, it's Miss Holiday Hags UK," whispered Fred in fake excitement.

Lyrisadora snorted at this as she watched the two Slytherins walk over to the lanky Gryffindors. Lyrisadora was blocked from view as Lockhart walked over to them. Lockhart smiled at then brightly, Angelina, Alicia and Katie sighed lovingly as the rest scowled. Angelina and Katie were partnered Together, Fred and Alicia were as well, Leaving Oliver George and Lyrisadora.

George moved closure to Lyrisadora, an action caught glimps of by Snape who smirked and called. "Miss Malfoy and Mr Wood, the remaining Weasley can partner with the Mr Pucey." Before Lockhart could speak.

George glared at the smirking Professor Snape fiercly and growled as he stalked off towards Adrian; who was twirling his wand rather threateningly. "Knew this would happen." George muttered.

Once everyone was partnered up, Lockhart spoke again."Face your partners!" he instructed Lockhart, back on the platform. "And bow!"

Lyrisadora faced Oliverm he bowed curtly, she herself barely bent her back, causing Oliver to give her an amused look.

Wands at the ready!" shouted Lockhart. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents — only to disarm them — we don't want any accidents — one… two… three —"

A sound of a spell being uttered by a familiar voice rung in the air as Lyrisadora caught glimps of red light from the corner of her eye. But everyone else had started firing random spells before Lyrisadora could turn around and investigate.

"Ready?" yelled Oliver from over the noise. "I'll take it easy on you," he added, smirking.

Lyrisadora glared at him as she swung her wand at him."_Everte Statum_!" she yelled, causing Oliver to be thrown backwards, sliding across the floor, Lyrisadora smirked, Oliver quickly got to his feet and fired a Bat-bogey hex at her. Lyrisadora screetched and quickly got to her feet, firing a hex right back at him.

"I said disarm only!" screamed Lockhart, but the hall was already in chaos.

"Right," growled Lyrisadora, brandishing her wand, she fired her spell while Oliver was stumbling to his feet. "_Ducklifors_!" she yeld. And before her eyes Oliver turned into a duck. She smiled in satisfaction as Oliver quaked.

"Stop! Stop!" screamed Lockhart, but Snape took charge.

"_Finite Incantatem_!"A haze of greenish smoke was hovering over the scene. As it cleared, Oliver turned back into a human, himself on all fours, he scrambled to his feet and glared at Lyrisadora, who smiled pleasantly at him, her arms folded as she watched the rest of the scene unfold.

George returned, himself holding a tissue to his nose as purple snot oozed out from it, she narrowed her eyes at Adrian who had an unpleasent smile nailed on his face as he watched them. Besides George's gooey nose, most people looked relatively fine, with the exception of Fred who was caressing his but, whilst glaring at Alicia, who just giggled.

Her eyes locked onto the Granger girl, who was in aheadlock, whimpering. Lyrisadora should have known Bulstrode was too stupid to duel.

"Dear, dear," said Lockhart, wondering through the crowd, looking at the aftermath of the duels. "Up you go, Macmillan…"Careful there, Miss Fawcett… Pinch it hard, it'll stop bleeding in a second." He stopped and looked at them all."I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells," said Lockhart. Lyrisadora sneered.

"No shit Sherlock," she muttered.

He looked around, he glanced at Professor Snape, who's eyes glinted with malice and hastily looked away, clearing his throat. "Let's have a volunteer pair — Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you —"

"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart," said Snape, gliding. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells." Lyrisadora sighed, he was such a bully, she saw Longbottom shrink away like a turtle into its own shell. "...We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox," he continued to taunt, then his lip curled. "How about Mr Malfoy and Potter?" he suggested, the curl of his lip turned into a twisted smile.

"Excellent idea," said Lockhart, gesturing Potter and Draco to come forward.

"Well that's him done for," muttered Fred.

"The boy who lived,no more," sighed George.

Oliver scowled and punched them both in the arm. "Knock it out you two, that's my star seeker you're jinxing," warned Oliver, Fred and George just rolled their eyes at him. Lyrisadora howver had her eyes locked onto the scene, this would not end well. The whole hall backed away to give them room, it was a known fact Potter and Draco were on bad terms.

"Now, Harry," said Lockhart. "When Draco points his wand at you, you do this."

He raised his own wand, attempted a complicated sort of wiggling action, and dropped it.

Lyrisadora tried to cover her laugh with a caugh.

Professor Snape smirked as Lockhart quickly picked it up, saying, "Whoops— my wand is a little overexcited—" This caused Fred, George and Oliver to choke on their laughter, Lyrisadora faught a smile.

"Oh stop being so immature," whispered Lyrisadora, forcing her expression to appear blank.

Lockhart cuffed Harry merrily on the shoulder. "Just do what I did, Harry!"

"What? Drop my wand?" Potter questioned. Lyrisadora muffled her laugh with her hand as she smiled, who knew Potter had sass.

Lockhart seemed to be obliviouse as he smiled widely. "Three-Two-One-Go!" he shouted.

Draco acted almost instinctively, yelling:"_Serpensortia!_" The sound of screaming was heard as a long black snape emerged from Draco's wand. Lyrisadora grimaced. Only _her_ brother, she thought with disapproval, shaking her head.

"Don't move Potter," ordered Professor Snape lazily, _at least he would get rid of the snake_, thought Lyrisadora in relief. "I'll get rid of it..."

"Allow me!" chimed in Lockhart. Lyrisadora's palm hit her face, this idiot was going to make things skydive in a matter of seconds.

He brandished his wand at the snake and there was a loud bang; the snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack. Enraged, hissing furiously, it slithered straight towards Justin Finch-Fletchley and raised itself again, fangs exposed.

Lyrisadora paled, things looked grim. Then just as it looked like the Fletchleys Christmas would be black, a hissing sound cut through the air. Entering Lyrisadora's eardrums, it made her brain sting slightly as she looked around for the source, she gaped as her eyes locked onto the source, it was Potter.

Whatever had been said, the snake slumped, caming, his eyes now on Potter. Lyrisadora looked troubled as she saw the Potter boy grin, what was he doing, it was creepy. Why was Potter smiling?

"What do you think you're playing at?" shouted Fletchley fearfully, looking at Potter wide eyed, before storming off out of the Great hall. Professor Snape stepped forward and vanished the Snake, himself slightly pale as he looked at Potter with calculating eyes.

"Blimey..." breathed George. The hall broke out in mutters, as the students cast wary and fearful looks at Potter. Who stood dumbly still on the platform, she saw his friends tug his robe and lead him out of the hall, students drawing away from him, as if he was infected.

"Potter's a Parselmouth," stated Lyrisadora to herself. It didn't seem possible. Parselmouths were almost exstinct, there were scarce in Britain, more floural in Transalvaynia and Mexico, besides it wasn't something you boasted about.

"Guess the heir isn't Malfoy after all," said Lee, from behind them, arriving just in time to see the show.

"What?" snapped Lyrisadora fiercly, glaring at Lee.

"Nothing," stammered Lee hastily. Lyrisadora pursed her lips and turned away.

"So Harry's the heir to Slytherin...we are so gonna win the house cup!" cheered Fred.

Angelina scowled. "Don't be so insensitive Fred! Harry's nice, he would never do such cruel things," she protested, though she cast a skeptic look at the retreating Golden trio.


	24. Holiday Freedom

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**PLEASE READ: I'm carrying on this story because my brother has lost interest in Fanfiction. Since we both worked on this together, I know storyline and ending. I'm adding some chapters from the my prologue (A duty to uphold) filling in Lyrisadora's childhood.**

**This will be the final remake and I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Christmas spirit<strong>

**Chapter: Holiday Freedom**

* * *

><p><em>25th December 1992<em>

Lyrisadora eased her eyes open as she looked around the abandoned girls dormitory. She rested her head on her knuckles as she stared at Elizabeth's empty bed. On the bright side, Lucretia had gone home for Christmas, as well as Cassondria. And the Slytherin common room was quieter, only eleven Slytherins remained at Hogwarts, and seven of them were older and quieter, so you hardly noticed them. And since Lyrisadora wasn't home, it meant she could spend Christmas with her friends and wouldn't have to see her grandmother.

Lyrisadora smiled at this, then through off her covers and got out of bed. Once she was dressed, she grabbed her wand and ran out of the room and headed fot the boys' dormitories. She listened at the door, the room appeared silent, before she carefully opened the door and crept in. Tip toeing over to her brother's bed.

She lent towards his ear.

"Draco," she whispered, he just snored in response. Lyrisadora rolled her eyes and prodded him with her index finger. He simply stirred. She frowned and prodded him harder.

"Draco," she snapped. But he continued to sleep. Lyrisadora groaned and shook his shoulder. "Draco,Draco...Draco!" she snapped, rocking him faster. Draco moaned and stirred.

"Wao..." he sounded quietly. Lyrisadora screamed silently.

"Wake up!" she moaned, pushing his body with all her might.

"No..." he mumbled. Lyrisadora glared at him and rolled up her sleeves.

"Have it your way," she said coldly before pushing him off the bed with all her might. Knocking him onto the floor with a thud.

"Owwww!" he wined loudly, waking up Crabbe and Goyle, who spluttered in dumb unison upon seeing Lyrisadora.

"Oh get up," ordered Lyrisadora. Draco glared at her angrily, his usual sleek blond hair disheveled and bedridden.

"Why?" he snapped. Lyrisadora placed her hands on her hips.

"_Because_, it's christmas dumbo,_presents_," she replied in a matter of fact tone. Draco promted himself up on his elbows.

"Well you've never been this eager before," he argued.

"Yes well, this year's different, we are not at home, we can do what we like," she stated.

"Which is why I wanted a lie in," sneered Draco. Lyrisadora scoffed.

"A lie in, on Christmas? I don't think so. Come on," she said gesturing him to come. He groaned.

"Fine, just let me get dressed first okay," he said, finally yeiding and standing up. Lyrisadora smiled , which Draco returned with a sneer as he started to get ready.

Lyrisadora waited downstairs in the common room alone. The older ones were still in bed, presents untouched under the tree.

After a few minutes Draco emerged alone from down the stairs, he rubbed his eyes tiredly as he sat next to her.

"Where's Crabbe and Goyle?" Lyrisadora questioned.

"Went back to bed," replied Draco irritably. Lyrisadora started to search for her presents.

"Well that's there loss isn't it," she said brightly as she picked up a emerald green wrapped gift.

"If you say so," sighed Draco as he sat down next to her. Lyrisadora unwrapped her first gift, it was a bottle of perfume from her mother, she placed it lightly next to her.

"Oh where's your Christmas spirit?" implored Lyrisadora as she moved on to the second gift.

"In the bin with the tooth fairy, Christmas is for babies," he declared as he unwrapped his new set of silver and green name emblem quills. Lyrisadora sighed and shook her head.

"Well this years different, we're not at home so we can do what we like," said Lyrisadora brightly.

"Which is why I wanted a lie in," Draco muttered, Lyrisadora ignored his as she picked up a red wrapped present that had caught her eye. She read the tag, it was from George. She hastily unwrapped it, and smiled warmly. Draco peered over to see what she was so pleased about.

"A baking cook book? Who would want_ that_," he sneered. But Lyrisadora shushed him and placed the book next to her. "Who's it from?" Draco questioned.

"Never you mind," she said dismissvely as she moved onto the next gift. This one was from Cedric, bright yellow, it was small. She already knew what it was. She untied the bow and lifted off the lid. Revealing a Potion Bottle charm. Drcao sneered.

"Same thing every year," he said.

"Oh shush, it's sweet," Lyrisadora said, placing the charm in her skirt pocket. Every year Cedric got her a charm to add to her bracelet, each charm representing a memory of that year. It was sweet then again Cedric was a sweet person.

Soon they were each down to their last girft. Draco had recieved a new exspensive broom grooming kit and Lyrisadora finished unwrapping her box of jewellery.

"Done," Draco declared, shifting the scraps of wrapping paper aside. "What's that?" he asked, noticing a book Lyrisadora had mooved onto her pile of presents.

"Oh this,father sent it," replied Lyrisadora with a grimace, picking up the book. "Warlocks at war by Brutas Malfoy," she sighed.

"Never read it," said Draco shrugging. "Sounds good though," he added.

"Yeah right," she muttered, placing the book back on the pile. "Well, I'm going to put these away, so I'll see you at breakfast," Lyrsadora said, piking up her presents and standing up. Draco was about to follow suit until a present catched his eye.

"Hey Lyra, theres one more gift for you," called Draco, picking up the gift and examining the label. Lyrisadora stopped and walked back over.

"Who is it from?" she inquired, moving closure. Draco read the label, himself looking befuddled.

"It just says, 'To Lyra,love from Tonks'," answered Draco, looking at the name in confusion. "Who's Tonks?"

"No one," said Lyrisadora quickly, as she snatched the flamboyantly wrapped present from his grasp. " Anyway like I said, see you at breakfast," she said before running off. Draco stared after her in confusion as some older Slytherins groggly entered the Common room.

Lyrisadora nearly dropped her gifts as she briskly walked up the stairs to her dormitory. She sighed in relief once she entered the room, closing the door behind her. She wripped off the wrapping paper and grinned once she saw the was a black 'weird Sisters' T-shirt, with Weird Sisters written in wild blood red writing. She hugged the T-shirt happily. Nymphadora was the best when it came to gifts.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora walked down the passage towards the Slytherin Common room. She jumped aside as two familiar figures ran past her, they looked like Crabbe and Goyle, but she could have sworn she had caught a glimps of red hair. Lyrisadora shrugged it off as seh continued towards the common room.<p>

She found Draco sitting on a cauch looking bored. She went over to him.

"Hey Draco," she greeted.

"Hey Lyra," he drawled. "Did you see where Crabbe and Goyle ran off to?" he asked.

"Yeah, they ran past me, seemed to be in a hurry," Lyrisadora replied, sitting down on the armrest. She caught sight of the newspaper in his hand, and looked at it curiously. "What's that?" she asked. Draco smirked and handed her the newspaper.

"Have a look," he said, Lyrisadora glanced at him suspiciosly as she read the front page. After skimming the page she pursed her lips. Draco was such a prat. She through the paper back in Draco's face.

"Oh grow up," she spat, looking disgusted at the smirk on his face.

"It's only a laugh," he joked, Lyrisadora sneered as she stood. Draco smirked at her reaction but stopped as he turned to face the new arrivers, his face consorting into confusion. "What the..." he began. Lyrisadora turned to see what he was looking at, her eyes widened. There stood Crabbe and Goyle, in there underwear, luckily not tidy widys. She couldn't decide if she should be disgusted or in histerics.

"Uh, what happened to you two?" she inquired, a grin playing on her lips. Crabbe and Goyle stared at each other dumbly as they walked over.

"Dunno, some cake-then sleep," grunted Crabbe, Draco frowned.

"But you were here just a minute ago," he said. This caused them to become more confused.

"We did?" said Goyle softly.

"Yes," said Draco firmly, looking at them in bewilderment. Crabbe and Goyle shrugged.

"Can't remember," they both grunted. Lyrisadora rolled her eyes.

"They must have hit their heads when they ran past me," she declared.

"We did?" questioned Goyle in confusion.

"Must have-but what happened to your clother?" Draco questioned, standing up and eyeing them questionably.

"My head hurts," moaned Crabbe, Goyle shook his head in confusion. Lyrisadora shook her head in bewilderment.

"This place just gets weirder everyday," sighed Lyrisadora, folding her arms. "I'm going to bed," she announced straitening up, as Draco scratched his head as he stared at his two friends inastonishment.

"Night," he said weakly as Lyrisadora walked towards the stairs leading up to the girls dormitory. Deciding that no one was normal at Hogwarts.

* * *

><p><strong>Lame Chapter I know,not very happy with it. But I am happy for the ext chapter - <strong>

**Review!**


	25. Trapped In A Golden Cage

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>Escape is only easy for a selected few<strong>

**Chapter: Trapped In A Golden Cage**

* * *

><p><em>16th July 1993<em>

Lyrisadora stood as her mother tightened her corset; she pursed her lips as she felt the corset dig into her sides. clenching her knuckles on the vanity.

She glanced out of her bedroom window, it was raining heavily, not the nicest weather for summer,especially in July. Lyrisadora continued to stare at the raindrops, trying to ignore the discomfort she felt.

"Lyrisadora," said the voice firmly, tightening the corset strongly, causing Lyrisadora to come out of her day dream upon the rush of pain. "Were you listening to me?" questioned Narcissa sharply.

"Yes mother," answered Lyrisadora dully.

"What did I say then?" inquired Narcissa.

Lyrisadora bit her lip. "You were telling me, to behave?" she replied apprehensively.

Her mother sighed. "I was telling you to stand straighter," corrected Narcissa. Her mother had been far less patient with her lately, she supposed it was because she had been showing a distinct lack of interest in anything her mother tried to drill into her head lately. Lyrisadora felt her mother stop and start to feel her stomach, pushing inwards.

"Have you been sticking to your diet?" questioned Narcissa slowly; Lyrisadora saw her frowning from the corner of her eye, she looked down as she tried to think quickly.

The honest answer to her mother's question was, no she not been sticking to her diet at school, she and the Weasley twins had been mostly binging off sweets from honey dukes. But she wasn't about to confess that to her mother."Yes," replied Lyrisadora, she saw her mother eye her suspiciously from her vanity mirror.

"Really, I see," her mother responded skeptically, before resuming tightening the corset. "It's just, your stomach seems-slightly-less-flatter," she added, while puncturing the last words by pulling the corset threads tighter, so they dug into Lyrisadora's stomach hard. Lyrisadora winced, as she placed a hand on her stomach, wishing her mother would finish already, she was finding it hard to breath.

"But never mind, you are a growing girl," said Narcissa warmly, pushing a blond hair behind Lyrisadora's shoulder. "A very beautiful girl, who no doubt has all the boys swooning after her," her mother cooed, trying to fight a smile as she rested her chin on Lyrisadora's delicate shoulder. Lyrisadora tried not to snort, the boys were definitely not _swooning_ after her, the fact she acted like a bitch to most of them contributed to that. Miles Bletchley had called her a stuck up frigid bitch last time she stopped him from hexing a first year.

Her mother seemed to not notice her lack of enthusiasm, as she smiled brightly and tucked a stray blond hair behind Lyrisadora's ear and stroked her hair, admiring her like she was a pretty expensive doll.

"Well?" questioned Narcissa tightly. "Aren't you going to smile?" she asked. Lyrisadora pursed her lips firmly. Narcissa frowned. "You should smile more."

"A lot of people should smile more, most just can't be bothered," Lyrisadora retorted. Her mother's eyes narrowed. "Mother, could you hurry," prompted Lyrisadora coldly. Narcissa flared her nostrils, but said nothing and sharply finished fastening Lyrisadora up. She could feel her mother deliberately pulled the corset harder, briefly cutting off her oxygen.

"There, done,"declared Narcissa tightly as she walked over to Lyrisadora's closet. Lyrisadora breathed heavily, her mother had never fastened her corset this tight, she may have crossed the line with her biting comment.

She felt her breasts which had been pushed up by the pressure of the corset. She felt trapped, like she couldn't move, you'd think after all these years the feeling would feel natural, but it never did.

"Ah, here we are," announced Narcissa, coming out of the closet carrying Lyrisadora's evening dress.

"Lovely," commented Lyrisadora dryly, not even turning away from the mirror, Narcissa gave her an annoyed look. Lyrisadora turned to her and shrugged. "What?" Lyrisadora questioned.

"_It's pardon_, not what," her mother chided, and you should at least look properly, Lyrisadora sighed and slowly walked over to her mother. Her mother held the dress out; it was a very pretty dress, made from a silk shiny material, the colour dark purple with a heart shaped breast line and long sleeves that covered all of her arms.

"It is very beautiful, mother," said Lyrisadora. "I'm very lucky," added Lyrisadora tonelessly.

"_Very_-do you know how many girls would love to be spoiled like you?" questioned her mother.

"Many," answered Lyrisadora nonchalantly.

"Yes, many-your father loves you very much," said Narcissa strongly.

"Then he should express it with _words_, not objects," said Lyrisadora coldly, absently fingering her earring. She glanced at her mother who was trying to brush of her comment.

"Yes, well, well never mind that-now go change," ordered Narcissa uncomfortably, handing Lyrisadora the dress. Lyrisadora obeyed and started to put the dress on, it went just past her knees, so it wasn't too short or too long, but the sleeves were too tight as her arms couldn't bend easily Lyrisadora's jaw dropped once she saw the heels her mother had bought.

"How long?" she exclaimed,as her mother held up the high heels.

"Oh, don't be silly, they're fine-now come," ordered her mother, placing the shoes down for Lyrisadora to put on. Lyrisadora felt immense pain as her feet entered the heel. She stumbled as she tried to walk. She hadn't worn heels like these in ages. She dared to take another step and slipped and fell. She swore under her breath, once she hit the floor, however unfortunately her mother heard her. Her mother was very strict about swearing, like any rich pure-blood lady, she deemed it improper and filthy.

"Lyrisadora!" yelled Narcissa in outrage. "How dare you use such improper language," she said, like she had never sworn in her life.

"Mother," sighed Lyrisadora, regaining her balance.

"Don't interrupt-I hope you don't use such profanity freely-I also hope that school hasn't been teaching you such filthy words," continued Narcissa.

"Mother, I am sorry, it just slipped out," protested Lyrisadora, hoping to appease her mother.

"Slipped out? Well I hope it doesn't slip out in front of the Puceys. Honestly, what would they think-" she started to lecture.

"Who cares what they think?" snapped Lyrisadora. He mother looked both outraged and concerned.

"You should, the Puceys are very, valuable assets to this family," said Narcissa, Lyrisadora felt her blood boil.

"So what am I? Some prize to given to the highest bidder?" spat Lyrisadora, the anger in her voice mounting.

"Don't speak to me in such a tone, I am your mother-" Narcissa warned coldly.

"Yet you would gladly sell your daughter off like cattle," said Lyrisadora. Narcissa looked at her sternly.

"Now Lyrisadora-" her mother began, taking a step towards her.

"No, I don't care-and I don't want to go to this stupid dinner!" yelled Lyrisadora, she breathed heavily, all her anger towards her mother finally spilling out, she couldn't stop herself. "I _don__'t_ want to go, I _will _not go and _you _can't make me," declared Lyrisadora furiously, kicking off her heels and kicking them to the side. She stared defiantly up at her mother; who was still taller than her by two inches.

Narcissa took another step forward."I can and I will," said Narcissa shakily. "Now pick up your shoes," she ordered.

"No," said Lyrisadora firmly, crossing her arms.

"Lyrisadora, yo-you w-will do as you are told," Narcissa stuttered desperately.

"I won't, and you can't make me!" retorted Lyrisadora.

"Lyrisadora!"

"NO!You can-"

"What is going on here?" questioned a cold familiar voice, which pierced the air like an blade, Lyrisadora froze instantly. Lyrisadora slowly turned to the doorway, where her father stood, his face set like stone, eyed them both and walked towards them.

"What on earth is going on up here?" he questioned coolly.

Narcissa cleared her throat."Lyrisadora, has been disrespectful, she has defied me and is declaring that she doesn't want to go to the dinner, because she doesn't care," she elaborated shakily, as she looked at Lucius apprehensively. Her father was silent for a moment, he looked over at Lyrisadora.

"I see," he said coldly. Lyrisadora felt her heartbeat quicken, he continued to stare at her passively. "Well, we'll have to fix that won't we-Narcissa leave us won't you," drawled Lucius, Lyrisadora's eyes widened fearfully, she stared pleadingly at her mother, wishing to take back every bad comment she had said.

Narcissa looked at Lucius worriedly then at Lyrisadora."I could stay," suggested Narcissa in a strained voice.

"No, I'd prefer if our chat was_, private_," said Lucius smoothly, smiling at Narcissa, she strained a smile at him and nodded.

"Yes dear, of course," said Narcissa nervously. Lucius planted a light kiss on her pale cheek, her mother silently walked towards the door.

"Make sure to shut the door behind you," drawled Lucius, while staring intently at Lyrisadora. Narcissa glanced at Lyrisadora and Lucius anxiously before shutting the door behind her. Causing a death like silence to hover thick in the air. Lyrisadora's mind raced what would he do? Hurt her punish her, shout at her? Or would he wait until after the party, so they were alone and no one could be the wiser.

"Well I must say, I wasn't expecting such an outburst from you, Lyrisadora," exclaimed Lucius. Lyrisadora stayed silent. "Such disrespect, don't tell me that school has changed you?" questioned Lucius coldly, Lyrisadora shook her head. Lucius took a step forward to her.

"What is this about you not wanting to attend the dinner?" he inquired smoothly,

Lyrisadora felt her mouth go dry. "I don't want to go, I detest the Puceys," exclaimed Lyrisadora weakly, holding his gaze , trying not to crack under her father's intense stare.

"You don't, _like_ them," repeated Lucius, he smiled thinnly. "Well, I'm afraid that it doesn't really matter if you dislike them, you _will _withstand them," he said firmly. "You see, _sweatheart_, you are a part of this family, which means it is your obligation to put the families reputation and position above all else," Lucius said icily.

"Wh-what about my happiness?" questioned Lyrisadora, trying to keep her voice steady, as his eyes bore into her.

"You should be _happy_ to please your family, you do love your family, don't you Lyrisadora?" questioned Lucius, giving her a skeptic look.

"Of course I do," spluttered Lyrisadora, hurt flashed in her eyes.

"Then don't you want to make your family proud?" her father pushed. Lyrisadora knew she was cornered.

"Yes," replied Lyrisadora softly, her eyes still locked onto his cold ones.

"Then you'll put your childish emotions aside and be a proper host, won't you?" implored Lucius velvety. Lyrisadora felt a lump in her throat, she couldn't retort or protest, she felt trapped.

"Yes, father," she repeated dumbly, they were the only words that felt safe and familiar.

"Good," said Lucius in satisfaction, upon stamping out her defiance, she knew he hated losing control.

"But why?" she choked, as the question slipped out before she could stop it.

"Excuse me?" questioned Lucius coldly, not expecting her to put up further protest. But

Lyrisadora straightened up more, feeling a little more fire in her belly. "Why are the Puceys so important to please?" She asked, her mouth dry.

"Because I said so," he answered, as if that answered everything.

"But _why_?" pressed Lyrisadora, her stomach twisted in dread, she remember what Adrian had said about a possible marriage between them both, she eyed her father worriedly.

"Because, I say they are," he repeated irritably.

"But-" Lyrisadora tried to protest, but Lucius grabbed her upper arm hard, pulling her closer to him.

"They are people you should impress, because I say you _should-_it's simple, so stop questioning me," he interrupted, his voice growing colder. He looked at her as if daring her to protest, but she bit her tongue, to stop herself.

"Yes father," said Lyrisadora meekly, looking fearfully up into his stormy grey blue eyes.

His hold on her arm weakened as he removed his hand. "There,well, I'm glad we had this chat," said Lucius, straitening up more. "Now, put your shoes back on so we may join the others for dinner," he commanded sharply. Lyrisadora paused before obeying and slowly stepped back into her heels, ignoring the pain. She carefully walked back over to her father, He scanned her up and down.

"Good, you look ravishing, now come, we've wasted enough time as it is," said her father, placing a hand on Lyrisadora's shoulder and led her out of the room and down the hallway in silence. Lyrisadora kept her eyes downcast as she walked along the floor.

She shouldn't have shouted at her mother, her chest clenched, she should have just stayed quiet and done as she was told. She felt like an idiot, she didn't even know why she bothered fighting, it wasn't like mother would back her up and Draco practically worshiped the ground father walked on-

"Ah, Elatus, glad you could make it," drawled Lucius, Lyrisadora lifted her eyes; there in the center of the drawing room was Mr and Mr Pucey and their son Adrian, her mother and brother by the side. Lyrisadora met Adrian's eyes, he smiled at her, a smile that made Lyrisadora want to run away, but her father had his hand firmly on her shoulder, therefore preventing her.

"Lucius,glad to be here," greeted Mr Pucey, stepping forward, he looked noticeably thinner than the last time she saw him.

"I don't believe you've officially met my daughter, Lyrisadora, the one I mentioned in my letter," introduced her father, he let go off her shoulder, signalling her to greet them. Lyrisadora plastered on a fake smile.

"Hello Mr Pucey, Mrs Pucey, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," greeted Lyrisadora sweetly, giving them a small curtsy.

Mrs Pucey smiled politely. "As it is you," she greeted, before glancing at her son, brushing some lint off his shoulder. "I believe you're familiar with our son?".

Adrian brushed off his mother as he stepped forward, amusement glittering in his eyes as he stared at her.

She strained a smile. "Adrian, I hope you're well," she greeted, he took her hand and kissed it, his lips felt cold, sending a shiver down her spine.

He gave her a flawless smile."Lyrisadora, always a pleasure," he greeted smoothly, his smile turning more crooked.

"The pleasure is mine," she lied, trying to force her voice to be sweet. Once he released her hand she resisted the urge to wipe it on her dress.

"Such a charming girl,you must be so proud," said Mrs Pucey, giving Lyrisadora a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Very proud," said Narcissa, walking over and placing her hands onto Lyrisadora's shoulders smiling sweetly.

"Should we, go and eat?" inquired Lucius, the Puceys nodded, her father led the way to the dining room.

"Are you feeling better now?" whispered Narcissa into Lyrisadora's ear, so only she could hear.

Lyrisadora concluded that her mother referring to her little temper tantrum, she supposed her mother liked to live in ignorance. "Yes," she muttered lowly, not looking at her mother, she just wanted to escape to her room.

They all sat down, her father at the head of the table, her mother on his left, while Mr and Mrs Pucey were on his right, Lyrisadora in-between her mother and Adrian, while Draco next to Adrian at the end, as the house-elves quickly served the food.

Lyrisadora tried to drone out her parents chatter about ministry dealings and economic affairs. She pushed her food around her plate, she knew it was un-ladylike, but she didn't really care. The conversation progressed slowly, she was becoming strained from keeping perfect posture.

"Lyrisadora, what is your opinion on the matter?" questioned Mrs Pucey, dabbing her lips with her napkin. Lyrisadora froze, having no idea about what they were talking about.

"What was matter of discussion again?" questioned Lyrisadora nervously.

Her father looked visibly annoyed."You will have to forgive my daughter's scattered mind Elactus, she tends to day dream now and then," said Lucius, clear irritation in his voice. Lyrisadora shrank slightly into her seat, she flushed in embarrassment; she saw Adrian smirk from the corner of her eye. "We were discussing the matter of the efforts to have Merpeople rounded up and tagged," he answered, looking at her expectantly.

"Yes, so what is your opinion on the matter?" repeated Mrs Pucey, watching her very closely.

Lyrisadora tensed as she noticed all eyes were on her, if she was honest she thought it to be barbaric and disgusting...but since when was she honest?

"I think…I think that, it is a marvellous idea-Merpeople are barbaric, they are beasts, tagging them is simply a more prudent way in monitoring their whereabouts, so they do not cause harm to fellow wizard folk," answered Lyrisadora mechanically, trying to keep her face passive, there was a short pause, Lyrisadora gulped as she wondered if they thought she was lying.

"Exactly what I've been saying for years," said Mr Pucey triumphantly. Lyrisadora relaxed, she glanced at her father, he seemed pleased.

"Very convincing," murmured Adrian. Lyrisadora looked down as she saw a faint satisfactory smirk plastered on his face.

"Ah the young mind, those are the opinions that are needed in the future generation," declared Mr Pucey.

"I agree-especially with that crazed old coot at influencing the future generation with his crazed ideas," drawled Lucius, Mr Pucey nodded strongly. Lyrisadora wasn't sure whether to zone out of the conversation, in fear of being caught off guard again. Though she quickly wished she had, the conversation had moved onto the filth of Mudbloods, and how it was a shame the monster hadn't finished them all off. Lyrisadora started to lose her appetite, they were talking about murdering children, some younger than Draco, it made her sick.

"Lyrisadora are you feeling alright? You look awfully pale," questioned Narcissa warmly, pulling Lyrisadora's attention back to the meal.

"Yes mother I-I'm fine," replied Lyrisadora quickly. "I'm just a little tired," she added ,trying not to notice everyone's stares.

"Well should we move onto dessert?" questioned her father, upon noticing everyone had basically finished, Mr Pucey nodded. The house-elves quickly cleared up the plates.

Lyrisadora wondered how long this dinner would last for. The house-elves returned and hastily served the dessert, a strawberry trifle. Draco gladly devoured his, while Lyrisadora slowly nibbled hers.

Lyrisadora mostly focused on her food, but froze when she felt a cold hand rest on her thigh, she partly turned to Adrian, who's face was passive as he stared straight ahead. She felt her stomach twist in fear, as she felt him gently stroke her thigh, she glanced at her mother, but no one seemed to be paying attention.

Her fear turned to anger, as she grabbed his hand from under the table, stopping him. She looked at him sternly, he turned to her and stared at her, his face was blank, but she saw a familiar hunger in his eyes, she crushed his hand warningly.

His gaze grew colder, before wrenched his hand from her grip and continued eating his food, facing forward.

Lyrisadora tried to control her breathing, she had to get out of here. She had no idea why Adrian had suddenly touched her like that, maybe he was just trying to mess with her head, scare her, what ever the reason she didn't like it.

He had never been that bold before, but she had noticed his gaze become more lustful since third year...and he was a creep, but usually it was just intense stares and crude remarks. Completely harmless. She cast a quick look at him from the corner of her eye, but he was acting like she didn't exist.

She shifted slightly in her seat as she looked around the table, everyone was nearly finished, in a little while they'd all be done eating and she could escape to her room.

Lyrisadora tried to look at ease as she ate her dessert, making sure to keep her legs stiffly together. She stared down at her food the whole time, focusing on the deep red colour of the strawberries, which glistened in the light, bright against the white trifle beneath. Soon she was left with a red stained plate and was forced to put her spoon down and look up. Mr Pucey gave a sigh of satisfaction as he finished his dessert.

"Delicious," he announced brightly.

"Yes quite," Lucius concurred.

Narcissa smiled brightly. "Should we retire to the drawing room?" she implored sweetly. Lyrisadora sighed quietly as the rest agreed and stood, she followed them out of the dining room as the house-elves cleared up the plates.

Before Lyrisadora knew it, she was sat next to Adrian again, on the couch in the drawing room next to the fire, a twenty centimetre gap the only thing separating them. They had been sitting together in silence for forty five minutes. Lyrisadora stared straight ahead as her parents chatted with the Puceys, Draco sat on the armchair opposite, looking as bored as ever.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at her "You know it's rude to ignore guests, Princess," said Adrian quietly.

She gritted her teeth, since when did he start thinking it was okay to call her pet names!

She held back a sneer. "Only when the guest is worth acknowledging," Lyrisadora retorted coldly, refusing to look at him as she held her head high.

Adrian smirked, then turned to Draco. "Heard about that escapee mass murderer, Draco?" he inquired, Draco nodded his head, then leant in slightly.

"But mother and father won't tell us anything, I've only learned who he is from glances at the Daily Prophet," he said in a hushed tone, so they weren't over heard.

"What else is there to know-besides what you can learn more from the Death Eater files then from some newspaper," Lyrisadora interjected, Draco just shrugged.

"Well, I heard he's after Potter," said Adrian, earning Lyrisadora's attention.

"Excuse me?" she said, trying to keep the curiosity from her voice, she knew nothing of Black wanting to find Potter.

"He's after Potter," whispered Draco, his tone holding excitement as he smiled nastily. "What have you heard?" he asked eagerly.

Adrian grinned slyly and leant back on the couch. "Only that he has a vendetta against Harry Potter, gaurds said he talked in his sleep saying, 'he's at Hogwarts' and plans to, dispose of him," Adrian answered with relish, causing Lyrisadora to gape and Draco to smile unpleasantly.

"Excellent," he said.

Lyrisadora scoffed. "That's horrible," she muttered, she knew her mother had said Sirius Black had gone insane, but she never knew he wanted to kill Potter. "Why would he want to kill Potter?" she questioned quietly. Adrian rolled his eyes at her, she scowled. Why did he always have to be an asshole?

"Who doesn't want to Kill Potter-anyway, that's not the best bit," said Adrian, excitement etched in his tone. They all leant in. "Black is the reason Potter's parents are dead," whispered Adrian.

"What did he do?" questioned Draco.

"He was their secret keeper and he betrayed them to you-know-who, allowing him to find the Potters and do away with them-rest is history-so yeah, then he went mad when he found out his master was dead and basically killed his best friend; Patrick or something," Adrian finished. Lyrisadora was abashed as she leant back, while Draco was grinning.

"Potter's in for a hell of a year," he declared with delight. Lyrisadora shook her head and sneered at him with repugnance. She was about to scold them both, but was stopped when the adults walked over to them.

"Come Adrian. we're leaving," said Mrs Pucey sweetly. Lyrisadora and Draco stood on cue as did Adrian as the Puceys prepared to leave Mr Pucey shook Lucius' hand.

"A pleasure Lucius, thank you for the lovely evening," said Mr Pucey brightly. Lucius gave him a small smile.

"It was a delight to have you," her father said mildly, his eyes sliding to Lyrisadora expectantly.

Lyrisadora forced a charming smile as she turned to Adrian. "It's been a pleasure as always, Adrian," she said evenly, keeping her hands grasped behind her back so he couldn't smother them with another kiss.

Adrian smiled politely, like he hadn't been a pervert throughout the dinner. "I anticipate our next meeting," he replied smoothly, tilting his head to her.

Lyrisadora's smile became strained, she glanced at her father, he nodded in approval. "I and Narcissa will walk you to the fireplace, we can chat more along the way," said Lucius smoothly as they began to walk towards the door.

Narcissa dragged behind to talk to Lyrisadora and Draco. "You two can go to your rooms now," she said with contentment. Lyrisadora hid her smile as she followed walked out of the drawing room towards the stairs as the Puceys and her parents walked the opposite way.

Draco hurried after her down the hallway. "Do you think Black will go to Hogwarts to find Potter?" he questioned, Lyrisadora simply shrugged.

"I'm not sure, he does seem determined," she answered, after the chamber incident, she had hope Hogwarts would settle down.

"Cool," said Draco gleefully, Lyrisadora frowned at him and stopped outside of her door, feeling her anger mount.

"Must you be so dreadful?" she snapped. Draco eyed her warily.

"Don't know what you're on about," he said.

Lyrisadora shook her head in disbelief, she groaned loudly. "Honestly," she scoffed before giving Draco a disconcerted glare. "Goodnight Draco," she said tightly before opening her bedroom door and shutting it in his face.

She leant against the door and closed her eyes as she felt her stomach, her nails digging into the corset beneath in frustration. She gritted her teeth as she stripped off her dress, fiddling with the corset string before stamping her foot in impatience, she pulled the bobble from her hair freeing it from the loose chignon is was neatly pinned in, she scratched her head erratically so all the pale clips fell to the floor with a ping.

Kicking off her painful shoes so her bruised feet could breath. And then collapsed on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, her dress lay discarded on the bedroom floor. She turned her head towards the window, it was still raining, Sapphira lay stretched out on the window sill, at peace. Lyrisadora stared at her for a while, watching her stomach inflate and deflate calmly as the raindrops splashed against the window. She resumed her deadpan stare at the ceiling, sighing deeply as she closed her eyes.

If Cedric were here, he wouldn't have let Adrian get away with what he had done...She hugged her bare shoulders with her cold hands, shutting her eyes tight as she breathed slowly. She just wanted to lay on her bed and imagine Cedric's face. She smiled when she pictured his face. It was sort of funny, because after Christmas she had become more distant whenever Cedric was around, she always was too busy, she didn't need him, but when he was no where to be found, it hurt.

Lyrisadora let her arms fall down to her sides as she pushed herself up onto her elbows, slowly getting off the bed and to her feet. She started to undo her corset, calmly untying the knot and gently pulling the string loose.

She breathed in relief as the corset loosened and she removed it, dropping it on the floor and walking towards the her bathroom. She turned on the lights, illuminating the polished bathroom. She looked around before stepping onto the icy white tiled floor, it woke her up and sent a shiver down her spine.

She hadn't always had her own bathroom, but as she got older and turned ten, her mother had decided she needed her own bathroom, saying she would becoming a young lady soon. Lyrisadora hadn't complained. She stripped off fully and stepped into the spacious glass shower and ran the hot water. It was relaxing, Lyrisadora hugged herself and rested her head on the shower tile wall as the soothing water poured down on her body.

Adrian was getting creepier and bolder, Draco was getting crueller, her father and mother were becoming more controlling and she was a liar. She breathed against the tiles as the water streamed down her hair. And all lies were found out soon enough. She was fifteen, two years left and Hogwarts was over and she had to cross that bridge. Lyrisadora's breathing quickened as some water slid down her face.

She didn't want to cross the bridge. What if she made the wrong choice? She shook her head against the wall. Was Cedric even worth it? She pursed her lips as the water washed away her lipstick.

The sacrifices that needed to be made were to painful to bear. She blink rapidly as the water splashed into her eyes, making her eyesight blurry. She wasn't strong enough to cross that bridge, she wasn't brave, she was weak, she couldn't even stand up to her father, speak her mind, how could she possibly run away from everything she ever knew?

Lyrisadora scrunched up her face as she breathed heavily her fists pushed against the wall, her mouth opening and closing, breathing in the steam. The water flowed down, sliding down her body and escaping down the plug hole.

* * *

><p><strong>So let me know what you think and review!<strong>


	26. Bode Troubles

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>An icy feeling<strong>

**Chapter: Bode Toubles**

* * *

><p><em>1st September 1993<em>

Lyrisadora rested her head against the train compartment window of the Hogwarts express, staring out into the misty sky as the rain flowed down the window, Sapphira asleep on her lap. Her eyes were glazed over slightly as the chatter and laughter around her was muffled. Then suddenly she was brought out of her trance by a soft playful nudge in her arm. She snapped her head away from the window, towards the person sitting next to smiled at her.

"You okay?" he questioned brightly, Lyrisadora gave him a weak smiled, which she forced to grow.

"I'm fine," she reassured , sitting up straighter. "Just musing," she added, rubbing her hands together absently.

George looked skeptic. "You sure? You seem kinda out of it," he pushed. Lyrisadora cleared her throat and sighed.

"I just, have a lot on my mind," she said. "Because of Sirius Black escaping," she added hastily, looking at him. She suddenly noticed his hair had grown longer over the summer and commented randomly. "You've matured," she stated, tilting her head slightly, George arched an eyebrow at her. Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "In _looks_ of course, and your voice is deeper," she said.

George smirked."Yep, and if you look carefully," George began as he rolled up the purple sleeve of his jumper. "You will see, _muscle_," he said smoothly, flexing his arm, revealing some elements of new growing muscle.

Lyrisadora bit back a laugh and smirked. "Of course, how _careless_ of me not to," she said sweetly, raising a skeptic eyebrow at him. The two friends grinned, unable to keep their smiles at bay.

"Flexing for the ladies Georgie boy," called the familiar voice of Fred Weasley, who was sat opposite them, and had broken away from his joyful chatter with Lee Jordon. Angelina and Alicia stopped giggling as they looked at George and Lyrisadora. George smirked at Fred.

"Jealous Freddy?" he inquired. Fred scoffed.

"Pah, dream on Georgie, Lyra can hardly hold back her laughter," he retorted, he turned to Lyra. "Lyra, holding back will only let his big head grow," Fred stated, nodding in fake regret. Lyrisadora smirked.

"Afraid he'll turn into another Percy?" she questioned playfully. Fred recoiled dramatically, as George gasped in fake horror.

"Miss Lyrisadora Malfoy, I have half a mind to wash your mouth out with soup," exclaimed George shrilly. Lyrisadora just rolled her eyes, whilst Angelina and Alicia giggled. Lee smirked.

"No way George is going to turn into another Percy, not with me and Fred around," exclaimed Lee, gesturing his thumb to himself and Fred. Fred grinned.

"Right you are Lee my friend," concurred Fred, he then smiled evilly. " Especially considering our pranking plans for this year," he added, rubbing his hands together diabolically. Angelina arched an eyebrow at him.

"Why, what have you three block heads got planned for this year?" she questioned in exasperation, folding her arms. George tapped his nose.

"Wait and see Angie my girl, wait and see," George said mysteriously. Lyrisadora sighed.

"Just don't cause too much trouble, I'm prefect this year, and running after you two, isn't something I look forward to," she drawled. Fred smirked.

"Oh yeah, you're prefect," he stated in a matter of fact tone. Lyrisadora folded her arms and looked at him suspiciously.

"_And_?" she implored carefully.

"Nothing," Fred said quickly, his tone light, he glanced at George who seemed to be hiding a smirk. Lyrisadora looked at them suspiciously, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"What are you two planning?" she questioned slowly. Fred was about to open his mouth when the train stopped suddenly, her cat fell to the floor, hissing as its face his the ground.

"What the-" Alicia started to cry, before stopping as a chill came, entering the compartment. Lyrisadora felt her fingers go numb as she saw her breath. The windows started to freeze as a dead silence hung in the air. The occupents of the compartment listened as a creak sounded from down the hallway, muffled cries from students ceased as the whole train seemed to be listening at once.

Suddenly something dark and shadowy went past, and all at once, something escaped Lyrisadora, her stomache felt empty and hollow. She stared off into the distance as she felt all hope leave her, misery filled her. She felt as though she'd never smile again, the knowing sound of laughter ran away as she wondered if she would ever be able to hear the sound of her own chuckle, giggle or feel the tug of her cheeks everytime she was around Fred and George.

Then fear filled her. She grabbed George's hand, refusing to look at him. His hand was icy cold, the same as hers. But the touching of both warmed hers ever so slightly. The sound of someone screaming pulled her out of her trance as the compartment doors slid open and a blond haired figure fell to the ground. Slowly the feeling of emptiness faded, as the rest of the occupents shook out of their feelings of despair and looked awe at the new arrival. Lyrisadora peered over. Fred rolled his eyes and ground.

"What do you want Malfoy?" he snapped in irritation, though he himself was still sickly pale, as the rest. Lyrisadora was momently confused that Fred was talking to her, until she realised who the figure was.

"Draco what's wrong?" she question. Draco looked up and stumbled to his feet, looking around, he started to stutter about the dementors, before turning pink with embarrassment and anger, he looked at Lyrisadora, then his eyes widened slightly once seeing her and George's hands entwined together, before sneering and storming off. A second after he had gone, Lyrisadora and George registered the strange looks they were recieving. Glancing down at their clasped hands and then flushing with embarrassment and quickly letting go and turning away. Lyrisadora avoided everyones gaze, before picking up her cat and standing up. "I best go check on him," she said briskly, walking out of the compartment before anyone could utter a word.

* * *

><p><em>15th September 1993<em>

Lyrisadora sat in a dark corner with Cedric, making out, it was nearing eight o clock in the afternoon. His lips covered hers as he started to really get into it. Lyrisaodra tried to get into it, but the truth was, her lips were starting to hurt and the familiar spark and tingle was fading. After a moment she pulled away, looking down as she pushed a stray blond hair behind her ear, clearing her throat.

Cedric looked confused. "What's wrong?" he asked. Lyrisadora smiled at him.

"Nothing, it's just we've been kissing for half an hour already," she explained tiredly, absently touching her swollen lips.

"Oh, we have?" he inquired, Lyrisadora nodded.

"Yes, and I have to go back to brewing that potion for Professor Snape," she said slowly.

Cedric looked annoyed. "Can't it wait? It's just a potion, not the end of the world if you delay it," he protested. Lyrisaodra looked at him questionably.

"No it can't wait, Professor Snape is relying on me," she argued firmly.

Cedric looked away and sighed, rolling his eyes. "It won't kill him if you don't do it straight away," he pushed, rubbing her arm soothingly. But Lyrisadora wasn't moved, her lips pursed slightly.

"I want to do it, and I'm going to do it," she said strongly, standing up, tugging at her navy blue dress.

Cedric stood. "But, we were-" he tried to protest.

"Thirty minutes is long enough, Cedric," Lyrisadora stated in irritation. "Now, I'll see you at breakfast," she said, giving him a stern stare before walking away down the dim corridor. She sighed as her buckled shoes echoed down the hall. She tried to convince herself that Cedric was being overbearing, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he just wanted to spend time with her. She scratched her chest underneath her grey collered button down blouse, feeling the chain of the weird sister necklace underneath the shirt. Cedric would just have to get over himself. It wasn't like she was deliberatedly ditching him, she was simply trying to stay on top of her studies.

She reassured herself of this as she walked down towards the potions room, stopping at the door and pulling out the chain of keys in her dress pocket, which bulked out her thy. She pulled them out and felt for the key to the room, which was difficult in the current dim light. Once finding the correct key she entered the depressing room. Lyrisadora shut the door behind her, before pulling out her wand , which was lodged inside her belt, and lighting the candles. Going to the back of the room to find the potion she had yet to finish.

She breathed out deeply as she eyed the potion with boredom. Was a moldy old potion more important than her boyfriend? She mused. These days it seemed she couldn't earn anyone's approval. At least Professor Snape praised her for her skills, Cedric never once paid an interest in her hobbies, and her parents didn't seem to care what she did besides studying, proper conduct and behaving. Lyrisadora placed the potion on a work desk as she started to search for the rest of her ingredients.

Everyone seemed to want something from her, she thought as she took her ingredients back to the work bench. She silently layed them out. Everyone.

"Except the twins," she muttered, gently placing a clear bottle down. "George," she mumbled, pousing as she reviewed the name she had spoken. George only wanted to be her friend, make her laugh, have fun, he made her feel. Brave. Lyrisadora shook this thought as she started to add new ingredients to her potion. She was just being paranoid thinking she needed everyones approval.

She picked up a spoon and started to stir the potion. She stared into the dark liquid. Things would get better, she and Cedric had been going out for over a year now, little ruff patches were exspected. She tapped the spoon on the couldren side, letting the drops fall into the potion. Anyway, she knew she loved Cedric, he was perfect, he was romantic and understanding. But he was still human, so frustration and impatience were inevitable. And as for the holding of George's hand...well, she was scared, and he was her best friend, so of course she'd seek comfort from him. Lyrisadora thought, analysing the excuse. She and George were just friends and Cedric was her boyfriend, simple. Confusing the two was impossible. Lyrisadora shook her head for the final time before focusing on the potion, distracting her from her confusing thoughts, which Cedric and George lingered in.


	27. Cold Shoulder

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>The one who loves the least, controls the relationship<strong>

**Chapter: Cold Shoulder **

* * *

><p><em>6th October 1993<em>

Lyrisadora walked down the hallway, she was getting ready for her prefect duties, she fiddled with her hands as she walked, she slowed her pace as she heard a faint noise. Lyrisadora stopped and listened, the sound of laughing echoed softly down the hall. Narrowing her eyes , she continued down the hall, trying to follow the sound. She stepped carefully as the noise got louder, stopping around a corner. The noise was clear and the voices sounded familiar, apprehensively she peered around the corner and froze once she saw the image before her.

Adrian Pucey and Miles Bletchley towered over a crying chubby young boy dressed in Hufflepuff robes, she couldn't recall his name, but she remembered him from the sorting, he was a first year. Behind Pucey and Bletchley was Cassondria Pottencrest, who was smiling nastily, watching the two bully the boy with interest.

Lyrisadora looked away and hid behind the corner as she contemplated what to do. She wanted to help the boy, but to do so, she'd have to stand up to her fellow Slytherins. Lyrisadora fingered her wand, she knew she wasn't very intimidating, they'd no doubt just laugh at her and tell her to go away. As far as they were concerned, she wasn't frightening in the least.

Lyrisadora sighed quietly, she couldn't just leave the young boy, that was cowardly, but it wasn't like she knew him. Lyrisadora shook her head, no that wasn't right, she couldn't just leave the poor boy, she was prefect after all, she had a duty to protect her fellow students. Lyrisadora hesitated before taking a deep breath and held her head high, before stepping out from the corner.

She swallowed a lump down her throat. "Leave him alone," she ordered firmly, her heart racing.

The three Slytherins stopped and looked at her, momently shocked before recovering. "Lyrisadora, fancy seeing you here," said Adrian pleasantly.

Lyrisadora glared at him."_Leave _him alone," she repeated. Adrian smirked as he looked at his friend, who looked amused, they both stepped back, Cassondria looked Lyrisadora up and down in annoyance. "It's nearly past curfew, you three should be in your common rooms," stated Lyrisadora strongly.

"Oh and I suppose you're going to make us leave? You don't own the hallway Malfoy," retorted Cassondria smoothly.

Lyrisadora stood straighter."Well if you don't leave, I'm going to give you a detention," she threatened, forcing her voice to be smooth.

Adrian arched an eyebrow. "Really? Why so?" he asked lightly.

Lyrisadora scowled. "Because you're bullying a first year and back chatting a prefect," she answered.

"Actually I beg to differ, I was just performing my prefect duties," Adrian reasoned, flashing his gleaming prefect badge. Lyrisadora bit back a groan as he reminded her he was a prefect as well.

"Which are what, bullying?" Lyrisadora spat.

"No, teaching a fellow student respect, he was _back chatting_ me," Adrian argued. The Hufflepuff's eyes became the size of a galleon as he shook his head fearfully, he was about to speak, but Miles stood on his foot to silence him.

Lyrisadora shook her head in disgust. "You're lying," she snapped, looking at Adrian with disgust.

Adrian just shrugged. "Believe what you want, but Cassie and Miles heard him," he said, Miles and Cassondria nodded smugly. "So, it doesn't really matter what you think, so why don't you run along now princess," he added patronisingly.

Lyrisadora's jaw tensed as she felt her anger build. "No, _you_ will leave, Cassondria and Miles will be going back to the common room and you will leave the boy alone," she stated strongly, trying to match his hight by squaring her shoudlers, glaring at them fiercely.

"And what if we don't?" questioned Miles cockily.

Lyrisadora smirked at him icily. "Well, I suppose I could tell professor Snape what Cassondria was doing in your room a week ago, it would answer the question as to why you two were late for Potions first period, and why you were awfully _flushed_," she responded smoothly , smiling acidly.

Miles and Cassondria gaped as they exchanged shocked looks. Cassondria moved her mouth, but no words came out. "Well?" Lyrisadora questioned, looking at them both expectantly. "Didn't I tell you to go," she snapped, they both looked at her with anger, muttering under their breath as they stalked off. Lyrisadora smiled in satisfaction before turning back to Adrian, scowling at him. "Leave," she ordered sternly.

A small smile was on his face, she gritted her teeth, Adrian raised an eyebrow at her. "Huh, well that was cold," he said, stepping back looking her up and crossed her arms as she watched him warily, he put his hands in his trouser pocket. " Wonder if you act like that around that duffer?" he inquired mildly, smiling coldly, he glanced at the trembling Hufflepuff in amusement. "He's all yours," Adrian chimed, walking passed her.

Lyrisadora watched him go and mused on his words, wondering what he was implying. She looked away and glanced at the young boy, he was trying to wipe away his tears, refusing to look at her. Lyrisadora gave him a weak smile as she walked over to him.

"Hey,it's okay," she reassured, he looked up at her, seeming embarrassed. "You okay?" she questioned warmly.

He nodded stiffly and swallowed."Yeah…thanks," he muttered. Lyrisadora smiled.

"What's your name?" she asked softly.

"David Hewitte," he replied.

Lyrisadora nodded. "Come, I'll walk you back to your common room," she exclaimed. David looked apprehensive.

"I'll be fine," he interjected hastily.

"It's just a precaution, Adrian's an ass, besides with those Dementors outside, I wouldn't feel comfortable walking alone with them nearby," Lyrisadora protested. David hesitated before sighing and nodding.

"Ok, fine," he agreed meekly, following her as they walked down the hallway.

They walked in silence for a while before Lyrisadora broke it. "Have they bullied you before?" she inquired. David shook his head.

"No, I just ran into them, I guess they wanted a laugh," he answered dully, half shrugging.

"Yeah they tend to do that," she muttered. "Well, if they do it again, just talk to Cedric-or me-he'll make sure the teachers put a stop to it," Lyrisadora reassured.

David nodded. "Yeah sure," he said curtly.

Lyrisadora smiled faintly at him before looking straight ahead. They turned a corner, Lyrisadora looked taken aback once she saw the familiar sight of two red heads leaning against a wall, talking in hushed voices, both holding a large piece of parchment.

"Fred, George what are you doing?" Lyrisadora asked suspiciously, when Fred and George acted secretly, it usually always meant they were up to something.

The twins looked up from their piece of parchment. "Oh hey Lyra," said Fred casually, hastily stuffing the map in his robe pocket.

Lyrisadora crossed her arms as she walked towards them. "What's that?" she questioned, looking at Fred's pocket.

"What's what?" inquired George, acting clueless.

"That parchment you two were looking at, the one Fred stuffed in his pocket," Lyrisadora explained.

Fred and George exchanged a look. "Don't know what you're on about," they said in unison.

Lyrisaodra was about to speak, but George intergected. "Who's this Lyra?" he asked, looking at David.

Lyrisadora was momentarily distracted. "Oh, this is David Hewitte, Adrian, Miles and Cassondria were bullying him, so I had to step in," she explained.

George grinned. "Should have told us, we would have rammed an exploding bom bom up their asses," he said, causing Fred to laugh.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes as she smacked him carefully. "George," she reprimanded, gesturing silently to the young boy. "You have to set an example," she hissed amusingly.

George smirked. "Right, or course," he said with fake pompousness, clearing his throat.

Lyrisadora just shook her head. "Anyway, I have to take David back to his common room," she said, preparing to leave.

"Oh I'll come," George said brightly, Fred raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"Oh, but I'm sure I'll be fine," Lyrisadora reasoned, slightly surprised.

"Yeah, but you don't want Adrian to bother you again, sides, I want to ask you something," George protested.

Lyrisadora felt slightly nervous, wondering what he wanted to ask her. "Well alright then," she agreed curtly, telling herself he probably wanted her help with homework.

"See you back at the common room Georgie," Fred called as he began to walk away.

"Bye," Lyrisadora and George called in unison, before looking at each other oddly and walking down the hallway.

They headed towards the kitchens where the Hufflepuff common room was. George glanced at Lyrisadora as they walked in silence. "You know there's a weird sister concert this summer," he blurted out.

"There is?" Lyrisadora inquired, looking at him.

"Yeah, me and Fred have been saving up for it all year," George divulged.

"Oh, that's nice," Lyrisadora responded simply. George nodded.

"Yeah…we got a deal actually, 4 tickets for 25% less, Fred invited Angelina, Lee's gonna be going on holiday aroun dthe time so..." he trailed off placing his hands in his pockets. "So I figured I'd ask if you wanted to go to," he added, half shrugging.

"You're inviting me?" she said, smiling faintly.

"Yeah, I mean you do still like them right?" George questioned.

Lyrisadora nodded. "Oh yes I do, I just haven't listened to their music in a while," she replied. "I would love to go…" she started to say, but trailed off, as she imagined what her father would say. She wriggled her hands nervously, it would be a miracle if her father let her go. Then again, maybe she could convince him, or lie and sneak out...lying seemed teh best option. "But I think it's best if I muse on it," Lyrisadora added carefully.

"Oh, okay then," George responded , sounding slightly disappointed, David looked at the two oddly as they neared the common room. They stopped as they noticed a familiar shape emerge from the entrance.

Cedric emerged, he stopped once he saw Lyrisadora and George, his brow creasing. "Uh hello…" Cedric greeted warmly.

David sensed the tension as he acted quickly. "Well thanks for walking with me, bye," he chirped, slowly edging away as he walked past Cedric towards the common room.

Lyrisadora smiled and went to go hug Cedric. "I was just walking David back here, he was getting harassed by Adrian," she explained, releasing him. "And George was accompany just in case Adrian felt like messing with me," she added, flashing a smile at George.

Cedric looked at George, before he smiled at Lyra. "Right of course, thanks," Cedric exclaimed, nodding at George curtly. George nodded stiffly. "So you coming on prefect patrol with me?" Cedric inquired.

Lyrisadora nodded. "Sure, why not," she concurred, as she turned back to George. "I'll think about it George," she added.

George nodded. "OK, seeya-oh yeah, Fred needs your help with a charm essay tomorrow," he explained.

Lyrisadora groaned. "He does know it's called 'homework' for a reason?" she retorted.

George smirked. "I'll remind him, seeya around," he said goodbye, before walking away.

Cedric put his arm around her. "What did you mean when you told him you'd think about it?" he asked as they started to walk down the hall.

"Oh, that, he invited me to a concert," she answered brightly.

"He did," said Cedric, taken aback.

Lyrisadora nodded. "Uh hm. Though I don't know if I'll be able to go, with my father and everything," she continued weakly, sighing.

Cedric gave her a playful hug. "Don't worry about him," he reassured, holding her close as he held her hand. Lyrisadora smiled warmly as she softly drew circles on his hand, leaning slightly on his arm as they walked.

* * *

><p><em>0ctober 26th 1993<em>

Lyrisadora sat in the potions,at a desk on the front row, labelling a new batch of potions, using a quill to neatly label the content. She didn't look up as she heard Professor Snape enter and shut the door behind him, more roughly than usual. Lyrisadora peaked up before quickly looking down. Professor Snape went over to his desk and started muttering darkly under his breath as he sorted through his students essays.

"Pathetic," he hissed, sneering at the paper. Lyrisadora glanced at him from her desk, before swallowing and looking up.

"Sir, are you alright?" she questioned apprehensively. Professor Snape snapped his head up, eyes locking onto her .

"Yes, even though it is none of your concern Miss Malfoy," he snapped in a clipped tone. Lyrisadora nodded worriedly and instantly returned to her work. Professor Snape gave her an irritated look before sitting down at his desk and scanned through the essay papers. There was a tense silence for a while before Professor Snape broke it.

"Tell me Miss Malfoy, what's your opinion of Professor Lupin?" he inquired, out of the blue. Lyrisadora looked up and seemed unsure how to answer.

"Well, I consider him a capable down to earth good teacher," she answered plainly, looking at Professor Snape curiously. Professor Snape scoffed softly.

"Don't you find his behaviour odd?" he drawled. Lyrisadora looked confused.

"Well, I suppose it is odd that he's ill a lot," she replied cautiously.

"Yes strange that, ill every full moon, slight odd, wouldn't you say?" Professor Snape mused. She looked at him, he was smirking knowingly, Lyrisadora wandered what he was hinting at.

"I suppose…" Lyrisadora trailed off as she thought and reviewed what Professor Snape had said.

"Hm-Have you nearly finished with the labelling?" he questioned, changing the subject. Lyrisadora looked at the potions, she had four more to label, she looked at her list next to her, which contained a picture of the potion and the name next to it.

"Nearly, I have four left to label," she responded. Professor Snape nodded curtly, he then took a quill and a small blank piece of parchment and started to scribble some writing down. Lyrisadora looked up now and then from her labelling, until he stopped and placed his quill down. And stood up. Lyrisadora watched him walk over to her, placing the piece of parchment on the desk.

"These are the ingredients I need you to gather and present to me for tomorrow morning-I will be making the potion, I simply need you to get me the ingredients," he instructed, Lyrisadora took the list and read the ingredients, she furrowed her brow as she recognised the type of potion.

"I didn't know any of the upper years were making Wolfsbane potion sir, " she said, it seemed odd, especially since it was such a very difficult and complex potion. Professor Snape smirked coldly.

"They're not, the potion is for Professor Lupin," he stated, before turning and walking away, closing the door behind him. Lyrisadora was frozen, herself dumbstruck by what Professor Snape had said. She eyed the list again, what Professor Snape was implying was absurd, Professor Lupin couldn't be a werewolf. She had read up on the Wolfsbane potion and its use, it did seem logical that if Professor Lupin was a werewolf, then he no doubt would have to take a the potion so he wasn't a risk to students. Lyrisadora folded the piece of parchment up into a small square and placed it in her school robes before shaking her head and returning to her labelling.

* * *

><p><em>5th November 1993<em>

Lyrisadora stood in an isolated part of the library, searching for a book of Arithmancy called _Grammatica_, she bent down then straightened up and sighed in frustration,she knew she was looking in the right scanned the higher shelves, straining her neck to look father up, before her eyes trailed lower, before they stopped and zoomed in on a green book with the words 'Grammatica' on it. She reached out to grab it, but she couldn't reach, frowning she stood on her tiptoes, straining her fingers, but they only brushed the wooden shelf. Growling in frustration she reached for her wand, but a hand went over her head and grabbed the book before she could utter a spell to levitate it.

Lyrisadora spun round to face the book thief, behind her was George, a familiar mischievous smirk on his lips as he casually held the book in his right hand. Lyrisadora huffed.

"George, give it back, please," she ordered tightly, a hand on her hip as she held the other out expectantly, to be handed the book.

"What? You mean this," he said amusingly waving the book in the air. Lyrisadora folded her arms in annoyance.

"I'm serious George," she said.

"Really? You don't look like him," George retorted, chuckling. Lyrisadora groaned at the lame joke.

"George, just let me have the book," she snapped. George held the book in the air.

"Come get it then," he teased, waving the book in the air. Lyrisadora made to grab for it, but George was a good two inches and a half taller than her, she growled and glared at him, pushing his chest back.

"You're so immature!" she hissed, pushing against his chest, trying to knock him over . George laughed and grabbed her around the stomach, pulling her away as she struggled. "Let me go, let me go," she cried sharply, trying to get out of his grip.

"Say please," he commanded playfully. Lyrisadora glared at him fiercely.

"No!" she spat, trying to release his hands.

"Come on," he teased, waving the book in her face, swiping it away before she could make a grab for it. She looked at him sternly.

"Don't make me bite you," she hissed dangerously, looking very serious. George's eyes widened in surprise as he let her go.

"I was only messing," he argued, shrugging. Lyrisadora snatched the book from his hand before he could react, glaring at him. Madame Pince passed by, giving the two suspicious looked before walking away behind a corner.

"Well I'm not in the mood," she said tightly, clutching the book to her chest and turning away. George looked concerned.

"What's wrong?" he asked, himself looking concerned. Lyrisadora looked at her feet.

"It's Cedric, he and Cho, I know they're just friends, but he spends so much time with her…" she trailed off, turning back to George. "I saw them together alone in the art classroom…cedric says they were just talking," she continued, looking worried.

"I'm sure it's nothing," he reassured.

"Yeah, I know…I mean I hang out with you a lot, because well, we're friends, so I shouldn't be jealous if Cedric wants to spend time with Cho," Lyrisadora reasoned awkwardly, looking unsure. "Do think he's mad at me?" she questioned anxiously. George looked irritated.

"Of course he isn't, he's probably just friendly with Cho, I mean you're his girlfriend, and Cedric isn't the cheating type," George defended, not really knowing why he was defending Cedric in the first place, but he didn't want Lyrisadora to get the wrong idea. Lyrisadora seemed to find comfort from this as she smiled meekly.

"You're right, I'm just being silly and paranoid," she concluded, nodding. "Thanks," she said armly. George just shrugged.

"It's nothing, I don't want you getting upset after all," he said. Lyrisadora smiled.

"Well thank," she said. George smiled.

"Yeah well, I better go, gotta go meet Fred and all," he announced. "Seeya," he added, mock two finger saluting before leaving. Lyrisadora watching him go, contemplating for a moment before softly smiling and walking towards a nearby table to read.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm alive! 4 months sorry! I've been busy with coursework and exams. And I was unfair because I favoured my other story to this one. Mostly because I got writers block with this one, but I've thought about this story for a long time, so I think I'm getting back into the flow of things.<strong>

**Anyway, hope you guys liked this chapter.**

**Review!**


	28. Kisses

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Sorry for the delay. And sorry it's short :(**

* * *

><p><strong>Life wasn't created to be easy<strong>

**Chapter: Kisses**

* * *

><p><em>25th December 1993<em>

Lyrisadora's heart raced as she curled her fingers deep into the fabric of her skirt, as she sat in her father's office, facing his empty chair behind the desk, waiting for him to return. Lyrisadora bit her tongue as her mind raced.

An hour ago everything had been normal, the Malfoy family had just finished unwrapping the presents under the Christmas tree, behaving and reacting as they usually did when receiving and giving presents. So everything was how it should have been, but that instantly changed when a fearful house elf entered the room, claiming that Miss Lyrisadora had received a letter. Lyrisadora's head had shot up instantly and had made to grab the letter, but the house elf had handed the letter to the master of the house, her father, who swiftly flicked it open, pulling out a traditional Christmas card with a moving portrait of a slay and reindeer.

Lyrisadora had stopped instantly, standing frozen on the spot as she watched her father read the card's contents. Her mother had stood up as well, reading the card from behind her father's shoulder, her mother's face turning confused, as her father frowned as his jaw stiffened.

"Lyrisadora," he had said stiffly, his sharp eyes boring into her, before continuing. "Who is Cedric?" he had questioned coldly, the name causing her mouth to go dry as her heart missed a beat.

And that is what had led to her current situation, when she had gone silent and avoided her father's question, his frustration had grown, sending her to sit and wait in his study until he returned. Lyrisadora closed her eyes as tried to control herself, if she was going to lie to her father, she needed to be convincing. She reviewed what was the best rout to take. If she told her father Cedric was her friend, a close acquaintance, then he might only simply lecture her and tell her to revaluate her friendships, another rout was the truth, which would get her in serious trouble, her parents would not allow her to date a half-blood, under any circumstances, especially a Hufflepuff, and if they found out about the Weasley twins after all this time….

Lyrisadora stroked her wrists as she shivered, they'd brand her a blood traitor, punish her severely. She looked around the cold room and hugged herself, she'd have to lie and say her and Cedric were just friends, that was the safest option , hopefully her father wouldn't be too angry. Her back stiffened once heard deep footsteps nearing towards the room. She lowered her eyes and clenched her fists as the door opened and her father stepped in.

Lucius shut the door and walked over to his desk, Lyrisadora could feel his eyes on her as she stared at the desk edge. There was a tense silence, before her father cleared his throat, pulling the Christmas card from his pocket.

"Do you know who this card is from?" he question, holding the letter up to view, Lyrisadora raised eyes and stared at the piece of paper in his hand.

"Yes, Cedric, Cedric Diggory," she answered quietly. Lucius took out the card, sliding it towards her.

"An who is he to you?" he inquired icily. Lyrisadora looked down at the card in front of her.

_To Lyra_

_Hope you're having a merry Christmas, mines been pretty cool so far, grandma's human gain, dad ended up turning her back, she had a real go at him for it. It was really hilarious. _  
><em>I know you told me not to send you a card, but I didn't really seem the harm in it. Anyway hope you're fine, can't wait to see you back at Hogwarts.<em>

_Love from Cedric xxx_

Lyrisadora finished reading the card, her mouth dry as one soul thought lingered in her mind. She was going to murder Cedric, she was going to hit him with a book until he was crying out in pain. What a moron, she couldn't believe him, of all the stupid things to do. Lyrisadora was at least grateful he didn't mention their romantic life or refer to her as his girlfriend, maybe not all hope was lost. Lyrisadora glanced up at her father, who was staring at her expectantly, rattling her brain she tried to think her way out of this.

"Oh, well you see," Lyrisadora began, forcing her body to relax. "He's just a friend," she supplied, Lucius looked sceptical.

"A male friend? Who puts '_love_' and kisses in his letters to you," he sneered, his yes narrowing slightly. "I'm not stupid Lyrisadora, or do I look stupid to you?" he snarled. Lyrisaodora hastily shook her head.

"But we're just friends father, honest!" she pleaded. Lucius looked at her intently.

"Then tell me, what is his blood status?" he questioned. Lyrisadora decided to mix the truth and lie together.

"Half-blood," she responded, Lucius sneered.

"House?" he inquired. Lyrisadora looked hesitant.

"Hufflepuff," she answered.

"_Hufflepuff_, " he spat. "Didn't I tell you not to consort with those lower to your status," he hissed.

"I know father-" Lyrisadora tried to protest.

"Yet you disobeyed me and decided to befriend an idiot of lower blood status, who is in a weak blood traitor house," Lucius interrupted.

"We're just friends father, honestly-and I know I shouldn't have befriended him, but he was kind, I couldn't help but like him, even though I tried," Lyrisadora reasoned firmly, forcing her voice to stay steady. Her father seemed to contemplate her point for a moment.

"Perhaps," he began slowly, dragging the word out. "You have a point. However when you associate with the weak, you yourself become weak, you become infected by their ideals," he stated. "I will not allow you to become weak Lyrisadora," her father announced coldly, his tone making her shiver. "However, my concern does not rest on that, it rests on if your friendship is more than a friendship," he added tonelessly. Lyrisadora looked alert.

"What do you mean father?" she implored.

"What I mean, are you dating this boy?" he questioned venomously, hating the sentence he had uttered. Lyrisadora struggled to keep her body from reacting, instead forcing her face to look taken aback.

"Of course not father, I would never," she argued, Lucius looked doubtful.

"What male friend puts _kisses_ at the end of a letter," he sneered, holding the card up to view. Lyrisadora thought quickly, then an idea struck her, it was risky, but it would provide her with an emergency exit.

"Well you see father," she began, sighing sadly in fake defeat. "I didn't want to tell you but, Cedric is gay," she said, keeping her voice at a believable tone. Lucius looked taken aback. She hoped her father wasn't a homophobe…then again…

"What?" he spluttered. Lyrisadora sighed.

"That's why he acts so feminine, I know his condition, is _worrying_, it's really quite sad father," she continued, hating the way she sounded. "He pretends to fit in, but really...well he's gay. I found out by accident, stumbling upon him while he was...admiring some rather vulgar imagery of men, he begged me not to tell, and I taking pity on him,agreed," Lyrisadora continued, thinking up the story from the top of her head. "Eventually he confided in me his worries, the strain of his secrecy, I felt drawn to his weak state. Honestly father it's hard to explain, but we became friends, never truly close, however he feels as though he can be his true self around me, which is why he acts most feminine towards me," she finished. A rusty silence issued as Lyrisadora and Lucius stared at each other for a while. Lyrisadora sitting perfectly still as her heart thumped loudly, she hoped her father couldn't hear it, giving away her fear.

"Huh…I see," he said, slight awe, looking a tad puzzled. "Strange, I must say," he muttered, before clearing his throat and straitening up, placing the card back on his desk. "But I still do not approve of your friendship with him," he added. Lyrisadora's heartbeat slowed slightly as she calmed.

"I understand father," she said, nodding curtly, looking at him expectantly.

"I don't want you friends with him anymore, stay away from him," he ordered smoothly.

"Of course father, as you wish ," Lyrisadora concurred seriously.

"Good. Oh and if he continues to bother you, blackmail should do the trick," her father advised, Lyrisadora nodded.

"I shall note that father," she stated.

"Good, then I suppose this matter is done," he announced, Lyrisadora gave him a small smile, hiding an even larger one in satisfaction, the lie had worked perfectly, all was well again. "Oh and another thing," Lucius added, causing her to freeze.

"Yes father?" she inquired.

"This certain sympathy you show to the weak, that needs to stop," he drawled, Lyrisadora looked affronted.

"I don't understand," she said truthfully.

"Lyrisadora, to put it bluntly, you're soft, far too soft, I understand you're a lady, so certain graces, submission and politeness are acceptable. However, your compassion for the pathetic is not acceptable. You're a Malfoy and are better than them," he drawled, looking at her calculatedly. "Do understand what I'm saying?" he questioned, analysing her response. Lyrisadora jaw stiffened.

"Yes father, I shall try to improve," she replied plainly, he smirked slightly as he considered her for a moment before nodding.

"Good," he said simply before scrunching the card up in his hand, smoothly pulling out his wand and burning the card. Lyrisadora noted her father had a fascination with burning her things. She watched as the scrunched up card turned to ash, keeping her face passive. "That's all, you may go," he said coolly, pushing the ash onto the floor for the house elf to pick up. Lyrisadora nodded and stood, breathing a sigh of relief once she was outside the room and the door shut firmly behind her.

She started to walk towards her room. Her father had an amazing ability to make her feel worse about herself, he was like a pessimistic stamp on her soul. Lyrisadora shook her head in exasperation, that had been a close call, all because Cedric had been an idiot, Lyrisadora groaned, oh she was going to hurt him. Maybe then she'd be able to put some sense into that adorable cute idiotic head of his.

* * *

><p><em>5th January 1994<em>

"You're an idiot!" Lyrisadora yelled, her voice echoing throughout the empty abandoned art classroom.

"I was only trying to be thoughtful!" Cedric countered.

"I had to lie that you were gay!" She yelled.

"Wait what!" he shouted in confusion.

"It doesn't matter. Cedric, my father came this-_this_!-close to nearly finding out about you being my boyfriend, do you have any idea how much trouble I would have gotten in?" Lyrisadora spat.

"I'm sorry okay!" Cedric yelled, running a hand through his hair. "I'm just not used to all these secrets ok," he protested, sighing as he sat on a classroom table. Lyrisadora felt guilt fill her as she folded her arms, calming down.

"Well I'm sorry, ok I just….it's hard with my parent's views and everything," she began, sitting next to him. "I mean, no matter what I do, it's never enough, there's always something wrong with me in their eyes,I'll never be perfect," she muttered. Cedric sighed as he looked at her.

"Well they're idiots so who cares what they think," he pointed out.

"_I care_, I can't help it. You don't understand Cedric because your parents love you just the way you are," Lyrisadora said. "For me, I was raised to want their approval, I can't really explain it, I just always knew that I needed it. I suppose I just wanted to make them happy, still do," she explained.

"Yeah well, you can't spend your whole life wanting to make them happy," Cedric stated bluntly.

"I know," Lyrisadora muttered.

"I don't Lyra,I mean lately all you care about is them, everything's about_ them_," he said bitterly, Lyrisadora looked at him in concern. "We shouldn't have to hide, we should just tell them," he said boldly. Her eyes widened.

"What?" she questioned warily.

"We should tell your parent's we're together, I mean your brother's kinda cool with it," Cedric said more confidently, standing up. "Come on, we can tell them during easter break," he added. Lyrisadora stood and shook her head in horror, causing his face to fall.

"Cedric, I can't," she exclaimed, stepping back.

"Why? I mean we've been together for_ three years_," he argued, looking bewildered.

"I know, but right now isn't the best time, maybe when we're olde-"

"Older! Lyra we have two years left before we leave school for good, no more secrets, everything out in the open," he protested. Lyrisadora looked down.

"They'd disown me," she muttered.

"So what! You could stay with me, my mum and dad wouldn't mind," he suggested. Lyrisadora looked at him, her eyes sorrowful.

"I can't leave them-they're my family-and I know they don't really show it often, but they do love me, they really do," she claimed, her tone slightly desperate.

"If they really loved you then they'd understand and let you be happy," Cedric countered.

"It isn't that simple, my parents are complicated," she sighed.

"But I love you, isn't that enough?" he questioned. Lyrisadora looked at him regrettable.

"I love you too Cedric, but my family…they. You have too understand, that it's complicated," she exclaimed. Cedric looked at her for a moment.

"Right, complicated," he confessed dully, shaking his head. "I gotta go help Cho with her Herbology homework," he announced , before kissing her on the cheek and walking out of the room. Lyrisadora sighed deeply as she stood in the empty room, man she sucked at relationships.

* * *

><p><strong>Urk so short. sorry for the shortness, but my mind went blank after the last sentence. I tried to think of what else to say, reviewing how I was going to bridge the next few chapter to the chapter I want it to lead up to, but I just ended up getting frustrated, so I decided to post this, instead of keeping you waiting. :p<strong>

**Also the whole 'he puts kisses and love on a letter and he's a boy so he must be gay' thing was not menat to be offensive, Lyra just needed an excuse, and Lucius is ignorant enough to believe it.**

**Oh well, hope you guys liked it, things are a lil busy I''m afraid, especially since I have to start applying to Universities, fill out the application and look at student finances. Growing up sucks -_-**

**Lyrisadora will grow lady balls! But like all good things, sometime syou have to keep on trailing through a pile of dung before you reach the pavement.**

** Anyway Review please!**


	29. Human Nature

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Sorry for the delay. And sorry it's kinda short. **

**I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>When Emotions And Logic Conflict, A Compromise Must Be Made<strong>

**Chapter: Human Nature**

* * *

><p><em>6th January 1994<em>

Lyrisadora sat on a stool in the prefects bathroom, trying to comb the PVA glue from her hair, herself grumbling in frustration.

"I hate her, I hate her, I hate her," she mumbled acidly, spitting the words from her lips, desperately trying to move the comb through her clumped up her. She had used some spells to break up the glue, so thankfully not all was lost, however now she was stuck combing out large clumps, along with some of her Hair.

She groaned as she picked at the comb, removing some dried glue mixed with blonde hairs from the teeth. Cassondria Pottencrest had just made number one on her enemy list. Lyrisadora recalled how a series of events had led up to her hair becoming a glue fest.

At the beginning the week had begun like normal, the Sirius Black situation was still the latest gossip, Draco was still whingeing about his hippogriff injury, Elizabeth was becoming obsessed with boys, Oliver Wood was now the hottest gossip, since word had got out that he had lost his virginity to his girlfriend a Hufflepuff named Neela Rao, sprouting from the fact they had been nearly caught by Professor McGonagall in an abandoned Charms classroom, Professor Flitwick had been in a sour mood since them. And the rest was mundane. That was until Lyrisadora had given Cassondria and Miles a detention, catching Cassondria…..'making him _happy_' in previous said abandoned Charms classroom, much to the charm's professors growing distain. Causing many joking innuendos to be made about the phrase 'flick and swish'. Lyrisadora pondered on this before shaking her head and regaining her train of thought. Cassondria had not been pleased, deciding to exacting her revenge in the form of hair mutilation.

Lyrisadora tugged her brush hard as she tried to comb out a large knot, gritting her teeth as her hair pulled. She winced as a chunk of hair was pulled out. Lyrisadora glanced at the brush before growling. _She hated her!_

"Revenge," she spat. "I'll show that stuck up china doll," Lyrisadora spat venomously. She needed to make that bimbo pay, the question was how. Lyrisadora stopped and thought for a moment, she would have to target Cassondria's looks, it was the girl's main weakness. The glue gag was far too mirroring, so Lyrisadora's prank needed to be more interesting. Lyrisadora stood as she began to pace, Cassondria had been needing a good humiliation for a while now. Lyrisadora face broke out into a grin, it was malicious and mean, but necessary and it was a prank that would satisfy Lyrisadora's revenge needs for a good long while.

However there was a problem. If the prank was carried out, Lyrisadora would be Cassondria's main suspect as she had motive, and Lyrisadora wanted her revenge served hot. She pondered on this point for a moment before smirking and clicking her fingers.

"The twins," she thought aloud. Fred and George were constantly pranking the other houses, so another prank wouldn't be out of the ordinary for them, all she had to do was ask them to do this as a favour , she was sure they wouldn't mind taking the fall for her. Lyrisadora lingered on that single thought for a moment, she did seem a tad selfish for using her friends like that, but they were her friends, so they'd understand, hopefully.

* * *

><p><em>7th January 1994<em>

Fred and George sat at the Gryffindor table, Lee and Oliver opposite them. The twins had enchanted a hard boiled egg, currently attempting to roll it towards Ron's Oatmeal. The two brother's both wearing identical grins as the egg rolled towards Ron who was busily talking with Harry.

"Come on…" muttered Fred, his wand hidden under the table as the egg rolled past a bowl of jam.

"Right-ok yeah-up a bit. Nearly there….alright, on three," George instructed, straining his neck to see, as the egg wobbled into position. Lee smirked as he observed intently. Oliver watched the scene with a disbelieving expression . "One…two…three!" George whispered. With a firm flick, the egg jumped in the air and landed in Ron's oatmeal with a strong splash, spattering the oatmeal over the plate. Ron flinched slightly and let out a yelp, looking down at the egg in his breakfast, the oatmeal splattered on the table, finding some splashed on his robes, Harry let out a choked laugh before swallowing, his expression turning into amusement, Dean and Seamus opposite him, chuckling as he gawked at his breakfast before looking up and catching Fred and George sniggering, his face turning into a frown.

"Grow up will ya," he snapped, attempting to wipe the oatmeal off his robes with his hands.. Fred and George grinned. Oliver just shook his head.

"Why?" he questioned in exasperation. Fred shrugged.

"Just practicing our charms homework," he answered innocently.

"You should know that we take our studies very seriously, Oliver," George added, smirking. Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Right of course-well maybe should take your Quidditch training seriously as well," he retorted. Fred rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah we know, relax will ya," he sighed.

"I can't!" yelled Oliver in exasperation, causing a few awe looks from the rest of the students. "You guys don't understand, this is my last year, my _last _chance to win the Quidditch cup for Gryffindor," he added, sighing regrettably. "Our team is the best, I just want us to win this, when I leave, I want to go out with a bang," he said strongly. Fred and George looked at him with arched eyebrows, whilst Lee rolled his eyes.

"Relax Oliver, Gryffindor will win. Just relax already, you're more stressed out than my mum when Pixies get stuck in the chimney," he groaned, smirking at the thought. George chuckled as Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Ha, Ha-listen, just promise me you guys will give it your all this year," he said, staring seriously at Fred and George.

"You can rely on us Oliver my man," Fred said cheerfully, mock saluting.

"Aye aye," concurred George, mock saluting as well. Oliver sighed.

"Right sure," he groaned. Lee smirked.

"You know what you need, a charms session with _Neela_," he stated loudly, causing Oliver to flush and whacked Lee over the head as students nearby giggled and laughed.

"Shut it!" Oliver hissed. "I've already had Flitwick on my back all week," he murmured, glaring at his friends, who were chuckling.

"Oh, is he still mad?" came a familiar feminine voice, Lyrisadora appeared from behind Fred and George, looking at Oliver curiously.

"Yep. So it isn't as funny as everyone thinks it is, especially for Neela," he announced. Fred and George created a gap for Lyrisadora to sit. Lyrisadora sat in-between them.

"Well last time I checked, she seemed to be doing fine," she supplied. Oliver looked relatively surprised.

"How do you know?" he questioned.

"Well I saw her hexing two seventh year Ravenclaw girls, so I had to give her a detention," Lyrisadora answered, shrugging slightly. "To be fair, they had been bullying her about the charms rumour, so she had her reasons-so I wouldn't worry about her not standing up for herself, she can mange that fine," she concluded. This caused Oliver to smile.

"Good, because I've already had to beat up one guy for calling her a slut," he stated, earning a stern stare from Lyrisadora. Fred sighed.

"Guess she really is good with a wand," he stated, smirking, earning a spoonful of porridge to his face. "Oi!" he spluttered, wiping the porridge from his eyes as his friends laughed. Oliver just whistled innocently as he smirked. Lyrisadora smiled before shaking her head, before turning to George.

"Anyway, I came to ask you a favour," she began, George looked more alert as he looked at her questionably. Fred wiped the rest of the porridge off with a napkin, trying to get some out from his hair as he turned to Lyrisadora.

"Which would be?" he questioned. Lyrisadora wriggled her hands.

"Well, it's concerning Cassondria. I'm sure you're all aware of the glue incident?" she inquired tensely, they all nodded.

"Oh yeah, man that was fun-" he broke off once receiving a swift glare from Lyrisadora, laughing nervously quickly changed his tone. " Really mean and stupid," he corrected. Lyrisadora grumbled something under her breath before continuing.

"Anyway, I was hoping that you two would help me get even," she explained. George smirked slightly.

"Well this is interesting. What exactly did you have in mind," he implored. Fred leaned in as well.

"Yes my dear Lyra, what prey tell is your plan?" he questioned, smiling evilly.

"Just a little hair dye session, preferably long lasting….bright and conspicuous-I have the potion, all I need from you, is the actions to carry it out," Lyrisadora explained lowly, keeping her voice quiet so the plan couldn't be over heard.

"And you can't do it yourself, because?" Lee implored.

"She'd know it was me, an eye for an eye so to speak," Lyrisadora replied curtly. Fred shrugged.

"Pranking a Slytherin, nothing we haven't done before, sure why not," he said.

"Yeah, I'm up for it," George agreed, Lyrisadora beamed and was about to thank them, before Fred added.

"_However, _since this is a favour, we expect something in return at the very least," he said.

"Just a _small _token of thanks," George added. Lyrisadora groaned and frowned.

"Like what?" she asked warily, folding her arms and slouching slightly. The twins grinned.

"You do our homework….." Fred started. "Plus Lee's," he added, earning a satisfactory nod from Lee.

"For about….two days…that seems fair, right Fred?" George inquired, Fred nodded.

"_Yep_, seems about right-agreed Lyra?" he asked. Lyrisadora glared at him before nodding.

"Ok fine-but me doing your homework won't help you learn anything," she snapped, glaring at the three friends.

"Meh, I can live with that," Lee said, shrugging. Lyrisadora rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you three in Potions, I'll talk to you guys about it before dinner," she said, before standing up and leaving. Once she had left Oliver turned to them.

"You guys better not get caught, I can't afford for you two to be stuck in detention for Quidditch practice," he warned. Lee shook his head and sighed.

"You _sure _you don't need another charms lesson with Neela?" he asked sceptically, earning another bunch of laughs and a full bowl of porridge in his face.

* * *

><p><em>7th January 1994<em>

Lyrisadora hurried her pace as she headed towards the direction she had seen Cedric walk in. The day was turning into evening, as he turned a corner and rushed more.

"Cedric," she called, her voice echoing through the halls. Cedric turned around and stopped once catching sight of her. She smiled and rushed towards him, embracing him. He smiled fondly and hugged back. Lyrisadora let him go and smiled playfully at him. "I was hoping we could go sneak into the kitchens before they get dinner on the go, I managed to convince the house-elves to let me make cup cakes," she added cheerfully.

"Ah man that's awesome," he said, before hesitating, his smile wavering slightly. "But, I said I'd help Cho with her Herbology homework," he continued, sounding guilty. "Sorry," he added quickly. Lyrisadora's smile faded before she forced it back on, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Of course, you told me," she said, her tone friendly. "I just forgot," she added slightly more weakly.

"I'm sorry, it's just I thought you were gonna hang out with Fred and George, I heard something about it at breakfast," Cedric stated.

"Oh, that…yeah I suppose they do like cake after all," Lyrisadora divulged, forcing a chuckle. Cedric gave her a small smile before kissing her softly.

"Yeah-I promise we'll hang out later, ok," he reassured, Lyrisadora gave him a smile before nodding.

"Yeah," she concurred, he gave her one last smile before turning around and continued to walk own the hall. Lyrisadora watched him for a moment before pursing her lips and marching in the direction of the Slytherin dormitories.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth sat on her bed, reading the latest edition of Witch weekly, on the bed next to her, Lucretia lay on her stomach reading another version of Witch Weekly.<p>

"Who do you think is hotter, Victor Krum or Yvon Aloin?" Lucretia questioned absently, not removing her eyes from her magzine. Elizabeth looked up.

"Yvon of course," she answered patronisingly, rolling her eyes. "He has a face carved by angels, and that hair, I swear no one can pull strawberry blonde off like him," she added. Lucretia looked up and smirked.

"I have to agree-I mean personally I think Krum is much too hostile looking, that beard isn't doing him any favours," she conversed.

"I know! I mean, beards are just too furry and out there, I like a clean shaven man myself , they look so much nicer," Elizabeth explained, placing her magazine down.

"Hm perhaps, but some guys do pull it off," Lucretia shrugged, before pushing back a medium length dark brown hair behind her ear. "Cassie adores Krum, she thinks he's the best thing since gum remover potion, she's so annoying sometimes," she groaned. Elizabeth smirked.

"At least she doesn't smooch her boyfriend in your face twenty four seven," she stated, before tensing up and shutting her mouth, realising what she had just said. Lucretia smirked.

"Let me guess, Lyrisaodra and Cedric?" she questioned, Elizabeth gave a sheepish nod. Lucretia sighed. "I hate it when people do that, in your face, it's so irritating," she confessed. Elizabeth nodded and gave her a small smile, torn between gossiping with someone her friend considered and enemy.

Just then door opened, entering a very annoyed looking Lyrisadora. "Liz, I don't know-" she began to splutter, before stopping when she caught sight of Lucretia. Lucretia arched an eyebrow at her.

"Malfoy it's my room too, whatever you've got to say, say it," she said smugly. Lyrisadora put her hands on her hips.

"It's a private conversation, I just need to speak to Liz for a moment…please," she suggested politely. Lucretia groaned but reluctantly complied, placing her magazine on the pile before sitting up and getting off her bed, giving Lyrisadora an indignant look before leaving the room. Elizabeth looked at her friend expectantly.

"Well?" she inquired. Upon that word Lyrisadora spilled out everything about Cedric, how she was worried about losing him, his closeness to Cho, and how she didn't know what to do. Once finished Elizabeth sighed. "Right, well, it looks like this won't be an easy fix," she sated. "Alright, first, why do you think he's acting this way?" she asked. Lyrisadora started to pace as she wriggled her hands.

"I'm not sure-I know I've been distant, but it's only because of my studies, and hanging with my other friends," she started to divulge.

"Like the Weasley Twins?" Elizabeth implored, unable to say their name without distain. Lyrisadora nodded.

"Yes," she answered, before stopping and pondering on the thought. "You don't think he's jealous that I spend a lot of time with them, do you? After all, they are my friends," she argued. Elizabeth sighed.

"Yes, but you do spend a lot of time with them, more time than with me," she pointed out, the last bit with slight bitterness. Lyrisadora looked a tad awe.

"It's not on purpose, I just enjoy their company, plus they're fun to be around-you're still my friend Liz…I am sorry if you felt otherwise," she said, apologising sheepishly, Elizabeth forced a shrug.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, the way I see it is like this, Cedric is obviously jealous that you're spending more time with the Weasley twins than with him, so he's trying to deal with that frustration by seeking solace in Cho," she elaborated in a matter of fact tone.

"And the solution?" Lyrisadora sighed, folding her arms.

"Simple, stop hanging out with them," Elizabeth answered, Lyrisadora's eyes widened.

"Excuse me!" she blurted out indignantly, looking at her friend in outrage. "They're my friends, two of my best friends, second to only you, I can't just stop seeing them," she protested. Elizabeth sighed.

"Calm down, I didn't mean completely ignore them , I just meant you should hang out with them less, like socialize with them every one a week or so," she suggested. Lyrisadora still didn't look pleased, especially since they had agreed to help her with her prank, even though she had to do their homwork.

"But why should I have to distance myself from my friends for Cedric, just because he has a problem with my friends, doesn't mean I should have to sacrifice them to make him happy," she argued, herself conflicted, even if Cedric didn't like Fred and George, he could at least grow up and let her hang around with them as much as she liked, she ever asked him to cut back with hanging out with his friends.

"Look Lyra, Cedric is obviously insecure about the relationship you both have, if you don't start fixing things, things are going to fall apart," stated Elizabeth bluntly, folding her arms. "I know it's harsh, but if you value your relationship with him, then you'll have to compromise, it's not like you have to stop being friends with them, just step back a little," she concluded.

Lyrisadora thought about her point for a moment, calming down to try and understand what the situation demanded from her. Elizabeth did have a point, a annoyingly logical point, if she wanted Cedric to be less jealous and distant, then she needed to detach herself from Fred an George a little. She still didn't like the idea, and thought of it as unfair as well as frustrating, but it would probably only be temporarily, just until she and Cedric patched thing up. She sighed.

"Fine, I won't spend as much time with them," she caved, admitting defeat. Elizabeth smiled.

"Glad I could help," she said before standing up and walking over to her friend. "Listen, how about we spend more time doing girly things together? That will take your mind of them for a while," she suggested. Lyrisadora looked hesitant, 'girly' things weren't number one on her hobby list, however they weren't torture, she wouldn't mind painting nails and gossiping with her friend, as long as it wasn't for a long period of time. Returning the friendly smile she nodded.

"Alright then," she agreed. She glanced over at Lucretia's empty bed and the pile of magazines on it, when a thought occurred. "On another note, why so friendly with Lucretia?" she questioned. "Not that I'm saying you can't be friends with her, you can befriend whoever you like, I'm just curious," she added quickly, wondering why Elizabeth was suddenly on friendlier terms with the said girl. Elizabeth looked slightly lost for words.

"Oh, well, we just sort of clicked, we have a lot in common you know, like boys and witch weekly," she answered absently, shrugging. "And well, she and Cassondria are having a fight, so she's avoiding her," she added.

"She is?" Lyrisadora questioned curiously, not aware that Cassondria's friends often disagreed with her. Elizabeth nodded.

"Yep. Cassondria and Lucretia are always butting heads these days, apparently-anyway, since you and I haven't been spending as much time together like we used to, I've been hanging up here more," she continued, walking over back to the bed, Sapphire emerging from under the bed and jumping on said girl's lap, Elizabeth stroked the cats ears tenderly. "Which Lucretia has been doing a lot more as well and since we've been seeing each other more lately, we couldn't just sit in silence for a couple of hours, so we started having short conversations. Not very deep, just how the weather was, fashion, latest gossip, that sort of thing," she explained. "But don't worry, I haven't been gossiping about you," she added hastily. Lyrisadora just nodded simply, surprised at her friend's new found friendship. Herself feeling slightly guilty of causing her friend to feeling lonely, reviewing the situation again, it did seem like she needed to spend less time wit the twins. Maybe she could even get to know Lucretia, the girl didn't seem that bad, compared to the haughty mindless child she had once known her to be. There was a long calm silence for a moment before a hard knock on the door jolted them back into reality.

"Merlin, are you two writing a diary entry or something! Can I come in already?" came the muffled frustrated voice Of Lucretia from outside. Elizabeth smiled as Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at her.

"She's really quite charming once you get to know her," Elizabeth claimed, wincing as another loud knock came. "After a while…."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm back! Sorry for the delay, college life and stuff, applying for university. Oh I have a job now! Yay now I'll have money mahahah! Also, my other reason for delaying my writing for this story, is because I am slightly insecure about my writing, I want this fic to be a good fic, one that has an interesting story and characters. THe main thing I'm concerned about is Lyra, I defintely don't want her to become a mary sue, but I also don't want her to become a bitch, it's hard to get the balance, I want her to have flaws, but at the same time be a likable character.<strong>

**Oh and _Anonymous_ review (you need to log in), thank you for your review! I'm serious, it made me think a lot and also added to my story idea. However I'm gonna have to disagree with the George and Lyra pairing because I love it! I'm a sucker for this pairing, sorry but I am. However you made a good point, I think Lyra should distance herself from the twins, hang out with her boyfriend more, because I can understand why Cedric would be jealouse. **

**And yeah Lyrisadora is a coward, won't disagree there, but I made her a coward on purpose. See I understand and get the whole 'make Malfoy's sister really brave and independent' but I wanted something different, I wanted my version to be a more of an everyday girl type of girl, someone who's confused and isn't quite sure what she wants, or who she wants to be, I wanted to write a fic where you see how she grows, see the change from A to B, that kinda thing. Thankfully my parents are nothing like Lyra's, they're loving and supportive and respect my views even though they don't always agree, we don't always get along, but in the end we're family. And I'm thankful I have that, Lyra aint so lucky and for some peopel it's hard to break away from their parents, it hurts to disappoint them, they're too scared to stand up to their parents. I wanted to take a look at that, explore more into the family side of things and see how taht can effect a person.**

**Anyway enough rambling! Hope you guys liked this chappie, I'll try and update soon enough, if not, have a happy Christmas and new year.**

**Review!**


	30. Parting of Ways

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Falling from cloud nine<strong>

**Chapter: Parting of Ways**

* * *

><p><em>8th January 1994<em>

It was a chilly January morning at breakfast, a majority of student settling for hot porridge to warm their bones. Lyrisadora was among the majority of those, sitting at the Slytherin table, gladly eating her porridge. Draco sat next to her, engaged in conversation with Theodore Nott. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table, noting that Fred, George and Lee were absent, she expected they were carry out the prank right about now, she smirked as she imagined Cassondria's new makeover. She was brought out of her musing by the sound of owls entering the hall, herself glancing up as she ate, her eyes dropping as a letter fell in front of her. Lyrisadora lazily placed her spoon down and opened the letter.

_Dear Lyrisadora,_

_I am writing to you to inquire about some disturbing rumours I have heard. These rumours concern your certain relationships with your fellow students._

Lyrisadora became more alert as she focussed on the letter, it didn't promising, especially since it sounded like it was from her father, taking a quick glance at the bottom confirmed this.

_ I have heard news of you associating with the undesirables of your year, which is most disturbing and something I will not tolerate. Now of course such allegations would be considered horrendous and unbelievable, however after hearing of your association with another undesirable in the past, I have been forced to consider these rumours._

Lyrisadora groaned quietly, this definitely did not sound promising, she leant in more as she placed her forehead in her palm, reluctantly continuing to read.

_I have written to Draco and he has informed me that these rumours are false, claiming them to be vicious lies spread by your jealous classmates, informing me of your mutual dislike with the Miss Pottencrest girl. I find this news disturbing, as the Pottencrests are a noble family, one which I expect you to befriend, which is why I expect you to make amends with this girl, such distasteful rumours can not be allowed to circle. _

Lyrisadora re-read the paragraph and scoffed, before biting her tongue, the only way she was going to keep Cassondria silent, was to blackmail her, she stopped and lingered on this, she'd have to think of that more later.

_I hope to discuss this further with you when you return home for Easter, until then I expect improvement and my instructions to be carried out. On another note, Severus has informed me that you are proving to be a well capable Potioneer, even recommending that you pursue it for a future career, something I informed would be terribly inappropriate for someone of your status._

_Yours Sincerely _

_Father_

Lyrisadora frowned as she read the last section of the letter. It was clear her father expected her career to simply marry and bore rich pureblood children, she felt a tightening in her chest, that would be another issue she would have to solve, avoiding marriage would be tricky, but it was still do-able and perhaps if she made being a potioneer, more noble and refined, then her father may wield to it. Though personally she didn't quite know if she would pursue it. Lyrisadora wondered what she would actually want to do in the future, the business world had seemed appealing from afar, all that selling and dealing, she had heard enough information of it from conversation her father had dealt in, though most of it did seem dull, some talk of it and what the business world was like, did seem attracting as well as, a sort of game.

She stared off for a while, lost in thought, coming back at the nudging from her brother. "So what are you going to do?" Draco questioned, having read the letter while she had zoned out.

"Hmm? Oh yes that, well it is problematic, I'll need to talk to Cedric, remind him to not do another stupid thing like that again," she exclaimed, Draco looked disgruntled at this and sneered.

"Seriously? Why don't you just dump him already, he isn't worth your time," he remarked acidly, Lyrisadora glared a him.

"Because I love him, that's why," she retorted. Draco rolled his eyes.

"No you don't, you just think you do," he retorted. Lyrisadora turned away and scowled.

"Don't tell me what to feel Draco," she snapped.

"I'm trying to help. If it wasn't for me, father would have known by now, Diggory is more trouble than he's worth," Draco sneered. Lyrisadora kept her temper at bay.

"I appreciate that you've covered for me over the years, but it's my choice, Cedric is important to me," she reasoned.

"More important than your family?" he questioned harshly, her eyes narrowed at him.

"Don't do this," she warned.

"Do what, try and push some sense into your head?It's difficult trust me," he retorted sarcastically.

"Don't compare him with the family," she answered.

"I'm trying to make you listen, you can't keep on going on like this, sooner or later you'll have to break up with him," he groaned.

" I don't want to break up with him," she hissed, glaring at her brother. "You don't understand Draco, Cedric loves me for who I am, he expects nothing from me, do you know what that feels like? Do be loved by someone who respects your views and expects nothing from you?" she questioned, looking at him pleadingly, trying to make him understand, before sighing. "I like having someone like that, I don't want to lose that," she continued, her voice turning slightly weak.

Draco shook his head . "Well nothing lasts forever," he replied tonelessly. "Besides, how do you know Diggory feels the same way as you?" he questioned.

"Well I know he does, he must," Lyrisadora insisted.

"Then why do I see him more with Cho than you?" Draco asked plainly. Lyrisadora swallowed.

"Cedric enjoys her company, it's just a friendship, nothing more," she protested, Draco looked at her intently.

"And you trust him completely? Aren't you jealous?" he questioned smoothly, Lyrisadora felt a surge of emotions.

"No, no Cedric may associate with whoever he likes, I trust him. Though I may not like Cho, I can not stop their friendship," she explained tightly, Draco's eyes held concern.

"Because I've heard-"

"They're just rumours!" she snapped loudly, causing some heads to turn, Theodore looked at her questionably. Lyrisadora composed herself. "Vicious rumours that are lies," she added, a hint of hurt in her tone. Draco looked sceptical.

"Alright then," he said, deciding to drop the subject. "So how are you going to get on with Cassondria?" he questioned. Lyrisadora sighed.

"I suppose I'll simply have to be civil, not rock the boat or up-" she broke off as her eyes widened in realisation. "Set her…oh dear," she exclaimed breathlessly, hastily looking around the hall, Cassondria, Cordula, Fred, George and Lee all absent. "I'll be back in a moment," she said before darting up and rushing out of the hall, leaving Draco speechless.

She hurried down the hall as her mind raced, upsetting Cassondria was not a good idea right. Now her plan had meant that technically Cassondria couldn't trace the prank back to Lyrisadora, since she had not carried it out, however the suspicion that she had been behind it, had been a realising thought that had troubled Lyrisadora, before she hadn't cared that much, but now things had changed, Cassondria's opinion meant something now and since Lyrisadora didn't have any valuable blackmail on her right now, keeping her mellow was the best option.

She hastily made her way to the hallway Cassondria usually hung out, the place she had told the twins to exact their plan, she hoped she was not too late.

* * *

><p>Sat on a pillar window in a recluse section near the court yard , Cassondria and her friend Cordula Valens were located. Cassondria had a scowl on her face as Cordula looked at her friend with uncertainty.<p>

"I still can't believe Tia is ignoring me, can you believe it?" she questioned sharply, Cordula opened her mouth, Cassondria cut her off. "No I can't either. I mean how dare she call me a stuck up bimbo, can you believe that? I mean who does she think she is? And to top it all off, she goes off and befriends that cow Elizabeth, I mean talk about standards," she spat, folding her arms, Cordula sighed.

She gave her friend a serious look as she spoke. "Well you did call her bitter….and ugly….and you did say she had cob webs growing in her-"

"Yeah well, I was mad, all because of that stupid Lyrisadora blackmailing me like that," Cassondria interrupted fiercely. "And all for protecting that Hufflepuff loser, Dave Hew-witty or something!" she added acidly. "Stuck up cow," she hissed.

Meanwhile further down the hall, Fred, George and Lee hid behind a corner, unable to fully hear the girls conversation, but still able to see them, as they prepared to strike.

"Right," said Fred in a hushed voice, pulling out a potion vile from his robes, George and Lee looked at the peculiar vile, the potion inside being a glittery scarlet colour. "Ok, Lee, you got her ready?"

Lee grinned and nodded, holding a square white box in his hand. "She awake and ready." Patting the box fondly. Fred nodded.

"Great, ok when they get near," he instructed.

"Well all Malfoys are stuck up, we're Purebloods, it's in our nature. Besides, she's probably just jealous of you," Cordula reassured, this seemed to calm Cassondria down.

"True," she said slowly.

"And you did get her back by pranking her, with the glue and everything," Cordula continued. Cassondria smirked.

"Yes, that's also true. I got her good, didn't I?" she implored, smiling in smugness.

"Yep, you sure did," Cordula agreed, her tone slightly weary. "Though Miles did help you set the prank up," she pointed out, Cassondria brushed it off.

"Yeah well, he's my boyfriend so he's meant to help me," she argued. Cordula just shrugged.

"Whatever," she muttered. "Anyway, shouldn't we be heading to breakfast?" she questioned, changing the subject. Cassondria sighed.

"Fine, but if Lucretia wears her hair the same way as me again, I'm going to go insane," she whinged, standing up as they headed to the Gryffindors hiding spot. Lee walked forward, before turning walking towards the girls, the white box in hand.

"Hello ladies," he greeted cheerfully, earning a disgusted sneer.

"What do you want?" Cassondria questioned in disgust. Stopping gust in front of the corner where Fred and George hid.

"Just showing my fellow students my dear old pet," Lee explained happily, Cordula looked curious.

"What pet?" she questioned carefully.

"Is it a filthy toad, I'd expect nothing less from your sort," Cassondria insulted smoothly. Lee's grin didn't waver, bringing the white box into plain view.

"Even better, wanna see?" he questioned. The two Slytherins looked at him suspiciously. Lee laughed. "Are you really that scared of a pet this size?" he chuckled. Cassondria frowned.

"Oh shut up and show us then," she barked. Lee shrugged.

"Ok," he said casually, opening the lid, On cue George levitated the box, causing it to be thrown to Cassondria, it hit her on the chest, falling to the floor as a Tarantula clung to her chest. Cassondria looked down and screamed, Cordula screamed, backing away.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" she screamed hysterically. Cordula fumbled with her wand, George levitated the spider onto Cordula, , landing on her face, gaining a ear piercing scream. Cassondria prepared to run, put the spider was then levitated in her face, causing her to back away. "Stop it! Get it away!" she yelled, George as grinning in amusement. Fred uncapped the bottle as he prepared to pour the liquid on the cornered girls head.

Lyrisadora whizzed round the corner, her eyes bulging once she saw the prank in near full effect, her eyes locking on the vile. "Oh no," she muttered, pulling out her wand. Cassondria was shielding her face with her hands. Fred levitated the vile over her head.

"Expelliarmus," she cast, knocking the vile away, uttering the spell again to knock George's wand out of his hand, stopping the levitation charm, causing the spider to fall. She levitated it back into it's box before walking over to them. Cassondria gasped as Cordula calmed slowly down. Fred, George and Lee looked perplexed.

"Lyra-what?….I don-" Fred began to splutter, Lyrisadora gave him an icy look, telling him to shut up. She turned to Cassondria and plastered on a worried look.

"Are you okay?" Lyrisadora questioned hastily, Cassondria's eyes snapped towards her.

"You! You set them up to this didn't you!" she accused hatefully, Lyrisadora shook her head frantically.

"No I didn't, honestly Cassondria, I had no idea," she lied, her tone pleading, Lee and the twin gaped, looking at her disbelievingly.

"Liar!" she yelled, glaring at her. Lyrisadora shook her head.

" No listen, I told them about what you did to me, they said they would get even for me, even though I told them not to," she explained, giving them a stern look, burying her emotions of guilt, she had to be convincing if she was going to get away with this. Cassondria looked at her sceptically. "I didn't know they were going to go through with the plan and when I found out I rushed here to stop it," Lyrisadora continued.

"But you hate me," Cassondria stated slowly, looking at Lyrisadora with interest.

"Hates a strong word, but I'm not stupid enough to prank you, when it would be clear that it was me behind it, I didn't know they were going through with it," she protested smoothly, staring Cassondria in the eye.

"Lyra," George exclaimed, looking at her in bewilderment. Lyrisadora turned to him sharply.

"I told you not to interfere, why don't you ever listen?" she snapped, not allowing him to blow her charade.

"Hey now wait!" Fred intervened, anger in his tone.

"No, I've told you, I don't need your help," Lyrisadora spat. "I'm not getting blamed for something you've done, not anymore, I'm sick of it," she argued, a sinking feeling forming in her stomach as she read their faces, things did not seem to be going well. She turned back to Cassondria. "I'm sorry alright, I don't care about getting even, I didn't know about the prank," she apologised evenly, before giving the three friends a forced hateful look and walking away. The five teens looked stunned, Cassondria frowned as she looked at Cordula, who look equally confused. Cassondria's frown turned into a glare as she faced the Weasley twins.

"If you three freaks come near me again, I'll get my boyfriend to wish you were never born," she threatened venomously, before sneering and marching off, Cordula in tow. Fred growled.

"Let him try princess," he sneered, his tone angry, himself marching off in the opposite direction.

"Can you believe her! Why was she so bitchy?" Fred growled.

"Wasn't Cassondria always a bitch?" reasoned Lee. A glare from Fred corrected him. "Oh you mean Lyra, yeah she was pretty bitchy back there, why'd she lie like that?" Lee pondered.

"Yeah why? I don't get it, she blamed us for everything," George pointed out, frustration and anger in his tone.

"Yeah well if she wants to be a bitch let her, she can explain when she removes the pole rammed up her arse," Fred spat.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora rushed through halls in a dazed state, realising the consequences of what she had just done, on a positive side, Cassondria looked like she had believed her, meaning she hadn't completely made her a mortal enemy, on a negative note, her three friends could possibly now not be her three friends. She groaned the lie had been a panicked idea, successful but horrible and deceitful. She slowed her pace. Part of her felt disgusted and appalled by her deceit, yet another part felt satisfactory of the lie's success. Her father was now paying close attention to her behaviour at school, something that was very dangerous, distancing herself from the Weasleys was the smartest option and that big lie had helped make that plan a success, but she didn't want her friends hating her, just distanced.<p>

Her thoughts turned to Cedric, the smartest choice was to dump him, she winced, she didn't want to feel the negative emotions of heartbreak, she had heard of what it was like from eavesdropping on other girls her age, the pain, the hate, the way they'd never forgive their ex's and that it was so lonely and so on. Feelings that didn't appeal to Lyrisadora, being an emotional wreck was not something she wanted. And she liked having someone their to comfort her, someone she didn't have to hide her emotions with, the nice warm feeling, it was a feeling she wanted to last forever.

She frowned as she stopped, leaning slightly on a wall. Everyone was telling her to break up with Cedric. She pondered on this, the thought of doing so lingering in her mind every so often, forcing her to push it away. Cedric was the thing that symbolised her rebellion against her family, the personal choice she had made, a choice she had control over.

"But I am keeping it secret," she mumbled. All these secrets were becoming too much, starting a life with Cedric fresh out of Hogwarts seemed far to rash and reckless, especially since they were still young, she sighed as she picked up her pace again. She continued to walk down the hallway, planning to head to the library for more reading, in effort of distracting her troublesome thoughts, helping her to relax. But paused once she caught sight of the back of Cedric and Cho, retreating round a corner, Lyrisadora's lips pursed, her brow creasing in annoyance, looking back at the corner they had disappeared round, she followed them, keeping her footsteps as faint as possible, their voice becoming more clearer.

"Ok don't you think you're overacting," Cedric voice called, grabbing Cho's arm, both of them stopping in the abandoned hallway. Lyrisadora quickly hid behind a corner as she listened. She stole a glance at Cho's face, noticing the girl had been crying, as her eyes looked puffy.

"Yeah well maybe if your girlfriend's brother wasn't such an ass, I wouldn't be acting like this," Cho retorted, Lyrisadora frowned as she heard Draco's mention.

"She can't control her brother," Cedric defended. Cho gave him a skeptic look.

"Yeah well it doesn't look like she tried, does it?" she argued, rubbing her eyes. "He called a me a slut, Cedric, a filthy half-blood slut, him and his little gang, laughing," she exclaimed, anger evident in her tone. Lyrisadora closed her eyes in frustration as she silently groaned. "I know it isn't Lyrisadora's fault, but fact she's a Malfoy is warning enough," Cho said. Lyrisadora's eyes widened at this, listening more intently.

"What are you saying?" Cedric questioned tightly. Cho chose her next words carefully.

"I'm saying, I think she's bad news," she began, Cedric groaned. "And yes maybe she is different from her family like you said, but that doesn't mean she isn't a trouble," Cho added hastily once seeing his reaction. Cedric gave her a withering look. "Yeah I don't know, but I see what she's doing do you," she added, Lyrisadora looked confused, wondering what Cho was referencing to, Lyrisadora wondered if it was about her being cold and distant, she knew she could be, but that didn't mean she didn't care, Lyrisadora broke off from her train of thought as she thought about how she had treated Cedric in the past.

"Like what?" Cedric asked apprehensively.

"Like the way she acts with that George guy, I mean that's pretty two faced," Cho stated. "And you don't deserve that, I don't like seeing you get angry and jealous, I'm just trying to help," she argued. Cedric considered her point for a moment. Lyrisadora felt confused and felt a nagging feeling in her brain. Cedric jealous of George. She felt something click in her mind, so that as why he didn't like that, realisation finally dawning, he was jealous and she had…Lyrisadora felt a pit in her stomach, she had been oblivious, she hadn't tried to remove his doubts. She then began to wonder if George had known, but before she could think more about it, Cedric spoke.

"I know, it's just that Weasley guy, he, I mean you see the way he acts with her-I just don't know what to do. But Lyra wouldn't do that on purpose, she isn't like that," Cedric defended, this brightened Lyrisadora's spirits slightly. Cho shrugged.

"Well, you did say she can be cold and distant at times, I mean she does act like her family at times," she pointed out, Lyrisadora felt a strong urge to wring the said girl's neck.

"I guess," Cedric muttered. Cho sighed.

"Just think about what I said. I just want you to be happy," she comforted, Lyrisadora peered around the corner, seeing Cho place her hand on his shoulder. Lyrisadora didn't want to hear anymore, as she quickly slipped away, her pace turning into a run as she ran towards the dungeons, stopping just outside near the one eyed witch statue. Collecting herself as she tried to process what she had heard. Cedric really felt that way, he was jealous and upset because of her. Lyrisadora's face twisted into a pained expression . However another thought occurred to her as a hard voice whispered, he's the one who's clingy, it's not your fault he's easily jealous, Lyrisadora stopped as she pondered on this, herself frowning. That was technically true….The voice whispered again, he should have told you.

"Yes…he should have," she muttered, agreeing with her inner thoughts. She became annoyed that he had not confided in her, instead of going to Cho. Lyrisadora pursed her lips, she was his girlfriend, not Cho. Lyrisadora's features softened slightly as she remembered how distant she had been to him. She didn't like to admit it, but she could be cold person at times, though when living in her family, that sort of thing was the key to survival.

"Oi Malfoy," called a familiar voice. Lyrisadora's head popped up as she turned in alarm, Lucretia looked at her curiously, her arms folded as she raised an eyebrow at her dazed appearance. "You look like you've had you head knocked," she stated. Lyrisadora gave her an impatient look.

"I just have a lot on my mind," she mumbled, pausing before turning back to Lucretia, looking at the girl for a moment, she hesitated in asking the girl for advice, after all she didn't exactly trust Lucretia fully, the said girl could be pretending to not being friends with Cassondria to gain Elizabeth's trust and spy on them. Then again the coldness between Cassondria and Lucretia seemed sincere and right now she needed someone with a knowledge of boys and relationships, something Elizabeth had said Lucretia was an expert in. "Lucretia, you've known me since I was six," she began. Lucretia raised another eyebrow.

"Good observation, you're observation skills must be peaking," she drawled sarcastically. Lyrisadora ignored the comment.

"And though we're not close…" she continued, Lucretia snorted at the statement. " Do you think Cedric and I have…chemistry?" Lyrisadora questioned unsurely. Lucretia's sarcasm dropped as she looked relatively surprised. "I'm just trying to get a third party's view," Lyrisadora added, looking at Lucretia expectantly.

"Oh well…" Lucretia trailed off as she thought for a moment. "Kinda…I mean you're cute, but he's a little too emotional, I mean you're emotional, sure yeah, but you're kind of…" Lucretia struggled to find the right words. Lyrisadora hung on her every word.

"Am I too distant, is that what I'm doing wrong?" she interjected hurriedly, running her hand through her hair. Her thoughts urgent, she was losing Cedric. Her thoughts turned towards Cho, anger starting to build. "She's trying to steal him isn't she," Lyrisadora hissed acidly. Lucretia looked puzzled.

"What?" she questioned in confusion.

"Cho," Lyrisadora answered harshly. "She's always with him, she's trying to steal him from me," she elaborated. Lucretia blinked as she looked at Lyrisadora with interest.

"So Chang's a man stealer huh? Hm, I did wonder why she hung out with puff-boy," Lucretia mused. "I still don't get what you two see in him, I mean sure he has a hot body and a cute face, but still-"

"Nevermind that," Lyrisadora snapped. "I have to-she-ugh," she growled.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that, could you repeat?" Lucretia asked pleasantly. Lyrisadora let out a deep breath as she tried to control her emotions, sighing deeply, she turned back to Lucretia.

"Sorry. I just don't know how to talk to Cedric about it," she confessed.

"And you're talking to me about your life issues, becaaaauusse?" Lucretia inquired slowly. Lyrisadora folded her arms and scowled.

"Because you're the first person I bumped into and I'm not in a stable mood right now," she snapped. "Now, are you going to give me advice or no?" she questioned icily. Lucretia just sighed and walked closer to her, leaning on the wall, folding her arms and giving Lyrisadora a annoyed look that told her to hurry up with her life issues.

"Fine then. Ok, so what's wrong with you and Cedric, besides him being an idiot.?" she asked. Lyrisadora shot her a glare before sighing.

"He's jealous of George Weasley and then Chang's been putting it in his head that I'm deliberately making him jealous," she explained. "Which is complete dragon-dung, because I didn't even know he was jealous and then there's the fact he's so clingy, he doesn't understand my issues with my family, he thinks we can just run away together and everything will be perfect," she continued, her tone holding anger. "He doesn't understand and I…I don't understand him," Lyrisadora said in exasperation. "So?" she implored. Lucretia sighed.

"Well….ok so in conclusion he thinks you're two-faced and he's oblivious to your family issues, great guy you picked there," she commented dryly. "My advice would be to break up with him, he sound like way too much hassle," she drawled, waving her hand dismissively. This had not been the advice Lyrisadora had hoped for, true she hadn't expected the advice to be warm, but had expected it to be helpful in repairing the relationship.

"But I love him. I thought you gave good advice with relationships!" she snapped. Lucretia shrugged.

"I do, it's simple, you have no chemistry, so break up, there, problem solved," she said. Lyrisadora scowled at her.

"It isn't that simple," she growled.

"Yes it is," Lucretia insisted playfully, grinning.

"Oh do shut up," Lyrisadora snapped, giving Lucretia a cold look. "I love him, he makes me feel warm inside, and even though he's clingy, he gives me attention and he makes me happy," she explained.

"So does that mean you're happy now?" Lucretia inquired in a bored tone. Lyrisadora's face saddened, in truth, right now she didn't feel very happy, she felt guilty and angry. She felt a pang of pain in her stomach, she didn't want to lose Cedric, she didn't want to experience the pain of heartbreak. But at the same time, she didn't want to get married to him, she didn't want to grow old with him. Lyrisadora's mind wondered towards the future thinking of where Cedric would fit in.

"Sort of," she replied quietly. "I don't know right now," she confessed.

"Well ya gonna have to figure it out eventually blondie," sighed Lucretia. "A half-blood Hufflepuff has no place in our high society," she added, giving Lyrisadora a pointed look. "On another note, what are you going to do about your Weasley problem?" she inquired. Lyrisadora gave her an anxious look.

"I'm not sure," she answered curtly. Lucretia rolled her eyes.

"Why? Finally woken up an realised he's in love with you," she drawled.

"No, because he isn't allowed to love me," Lyrisadora stated frantically, the truth starting to settle in. George wasn't allowed to love her, he wasn't because she loved Cedric and if he loved her, then he was aware of what it was doing to her relationship with Cedric. Lucretia arched a confused eyebrow.

"Come again?" she questioned in befuddlement.

"He isn't allowed to love me, because that would mean, he's knowingly making Cedric jealous," she protested, her mind thinking back to all the times George had made snarky comments about Cedric, remembering every moment he had tried to make Cedric look stupid.

"Well I hate to burst your bubble, but he probably did and yeah, he loves you," Lucretia exclaimed smoothly. Lyrisadora's face crumbled, why did relationships have to be complicated, school work wasn't complicated, cats weren't complicated.

"But I don't love…" she trailed off as she thought about her own emotions towards George, George also made her happy, she understood him better than Cedric. Lyrisadora shook her head, one relationship was difficult enough. "I need to find Cedric," she said abruptly, her tone urgent. "Thanks for the advice…I guess," she added, looking at Lucretia before rushing off, Lucretia looked taken a back by her sudden exclamation and rushing off.

"Next time write a diary entry," she called, before shaking her head and sighing.

Lyrisadora headed towards the Hufflepuff common room, her mind thinking rapidly. Did she love Cedric? After three years she wasn't so sure, at the beginning it had been a fairytale, but now it just felt like a battle, the disappointment weighing down on her. She tried to think of what she loved about him.

"He's attractive, he's funny, he makes me happy, he gives me attention," she muttered, her argument weak, she needed the connection she had felt originally with him, the look in his eye and that warm fuzzy bright feeling inside. The thing she loved about him was the attention. Lyrisadora paused, thinking this over, she loved his attention, she needed his attention, the question was why? She thought back to how much she craved her parents attention, how she had loved it when they had praised her, remembering how she had needed to earn it. The attention Cedric gave her was something she adored, it made her feel confident in herself.

"That's what I love," she mumbled, realisation striking, she didn't love him, she loved the attention he gave her. She felt sick in her stomach, she felt like she was using him. She wondered what she was going to do next, she still was angry with him, and she still cared about him. There could still be hope for them, if they worked things out, she could grow to love him again. Her thoughts turned back to her father's letter, a sinking feeling filling her, the future was uncertain and had to be laid out carefully, a part of her felt she could still build a relationship with Cedric, but only if she made him understand her family difficulties, then their would be hope. She made a plan of this and looked up from her musing, noticing a familiar boy walk past, recognising him as David Hewitte, he might have an idea where Cedric was.

"David," she called clearly, stopping the boy in his tracks, he looked at her with alarm. "Have you seen Cedric?" she questioned.

"Uh yeah, I think I saw him heading down to the Transfiguration room with some Asian girl," David answered, Lyrisadora felt a surge of jealously, but hid it and simply nodded curtly.

"Thank you," she said politely, David just nodded and quickly walked off, as Lyrisadora headed towards the Transfiguration room.

After arriving at the door, her hands idly felt the metal doorknob for a few moments, letting out a calming breath, she pulled the door open.

For a split-second, she caught a glimpse of a quite troubling sight. She froze. There, in the middle of the room, stood Cedric and Cho; very close, eyes lost within each other, dazed and leaning closer. The door slammed into the adjacent way, startling the two from their compromising position.

Their alarmed gazed locked on Lyrisadora, standing in the doorway. "Lyra," Cedric yelped, the two quickly stepped away from each other. Taking stiff steps further into the room, Lyrisadora eyes flickered between Cho and Cedric for a few moments, finally deciding to settle with locking Cho in an icy glare, who quickly looked away.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I really need to talk to _my boyfriend_," Lyrisadora informed harshly. "Alone would be nice."

Cho seemed to get the message. "Right… well… of course… bye," She said awkwardly, before awkwardly stepping around Lyrisadora and then rushing out, leaving Cedric and Lyrisadora in an awkward silence.

Cedric shuffled his feet nervously for a few moments, building the courage to speak. "Lyra, I-" Cedric attempted to explain weakly.

However Lyrisadora decided to interrupt. "It doesn't matter. We just need to talk," she stated strongly.

Cedric nodded awkwardly. "Okay…so, um… what's wrong?" he questioned anxiously, biting his lip. Lyrisadora regarded him for a few moments, before sighing deeply, trying to word her argument carefully.

"I know you're jealous about George," she confessed, looking him straight in the eye. "What I don't understand, is why you didn't come and tell me," she continued, waiting for him to answer. Cedric just stood in silence, looking away and biting the inside of his jaw. After a moment he finally spoke, meeting her eyes.

"Well I thought it was obvious," he said. "I mean how would you react if I told you I was jealous of your best friend, would you even take me seriously, or would you just brush it off?" he inquired, anger laced in his tone. Lyrisadora pursed her lips at the question, refusing to meet his eyes, agreeing that she most predicatively wouldn't have taken him seriously.

"I didn't know George liked me, if I had known I would have distanced myself," she stated evenly, her thoughts turned back to Cho as a sarcastic smirk formed on her lips. "But I don't think you're one to talk," she added icily.

"Excuse me?" Cedric questioned warily.

"I'm talking about Cho Chang, did you ever consider that I was jealous of her?" Lyrisadora questioned, even more coldly, her eyes boring into him. "I may be in the wrong, but so are you, you didn't confide in me, you confided in her," she added, her voice rising slight. "If you wanted our relationship to be fixed, you should confided in me," Lyrisadora argued.

"Well so should have you! You could have told me about your jealously with-" Cedric began to protest.

"And what would you have done? Would you have taken me seriously, or simply dismissed it?" Lyrisadora questioned harshly, her tone slightly mocking, giving him a cold look. Cedric winced.

"Alright, I get it, I was in the wrong as well, but did you ever consider why I trusted Cho more?" he asked, Lyrisadora didn't reply, her jaw stiff. "I wanted us to be together, to have a future together. But every time I mentioned it or implied it, you just backed off, pushed it aside, like what I wanted for us didn't matter," Cedric argued, his tone hurt and frustrated.

"It was never that reason," Lyrisadora protested, her tone softening. "Thinking about the future was painful for me, because it would mean I would have to decide between you and my family," she confessed, looking at him with sincerity. "Don't you know how hard it would be for me, building up dreams, when at any possible moment they could be crushed," she reasoned., stepping closer to him. "You have your life ahead of you, you can be with whoever you like and retain your parents love, I don't get that privilege, you have a freedom I don't have," she explained earnestly. Cedric's gaze warmed.

"Then runaway, get out while you can-" he began to plead and ramble, taking her hand. Lyrisadora closed her eyes as his words made her wince again inside, zoning out while he continued to speak, his voice becoming faint. There he was again, telling her they should elope, a rash action that would not end well, especially if he didn't trust her. She tried to imagine her and Cedric in the future, he had been her prince, now she wasn't sure if he was anymore. Their romance had been Romeo and Juliet, but after looking back, she could easily imagine herself living without Cedric. If she ran away with Cedric then what would she do then? Stay with him until the romance died? Then what? Her mind was plagued with questions on the future, she had no idea what she wanted to do in the future, if she left Cedric then she'd have no way to support herself. Her mind wondered to her disowned family, she didn't know her aunt very well, Tonk's had said the woman was kind hearted, but had confessed Aunt Andromeda could be cold and judgmental at times and didn't like talking about her family, what was stopping the woman from venting her hate for her family towards Lyrisadora. She didn't want charity. She forced herself to zone back into his words. "We can-"

"Don't," Lyrisadora said tonelessly, removing her hand from his grasp, avoiding his eyes. "You still don't understand, you never understand," she stated, looking at him sadly. "You're asking me to leave everything I ever cared about, lose everything for the sake of a relationship that is unsure," she said. "I may be trapped, but I'm going to escape of my accord, and yes, maybe you're right about them not loving me, but until I know that they don't care and they don't love me, I'm staying because they're my family and I won't hurt them," she explained strongly. Cedric was stunned.

"So what you're saying is that you don't love me," he stated, his voice hoarse. She turned away, refusing to look at him.

"I care about you, I love the attention you give me, but,…..I just don't want to be alone," said Lyrisadora quietly.

"So you're only with me because you don't want to be alone," he summed up bitterly, his gaze turning hard.

"I'm sorry," Lyrisadora apologised, before slowly turning back to face him. "But I don't want to runaway with you or marry you, I don't know what I want my future to be right now, but I know we can't keep going on like this," she added, her eyes pleading.

"So is this it, are you breaking up with me?" he questioned harshly. Lyrisadora refused to speak. "Cho was right about a lot of things about you, I just wish I'd listened sooner," he added, before looking at her coldly and walking out of the classroom. Lyrisadora looked down, herself feeling numb, standing in silence in the gloomy classroom, before breathing in a deep breath and leaving the classroom

* * *

><p><strong>you're going to hate me for breaking up Lyra and cedric, but yeah it's the way it has to be. And i finally know what direction i'm going with lyra, yay!<strong>

**going to have lyra and the twins make up, she's a little bitter right now, but I'm still gonna try and preserve her quirkiness.**

**anyway merry Christmas and a happy new year **

**review!**


	31. Regrets collect like old friends

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

* * *

><p><strong>You can't Destroy What isn't There<strong>

**Chapter: Regrets collect like old friends**

* * *

><p><em>11th January 1994<em>

Clouds polluted the skies as an icy air hung, the Dementors continuing to create a grey atmosphere that drained the castles life. Students stuck to staying indoors to avoid the cold touch of the Dementors presence that seemed to radiate for miles, despite them being a safe distance away. Lyrisadora was one of them, saying in the great hall during break, her brother keeping her company as they played chess, a game she was losing.

"I win," Draco exclaimed dryly, the joy of winning losing its enthusiasm, seeing how this had been the 14th game he had won, Lyrisadora's winning count to be none. She didn't seem very interested in the game, resting her cheek on her right hand fist as she looked at Draco with dull eyes.

"Congratulations," she mumbled. Draco sighed, growing frustrated with her down attitude.

"Are you even going to try?" he questioned in frustration, scowling at her. Lyrisadora shrugged lazily.

"Don't plan to," she replied. Draco pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Can you at least pretend to be happy," he suggested, Lyrisadora sat up and folded her arms on the table, giving her brother an annoyed look.

"That would involve effort, something I can't be bothered to give," she drawled.

"Listen you need to cheer up," Draco began to lecture. "I get that this whole break up with Diggory is a lot to handle, but you need to get over it, have fun, moping around is just going to make people pity you," he continued. "Have some pride," he added sternly. Lyrisadora scowled at him.

"I am getting over it, the only reason I've been 'moping', is because I can't be arsed anymore, okay," she snapped. Draco sighed and massaged his temples.

"Yes well, the thing is that's not the best way to deal with these things and you'll regret it later. So I'm going to help you," he explained. Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at him.

"And why would you do that?" she questioned.

"Because you're my sister, that's why," he snapped angrily, as if that explained everything. Lyrisadora decided to entertain her brother and shrugged.

"Alright then, fire away, let the therapy begin," she said sarcastically. Draco shot her a glare before clearing his throat.

"Alright, so first off, have you cried yet?" he questioned. Lyrisadora sifted uncomfortably.

"No," she answered.

Draco looked taken aback. "Seriously? That's a little unhealthy," he remarked.

"I don't feel like crying and I don't need to, besides weren't you the one who said crying is for babies?" she retorted.

Draco shrugged. "Yeah but everyone has to cry once in a while, I just think they should do it in private, only an idiot would do it in public," he explained. "And what do you mean, you don't need to'?" he questioned.

She sighed. "I just don't feel the need, I don't really know what to feel about the whole thing," she answered.

Draco gave her a worried look. "But if you hold it all in, you'll have a breakdown," he stated seriously. "You're going to snap, maybe not today, or tomorrow, but soon," he warned.

Lyrisadora felt troubled by his words, fighting to keep her emotions at bay. She refused to lose control. "I think that's enough therapy for today," she announced clearly, sitting up straight. "I'll see you at dinner, thank you for keeping me company," she added, before getting up.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked.

"I don't know…class," she replied, shrugging the question off and leaving the hall. She roamed the corridor for the remainder of the break before heading to Herbology.

As she walked along the grass to the green house, she saw Cedric walking back from it, he caught sight of her as their eyes locked, making Lyrisadora feel a rush of anger boil up inside her before she looked away, keeping her eyes forwards as she quickened her pace.

Once she had entered the greenhouse, she had more or less slammed her bag onto the faded moulded old wooden table and sat down in her seat, glaring at the chipped would, her jaw stiff. The tables were pushed together to fit groups of four. The sound of bags being plopped on the table cause her to look up as Elizabeth and Lucretia sat down.

"Hi," greeted Elizabeth friendlily.

"Hi," Lyrisadora returned unenthusiastically, her eyes flickered to Elizabeth's appearance, something catching her attention. "Are you wearing make up?" she questioned. Taking in Elizabeth's appearance, she found that her friend had taken to wearing foundation and eyeliner as well as mascara, along with some grey eye shadow, bringing out her eyes, skin and giving her a sort of glow, giving her light brown dull eyes a sort of glint. Elizabeth smiled sheepishly.

"Tia convinced me; thought it was about time. Besides it's not like you don't wear makeup," she pointed out, referring to the usual black eyeliner Lyrisadora wore on her eyelids, along with some mascara on her eyelashes.

"I know, it's just that, you look different," she countered, shrugging. "It looks nice," she added. Elizabeth smiled at this.

"Thanks, Lucretia helped a lot," she said, smiling at Lucretia, who just smiled back, making Lyrisadora feel a pang of jealousy, which she quickly tried to bury, if her friend wanted to hang out with someone else, who was she to judge. Elizabeth's face turned to concern as she looked back at Lyrisadora. "Oh and I'm sorry about the Cedric…well you know," she comforted awkwardly. Lucretia sighed.

"Yeah, things must be pretty awkward now, huh?" she inquired. Some more people began to arrive and take their seats, as Lucretia began to empty her bag, looking for a bobble to tie back her dark brown hair. "I mean, from what I've heard, he's pretty hostile about it," she added.

"Yes well it would have had to happen eventually," Lyrisadora responded stiffly, her fist clenching slightly as she thought back to seeing him earlier. "He expected me to just leave my family for him, can you believe that? And imagine if I had, it would have been the biggest mistake of my life," she added bitterly, earning concerned looks from Elizabeth and Lucretia.

"Yeah that was pretty douche of him," Lucretia agreed. "At least you finally came to your senses," she added, before glaring at the door as Cassondria, Cordula, Adrian and Miles walked in, a majority of Gryffindors following in behind them, before spreading out across the room, the four Slytherin sitting down at a table near the door. "Bitch," Lucretia said, looking away, before perking up as she remembered something. "Oh yeah, that reminds me, I heard about the prank with the Weasleys," she said in a hushed tone, smirking. Lyrisadora looked around nervously.

"You heard about that," she exclaimed sheepishly.

"The whole girls' dormitory has heard about it," Elizabeth corrected.

Lucretia nodded. "Yep. Cassondria told them all, quite interesting actually, apparently she thinks there may be hope for you," she began to explain. "She said that the Weasley twins had tried to get revenge for you by pulling a prank, but you had stepped in and stopped it, then basically disowned the Weasleys as your friend," Lucretia continued.

Lyrisadora parted her mouth slightly as she looked shocked. "So she didn't think I had anything to do with it?" she questioned quietly, the sound of the last remaining student filing in drowning out their conversation.

"She has her suspicions, but since word of your break up with Diggory has floated up, she's beginning to think you're forsaking you Blood traitor ways, etcetera, and whatever. So congratulations, your loser status has lessened," Lucretia congratulated, earning a confused look from Elizabeth.

"There's a loser status?" she questioned in alarm. Lucretia nodded.

"Yeah there is, you two were at the bottom, just before the muggle-borns, though Liz, you were higher than Lyra. Malfoy I think you're now just above the Slytherin Half-bloods, same with you Liz," Lucretia mused.

"Did you just call me Lyra?" Lyrisadora questioned in alarm.

Lucretia waved a dismissive hand. "Slip of the tongue. Anyway the social status basically says who's who in the school, every house has one, but most of them blur together," she concluded.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow. "And who prey tell constructs this social status list?" she questioned.

"Cassondria," Lucretia answered absently. "Which says a lot, though she still thinks you're a stuck up cow. Even though your loyalties are questionable, you're still a rich pureblood, so she still holds some respect for you," she explained.

Lyrisadora scoffed at Lucretia's notion of Cassondria having an element of 'respect' for her. Her mind turned back to what she had done to Fred, George and Lee, two day had already passed and she still hadn't explained things to them, though to be fair she had been moping around for the last two days, not wanting to socialise with really anyone. Though she knew if she didn't soon, her relationship with them would worsen and her and Lee's relationship had been awkward from the start, only improving to civil conversations and casually talk. And she and George, Lyrisadora zoned out as she thought about George, if she confronted him about his feelings for her, things could get very awkward in a short space of time, but leaving things wouldn't help either, approaching things carefully would be the best option, so making up with them would need to be done hastily.

"Good Afternoon class!" bellowed the familiar cheery voice of Professor Sprout, dropping her huge old leather bag on the rickety desk, causing a loud bang to jump start the class, making Lyrisadora jump and zone back in and pay attention. "Right class, today we will be growing Fanged Geranium, now would anyone like to tell me something about these particular plant?" Professor Sprout questioned, looking at the class eagerly. The class remained silent, Lyrisadora kept her hand at bay and remained quiet as Professor Sprout's eyes flickered from each student. "Anyone?" she pushed, hoping for some more enthusiasm, she sighed sadly and was about to speak before a loud sigh seeped into the room.

Adrian looked and the Professor dully before deciding to speak. "A Fanged Geranium originated from Germany, found by pioneering wizards in 1452, they take a month and a half to fully grow, needing 160ltr of water twice a day, the soil needing to be fine and moist, fertilised well. The matured plant's colour, a healthy green, plant's distinction is biting, razor sharp teeth able to pierce the flesh, vines and leaves around plant having to be trimmed regularly while growing, or risk the vines choking the plant," Adrian recited to the class, his tone weary. Professor Sprout blinked in surprise before smiling happily.

"Excellent Mr Pucey! Twelve points to Slytherin," she exclaimed cheerfully. Lyrisadora looked a Adrian with some surprise, as did the rest of the class. Cassondria looked at Adrian with confusion.

"How did you know that?" she questioned accusingly, her tone loud. Adrian regarded her blankly.

_"I read_," he responded curtly, loud enough for the class to hear, earning a few chuckles as Cassondria blushed and glared at him. Lucretia smirked as she enjoyed her former friend's embarrassment. Professor Sprout clear her throat, silencing the class.

"Yes enough of that. Now as Mr Pucey has correctly explained, the Fanged Geranium needs quite a lot of care, so I'm putting you in groups of two, in your pairs you will take turns watering and feeding your plant soil, as well as grooming the plant as it matures," she explained, clapping her hands together as she smiled broadly. "Now get into pairs on your tables, are first order of business will be fertilising the soil and planting the seed, adding water to it," she instructed. There was a brief murmur of chatter as students on their tables split into partners. Professor Sprout came to Lyrisadora and her friend's table, tutting in disapproval. "Oh dear, don't worry Miss Malfoy, we'll find you a partner, some students are absent today, so we'll pair you off with them," she reassured.

"Yay," muttered Lyrisadora. Just then some stepped into the green house, Lyrisadora glanced up, her mind instantly thinking the figure was George, however the visible mole on his neck, signalled it was Fred. Professor Sprout frowned disapprovingly.

"And what time do you call this Mr Weasley?" she questioned sternly, earning a sheepish look.

"Sorry Professor, I was with George and Lee in The Hospital wing," he argued, scratching the back of his neck.

Professor Sprout sighed. "Well alright then. It looks like you're in luck Miss Malfoy," she said, glancing down at Lyrisadora, before looking back up at Fred. "Right them Mr Weasley, we're growing Fanged Geraniums for the next month and a half and Miss Malfoy is your partner, she'll help you catch up," she instructed, leaving no room for argument as she walked off to go untangle a student from some vines that were choking his leg. Fred gave Lyrisadora a sore look before joining her at the table. Lyrisadora felt Cassondria watch her carefully, Lyrisadora tried to think of a good way to approach the delicate situation at hand. Lucretia gave Fred a suspicious look.

"So Weasley….how come your brother and friend are in the Hospital wing?" she asked. Fred looked at the three girls cautiously.

"They've turned purple and are confined to bed, since they won't stop throwing up," he explained casually. Lyrisadora gave him a stern look.

"What happened?" she snapped.

Fred gave her an annoyed look. "We were testing one of our new products and….well it sorta went a little wrong," he answered.

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at him in bemusement. "Clearly," she drawled.

Lucretia shook her head. "The stupidity of Gryffindors will never cease to amaze me," she sighed.

"With those two it never does," Elizabeth added.

Fred rolled his eyes. "It's called fun, something you lizard and Lulu, wouldn't know about," he retorted, earning some fierce glares.

"You-"Elizabeth began to counter, until Professor Sprout interrupted her with a clear clearing of her throat and a stern look.

"Less chatting, more working, chop, chop," she instructed, wagging her finger at them. "Go get your pots and start planting," she snapped shrilly. The four students obeyed and quickly went to get to work, wanting to avoid the Professor's wrath, who they knew could be a force to be reckoned with when provoked. While the class was busy working, Lyrisadora decided this was the best time to apologise to Fred without her fellow Slytherins' hawk eyes watching her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, standing next to him as he picked up a flower pot. Lyrisadora taking to adding the dirt. Fred looked at her with confusion, before he could speak, Lyrisadora explained further. "My father's heard rumours about my friendship with you guys, I have to stay on my house mates' good side or he'll find out. I didn't have time to tell you guys about it, if I had I wouldn't have lied and said those things in front of Cassondria, I'm sorry," she apologised sincerely, looking at Fred pleadingly, hoping he'd believe her.

Fred looked at her for a moment, struggling with his own self-doubts as he thought about what she had said. "I guess that would explain why you acted like a bitch," he muttered, grabbing one of the Fanged Geranium seeds and placing it in the half full pot. "Why didn't you tell us straight away?" he questioned.

Lyrisadora stiffened. "I was preoccupied, I've broken up with Cedric, so I haven't been myself lately," she explained.

Fred looked at her with surprise. "You've broken up, why?" he questioned.

Lyrisadora was reluctant to answer him, knowing he'd tell George about it and she didn't feel comfortable enough to talk to him for the while. "We just drifted apart," she answered curtly.

"Oh right, well sorry about that," Fred comforted.

Lyrisadora shrugged. "I'm fine, besides father would have realised soon enough, this way I avoided having to confront more conflict," she argued, emotion seeping into her tone, herself having to swallow deeply to regain control of herself, refusing to cry. "Now all I have to worry about is getting an E in Herbology," she joked sadly, blinking rapidly to remove the water in her eyes.

Fred gave her a warm smile, which held pity in it. "So what are you going to do about the other Slytherins?" he questioned.

"Well according to Lucretia I'm on a thin line, but if I make sure to stay in their good graces, I should be fine," she began to explain, before pausing to choose her next words carefully. "So until the rumours die down and my father is less suspicious, I'll have to stop hanging around with you three," she added quietly, looking at Fred apologetically.

"What?" Fred questioned indignantly.

Lyrisadora gave him a sharp look. "Shush," she hissed, telling him to keep his voice down so they weren't overheard. "It's only for a while. Fred please, need you to do this for me, I have a lot to figure out, you can tell again and again that I'm better off without my family, but it's my choice to make, I love them and won't leave them," she said, Fred opened his mouth to speak, but Lyrisadora cut across him. "How would you feel if someone kept on telling you to leave George, how would you feel if you could never see him again?" she questioned.

Fred looked grim at this. "Torn up and I'd punch them in the face," he replied seriously.

"Exactly, so bear with me," Lyrisadora pleaded, before finishing planting the seed, grabbing a watering can. "So for the time being, we should act only civil to each other, speaking when there is no option but to," she instructed.

Fred looked reluctant, but nodded never the less, picking up a bottle of plant food. "Fine, but Georgie won't be happy about this," he pointed out as they made their way back to the table.

"I know," Lyrisadora muttered as she set the pot on the table. Lucretia and Elizabeth were ahead of them as Lucretia shot them a curious look.

"You two took your time," she pointed out.

Fred decided to get into character. "Yeah well, Blondie over here decided to take her merry little time," he responded irritably.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at him. "Listen Weaselby, unless you want to fail, I suggest you shut up and pay attention," she snapped in frustration.

Lucretia grinned and turned to Elizabeth. "See Liz, told you 'Blondie' was the perfect name for Malfoy," she stated.

"Nah, Albino's better," Fred interjected, smirking, earning a real life glare from Lyrisadora.

"Shut up and work," she ordered harshly, earning a bemused grin from Fred.

* * *

><p>The rest of the afternoon stayed uneventful as lessons soon ended. Lyrisadora found herself declining Elizabeth's and Lucretia's invitation to go hang out, deciding go for a wander around the castle. She hummed a soft tune as she walked, the sun disappearing as nightfall reigned. As she was turning a corner her humming stopped as she collided with someone, sending the papers the person was carrying, tumbling to the floor. Lyrisadora yelped in surprise, the grown man stepping back and picking up his papers.<p>

She tensed once she realised the man was Professor Lupin, his hair a familiar dull tone and face worn and pale, his clothes in their usual raggedy-patched-up state. She quickly found her voice. "Forgive me Professor, I didn't see you," she apologised warily, attempting to help him.

Professor Lupin waved it off carelessly. "It's fine, it's fine, just an accident, don't trouble yourself," he chuckled, standing up with a handful of paper. Lyrisadora shuffled the papers neatly together before handing him them, smiling weakly, feeling uncomfortable, after learning about Professor Lupin's condition, she had felt less at ease in his company, though she thought him to be a capable and good teacher, his condition unnerved her, but at the same time mad her curious, having never met or seen a werewolf in real life, seeing one everyday had a dangerous interest. "Are you alright Miss Malfoy?" he inquired, his face holding concern.

Lyrisadora nodded. "Yes sir. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all," she answered smoothly.

Professor Lupin nodded. "Well you do work hard, I was practically impressed by the advanced blocking charm you used in class last week," he praised.

Lyrisadora forced herself to relax, reminding herself that that tonight wouldn't be a full moon, so professor Lupin was perfectly safe. However the fact that if it was a full moon and without his potion he would lose himself and kill her, was something that still made her unsure. "Thank you sir," she replied simply.

"Did you learn the spell from a book?" he questioned curiously.

"My father taught me, he started giving me extra lessons last summer," she explained curtly, it was now Professor Lupin's turn to be uncomfortable.

"Oh I see….you must be a quick learner then," he pointed out, smiling feebly.

"I suppose," she responded, shrugging, before smiling at him. "Thank you for your compliment," she added warmly, something the Professor appreciated and nodded.

"A student that works hard deserves it," he stated. "Keep up the hard work Miss Malfoy," he said cheerfully, before saying goodbye and walking past her, continuing down the corridor. Lyrisadora just gave him a weak smile in return before heading to the magical staircases.

As soon as she stepped on one, it rotated around, herself having to clutch the banister as it turned to another corridor. While the stairs were moving, Lyrisadora looked up, catching sight of Cedric, accompanied by Cho, as they stepped of the staircase to enter another corridor above. Lyrisadora felt her eyes water as another rush of emotion came, she blinked rabidly and bit down on her tongue, burying the emotions deep inside of her, struggling to keep it at bay, walking up the stairs as it locked onto another corridor, stepping off and walking briskly down the halls. She remembered what Draco had told her about needing to cry, something she refused to do, she hadn't cried since she was a child and she wasn't in hell going to cry now.

"Hello beautiful," came a familiar cocky voice that Lyrisadora recognised to be Adrian Pucey's.

"Go away," she snapped, refusing to look behind her, she heard the echoing of footstep as Adrian walked up behind her, causing her to reluctantly whip around and face him, glaring at him fiercely. "I said, go away," she repeated harshly, right now Adrian was the last person she wanted to speak to.

Adrian smirked at her, his bright blue eyes holding amusement in them as he looked at her. "I was just wondering if you wanted company, seeing how you'd be pretty lonely without Puff-boy around," he stated, Lyrisadora's glare intensified, and absent thought occurred to her, _since when did everyone start call Cedric 'Puff-boy'? _She shook this thought as she returned to glaring at him.

"Shut up, I wouldn't choose you for company even if you were the last person on earth," she retorted. "And only if a bunch of carnivores were added into the mix, but even then I'd hesitate," she added.

Adrian winced theatrically. "Wow, mean," he responded sarcastically. "And here I thought girls loved the handsome pointed face and high cheekbones," he sighed.

Lyrisadora scoffed. "I'm not one of those girls," she argued.

"Gingers and messed up noses are your preferences then?" he questioned amusingly.

"Cedric's nose was not messed up," she growled. "Now shove off."

Adrian gave her a fake sad look. "I'm trying to be sociable," he protested.

"Yes, well, you failing miserably, as per usual," she countered coldly. To her frustration Adrian continued to smirk.

"I love it when you're feisty," he said smoothly.

Lyrisadora sneered. "And I love it when you're in pain," she countered, pulling out her wand,

Adrian held his hands up in surrender. "Calm down princess, I'm just playing," he protested.

"Well I'm sick of your games, why can't you just leave me alone!" she yelled, herself starting to become hysterical.

Adrian sensed this as he tried to calm her down. "Hey calm down, I was just messing with you," his tone holding alarm. "Listen, you shouldn't be getting all worked up over Puff-"

"His names Cedric! It's Cedric, you arsehole!" she screamed, her eyes watering dangerously, she felt a lump in her throat as she realised she was about to cry, hastily pocketing her wand, she turned away. "Just go away please," she choked, her legs giving way as her thoughts turned to seeing Cedric and Cho, imagining how happy he was going to be with her. She blinked as her tears started to fall, fat drops of salty water.

Adrian heard her breathing become shallow as he was lost for words, having no idea what to do. Lyrisadora tried to walk away, but her legs turned to jelly, threatening to give way once she took her first step. She turned away from Adrian and leant against the wall for support, biting down on her hand, trying to stifle her sobs. Thinking of how Adrian would no doubt tell all his friends she had been crying, earning herself mounts of bullying for showing weakness. Adrian cautiously stepped closer to her, slowly placing a hand on her shoulder, something that made her jump in alarm.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed hysterically, her face full of tears, face flushed and blotchy; she was thankful her mascara was waterproof.

Adrian looked at Lyrisadora with concern, hesitating before wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I'll help you find your brother," he said, attempting to get her to move, but only succeeding in making her legs give way as she collapsed on the floor, crying her heart out. Adrian watched as she balled her eyes out, whimpering into her hand as she curled up into a ball. "Come on," he said firmly, looking at her hopelessly, Lyrisadora just shook her head, opening her mouth as no sound came out, the words stuck in her throat.

The only thing she could focus on was the fact Cedric was gone, he didn't love her anymore and it was all her fault, the guilt washing over in waves as she thought of how unhappy she had made him, feeling as though she had ruined everything, she didn't notice Adrian sit next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. She felt his hold tighten on her as he remained silent, his face passive, forgetting everything, she buried her face in his chest, crying heavily, unable to move or speak as her head ached.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy 2013 people! Hope you liked this chapter, a little bitter I know, but break ups hurt god dammit! (counts to ten in head)Phew calm now ^_^ <strong>

**The chapter names and quote were found by Slipnot and Florence and the machine, the perfect break up aftermath songs.**

**Review!**


	32. Butting Heads

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

**_Very_ short chapter!**

**Warnings:some minor faul language...wait this story is a T now, so do I still have to put these warnings...hmmmmm, interesting.**

* * *

><p><strong>The opposite of love is not hate; it's indifference.<strong>

**Chapter: Butting Heads**

* * *

><p>The hallway Lyrisadora and Adrian sat huddled in remained abandoned, students hurrying to dinner from the lower floors, leaving them in solitude. Lyrisadora's sobs weakened as her tears lessened, herself calming down, starting to feel better. She kept her eyes closed as her breathing slowly returned to normal. Her cheeks were flushed and heavily tear stained, her head resting on Adrian's chest, a wet patch stained his grey jumper as he held her firmly, lightly stroking her hair, resting his chin on her head.<p>

Lyrisadora relaxed at the touch, herself forgetting who's arms she was in, until she started to regain her senses, opening her damp eyes, her vision still blurry from crying, moaning as her head cleared. Her eyes wondered around before straining up, catching a glimpse of Adrian's face, shock settled in first before panic as she hastily wriggled out of his embrace and stumbled to her feet, backing away as she glared at Adrian with a mixture of confusion and distrust.

Adrian looked at her with frustration, rolling his eyes at her reaction. "Calm down Malfoy, I wasn't going to try anything," he groaned, getting up, stretching before dusting himself off.

Lyrisadora's glare turned into a frown, herself distrustful of Adrian, as well as confused by his warm actions. "Why did you comfort me?" she questioned accusingly, folding her arms.

Adrian shrugged casually. "You were a wreck, I had to do something," he argued, placing his hands in his robe pockets. "Forgive me for my show of humanity," he added sarcastically, rolling his eyes once more.

She looked at him uncomfortably, not sure what to say. Adrian had been a flirtatious pig who had frustrated her to no end, always pestering her, behaving creepily and just being an arse. Now here he was comforting her in her time of need, showing kindness and not being a cunt weasel. She supposed the best thing to do would to thank him, something her pride had trouble coping with. "Thank you….for comforting me, it was appreciated," she thanked curtly.

Adrian smirked. "You're welcome princess," he replied brightly, before looking at her face. "You may wanna wash your face before you go down to dinner, the drowned look doesn't suit you," he added.

Lyrisadora hurriedly wiped the bottom of her eyes, glaring at him. "Shut up," she snapped.

Adrian sighed. "I'm just advising, gee why so snappy?" he questioned casually, before stepping closer to her. "Besides, that Pu-_Cedric_ guy isn't worth crying over, he's too boring for you, you deserve better," he said.

Lyrisadora looked at him, slightly taken aback by this side of him. "Yeah I guess…he wasn't a bad person though, just an idiot," she said sadly.

"Yeah," sighed Adrian dramatically. "He is an idiot," he confirmed lightly, before smirking. "You definitely deserve better, someone interesting, smart, smooth," Adrian continued.

Lyrisadora nodded absently. "Yes you're right I do," she agreed.

"Someone who understands you, like….oh I don't know….me," Adrian drawled.

Lyrisadora scowled at him as she growled, the Adrian she knew and hated was back. "Can't you just give up already?" she snapped.

Adrian feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he protested.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes and groaned. "You chasing me, your vulgar flirting, it's insane!" she exclaimed. "The only reason you want to go out with me is because you want to screw me," she stated in a matter of fact tone, giving him a stern look.

"Pfft, someone's vain," Adrian stated.

Lyrisadora placed her hands on her hips and gave him a serious look. "You're not even trying to deny it," she said in impatience.

Adrian opened his mouth, before pausing to considering her point, shrugging. "Yeah true I'm not," he confessed, before looking at her soberly. "But seriously I don't just want you for the sex-though that is a bonus-I want you as my wife," he explained, Lyrisadora's gaped as she looked at him in outrage, looking as though she was about to explode into a rant. Adrian held up his hands to stop her. "Just let me explain!" he added hurriedly, Lyrisadora gritted her teeth before pursing her lips. "Okay, certain family related events have forced me to start looking for a wife early,so I either choose someone now, or face an arranged marriage to some air headed stranger I don't know," he reasoned, Lyrisadora fixed him with a steady stare as she let him continue. "Now I admit I _may_ flirt a lot with many girls," he began, earning a snort from Lyrisadora. "But, I do like you, I find you interesting and I love it when you get mad and flustered," he continued, smirking. "I mean it's not like our father's weren't considering a marriage between us, they love the idea. But since things now have to be hurried, my father doesn't want to rush your father into a deal, in fear of a rebuke from pressure," he explained. "You can't deny we have chemistry," he added. There was silence for a moment, an awkward moment set.

Lyrisadora looked at him with disbelief. "You're deluded," she finally said, giving him an incredible look. "You think I'd marry you? Adrian Pucey, the one who had a threesome with three girls from the three other houses," she stated condescendingly.

"It was a twosome," he protested. "You're looking at this all wrong, we'd work well together," he tried to reason.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Uh _n__o_, we'd kill each other," she corrected dryly.

"Well yeah, but we'd have fun doing it," he argued lightly.

Lyrisadora scoffed. "I can't believe I'm hearing this, you've been an arse to me for years, you regularly antagonise me and then just when I thought you couldn't get_ any_ lower, you come out and say that you plan to marry me, when I've _just_ _broken up_ with. My. Boyfriend," she argued, her tone turning into a growl near the end, looking at him with disbelief. "If this is your idea of _swooning_ me, I would hate to see the proposal," she scoffed, shaking her head.

Adrian tried to think of a good argument, but found nothing up to standard. "Ok so maybe this wasn't the best time to bring it up, but I've been thinking about this for a while and I was just waiting for the right moment," he began, earning a glare. "Which clearly isn't now. But you're thinking about this all wrong, you only think you hate me, but really it's just because you don't_ know_ me," he argued.

"This is insane," she said in exasperation.

Adrian continued, ignoring her comment. "But I'll make you get to know me, then you'll have to consider marrying me," he concluded, giving her a determined look. "I'm obsessive Malfoy, which means I won't give up until I get what I want, mark my words," he said.

His words unsettling her, before she put on a brave face. "Oh shut up will you, you can chase me all you want, but you'll never get me," she spat, glaring at him. "Now if you would excuse me, I have to go wash my face," she announced in a clipped tone, marching off before Adrian could say another word.

Adrian watched her go, a determined look in his eyes, he had made his choice and he was sticking to it, if little Miss Princess Malfoy wanted war, then war she would get, she was going to grow to like him, whether she wanted to or not.

* * *

><p><strong>Surprise update, I had to get this scene out of my head, I love the banter! Adrian's just that type of person who is a horrible person, but has a certain charisma to him. He'd make a horrible boyfriend though, but you gotta love those love hate relationships.<strong>

**Anyway, I'll try and update another chapter soon enough, but I have to start getting back to my other story, since I've been neglecting it, which is annoying some people because it's reached a crucial moment. So I had to post this scene so I could focus of other things.**

**So hope you liked it, review!**

** PS:That lil quote up top is from** **Elie Wiesel**


	33. When Herbology is Not Your Strong Point

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>Not Arithmacy Just The Simple Facts of Life.<strong>

**Chapter: When Herbology is Not Your Strong Point**

* * *

><p><em>15th January 1994<em>

"Father's hosting a family reunion," Draco drawled, turning to his sister. The two siblings were both sat at their house table, eating breakfast. Lyrisadora made a sandwich with her egg, bacon and toast. Draco tossing the opened envelope to the side as she peered over to look at the letter.

_Dear Draco and Lyrisadora_

_I am writing to you to inform you of the annual ten year Malfoy family reunion gathering, which will take place during the Ester holidays. Your great uncle Edric and his son's wife will be traveling from France to attend._

_I understand that you may have forgotten who most of your family member are, this can no longer be tolerated as it will be viewed as ill mannered, so expect you to mesmerise the following family members names in the list I have enclosed_

Lyrisadora glance behind the letter, noticing a second piece of paper attached to the back, she un-fastened it and scanned the names, arching an eyebrow at the list. "Can you even remember what half these people look like?" she questioned, glancing at her brother, Draco scanned the list.

"No, I was four the last time family reunion and it's not like we all make a huge effort to visit them in France," he replied. Lyrisadora glanced back at the letter.

_I would also recommend that you brush up on your French, so your cousins feel more comfortable hearing their native tongue. I also expect your grades and behaviour at school to be good as well as improving. _

_Yours sincerely _

_Father_

Lyrisadora finished reading, before sighing as she read the last sentence, knowing he was referring to her Herbology grades. Draco folded the letter away as he glanced at the list of relatives that would be coming. "Okay so let's see…" he began to read.

_Antonella Malfoy_

"Check: married great uncle Edric's first son Septimus Malfoy, before becoming widowed once Septimus died from a plant infection," Lyrisadora recited dully, knowing the woman's history well, seeing how Antonella had moved to England two years after her husband's death, deciding to not remarry and live a quiet life childless. Draco nodded and checked the woman off the list.

_Grandfther Abraxes Malfoy_

_Grandmother Basilia Malfoy_

_Great Uncle Edric Malfoy_

_Great aunt Maryvonne Malfoy_

_Uncle Damien Malfoy_

_Aunt Zurie Malfoy_

"Didn't Grandmother mention some a Zurie once?" Draco inquired.

Lyrisadora mused on this. "I think so, wasn't she half Veela?" she implored.

Draco looked taken aback. "Why would Uncle Damien marry a half breed?" he questioned in confusion.

Lyrisadora sighed at his prejudice. "Don't be rude. Apparently she comes from an old rich French family, don't know much else about her, you know our grandmother has an acid tongue," she divulged. She looked at the rest of the names. "Do you remember Clara and Arabella, those two haughty sisters?" she questioned.

"The ones that live with Antonella?" Draco inquired absently, taking a bite of bacon.

"So that's why they're always with her," Lyrisadora said in realisation. She had been wondering who those girls were related to. "Why do they live with her?" she questioned curiously, knowing Antonella didn't have children.

"They're orphans, Antonella is their aunt, their parents died when they were four; died in a mugging, were Avada Kadavrad," Draco explained.

"Pleasant," Lyrisadora said grimly, looking back at the list. "I barely know half these people, I can't even remember the last time I looked at the family tree," she added. "I know more about my ancestors than my cousins," she stated in exasperation, folding away the list and placing it in her robe pocket. "Hopefully grandmother won't mention marriage plan for me," she sighed.

Draco scoffed. "Your optimism amazes me," he responded dryly. Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at him, opening her mouth to retort, before an annoyingly familiar voice interrupted her.

"Good morning beautiful," greeted Adrian brightly, coming to sit opposite her, shoving Theodore Nott over, earning a growl from the disgruntled third year.

Lyrisadora glowered at him, pursing her lips and turning away, not pleased to see him after successfully avoiding him for a good two days. "What do you want?" she grumbled, stabbing her toast with her buttered knife.

"Nothing much, just wanted to sit with you for breakfast," he answered pleasantly, grabbing a plate and pilling some scrambled eggs on.

Lyrisadora gave him a soar look before shrugging. "If you wish to, then fine," she replied tonelessly, taking a bite of her punctured toast. Herself seething in her head as she thought of his nerve, finding it difficult to forget his plan to marry her against her will.

"So how's your Herbology assignment going?" he inquired lightly.

"Fine," Lyrisadora answered in a clipped tone, frowning as she refused to look at him.

Adrian ignored her hostility. "So I heard that you've ditched the Weasleys as friends," he stated casually.

"You heard correctly," she replied curtly, giving Adrian an impatient look.

Adrian looked at her curiously, tilting his head to the side in an inquisitive manner. "Why so?" he questioned. "I'm not complaining, it's just I'm curious by the sudden cutting of ties to them," he explained.

Lyrisadora sighed in frustration. "They're immature, I was getting tired of their meddling, even though it's none of your concern," she replied evenly.

At this point, Draco decided to chime in. "Which was long overdo, I might add," he drawled.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Thank you for the 'I told you so' comment Draco," she said sarcastically.

"Shame you're still partners with him for Herbology," Adrian said lightly.

"Well it can't be helped," Lyrisadora said plainly.

"You could always ask for a new partner," Draco pointed out. Causing Adrian to smirk at Lyrisadora knowingly.

Lyrisadora resisted the urge to whack him over the head, upon bringing up the obvious point. "Yes well all the class is paired up, so it would be impolite to ask for a swap," she argued hastily.

"So you _want_ to be partners with Fred Weasley?" Adrian questioned, his tone rising a tad, so more of the Slytherins were able to hear.

Lyrisadora caught sight of some heads turning in their direction, quickly responding in an equally loud voice. "Of course not, if I could change partners I would," she said, looking at Adrian icily. "Sadly, Professor Sprout dislikes students changing partners willy nilly, so I'm stuck with him," she said harshly.

Adrian just shrugged. "It was just a suggestion," he reasoned smoothly, before returning to eating his breakfast, Lyrisadora eyed him coldly, before eating her food silently.

* * *

><p><p>

"What! Professor you cannot be serious," exclaimed Lyrisadora, as she stood at the back of the Class facing Professor Sprout, a smirking Adrian standing next to her as he watched the scene unfold.

"But of course I am," stated Professor Sprout in confusion, looking at Lyrisadora in befuddlement. "Miss Malfoy I was under the impression that you wanted to change partners," she argued.

"Well yes-" Lyrisadora answered hastily, trying to think of a good argument.

Professor Sprout nodded firmly, interrupting her. "Which is why I agreed to Mr Pucey's suggestion. He came before lunch to ask to change partners, saying he and Cordula wanted a different partner as well, and when I spoke to Mr Weasley, if he still wanted to be your partner, he said no and that he wanted to change, so since Miss Valens and Mr Pucey, Weasley all wanted to change along with you, it seemed sensible, especially since Mr Pucey mentioned your great concern to improve your grades with his help," she explained clearly. Lyrisadora shot a glare at Adrian, before turning pleadingly to the Professor.

"Professor please, I've changed my mind, may I go back to being partners with Fred Weasley?" she implored hopefully, earning a frown from Professor Sprout.

"Miss Malfoy I don't have time for this nonsense, now I've been fair by letting you change partners this once, you can't go changing your mind willy nilly, you have a project to finish," she stated sternly. "Now come on, you have work to do," she shooed, urging them to get back to work. "You have the plant's development to write down," she reminded. Lyrisadora reluctantly walked away, folding her arms and murmuring darkly as Adrian grinned.

"Well that worked out well," he stated cheerfully, earning a growl from Lyrisadora. She looked over at Fred, who was sat next to Cordula on George and Lee's table, looking cheerful despite a soar looking Cordula next to him. Sighing to herself she grabbed Adrian's upper arm, stopping him from Heading to Miles and Cassondria's table.

"Come on," Lyrisadora growled, pulling him towards Elizabeth and Lucretia's table, her grip tight. "I don't even know how you convinced Cordula to change partners-wait scratch that, I don't want to know," she snapped acidly. Adrian rolled his eyes.

"I have other ways of convincing girls, besides sex you know," he argued, ripping his arm from her grip as he sat down at the table, facing Elizabeth.

Lyrisadora plonked down next to him. "I find that doubtful," she snapped, dumping her bag on the floor.

"Look this was the only way I was going to be able to get close to you," Adrian tried to explain. "Besides, let's face the facts, you need my help in Herbology," he reasoned.

Lyrisadora glared at him. "No, I don't," she snapped defensively, folding her arms.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Face the facts princess, you suck at growing plants," he said.

"No I don't," she repeated fiercely.

"Uh actually Lyra…" began Elizabeth, her tone apprehensive as she gave her friend an awkward look. "We've only just started this project and your plant looks half dead," she explained, gesturing her thumb to the said withering plant in the corner.

Lyrisadora eyed the plant anxiously. "Well…I suppose I do need help…" she reasoned, catching a smirk appear on Adrian's face, shooting him a glare. "But I don't need it from you," she added harshly.

Adrian continued to smirk, simply shrugging in response. "Well that's unfortunate, because you're stuck with me," he said pleasantly. "Now be a doll and go fetch the plant, princess," he ordered smoothly, earning a growl.

Lyrisadora reluctantly stood up, glaring at him with loathing, slapping him around the head before stalking off. "Pig," she spat.

Adrian rubbed the back of his head, watching her walk off, before feeling eyes upon him, turning back to Elizabeth and Lucretia. Elizabeth was frowning disapprovingly at him, while Lucretia looked at him with curiosity, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him questionably. "Why go to so much effort?" she inquired curiously.

Adrian shrugged. "I have my reasons. I just need to make Lyrisadora realise she doesn't hate me," he explained.

"You're doing wonderfully," Elizabeth commented sarcastically, her voice deadpan.

"Well good luck with that," Lucretia said. "Personally I think you're wasting your time," she said casually, before smirking. "But I will offer this advice. Stop acting like a creepy perv with her and you may just win her over," she advised smoothly.

Adrian opened his mouth to speak, closing it once Lyrisadora neared the table with the plant, plopping it on the table. Adrian eyed the plant with slight befuddlement, glancing at Lyrisadora as she sat back down in her seat. "Hm…..just out of curiosity, did you even bother to feed it?" he questioned dryly, watching as one of the plant's leaves fell off.

Lyrisadora folded her arms and shifted uncomfortably. "Yes," she responded tightly.

"Did you spread the plant food around and deep into the soil?" he questioned, his answer being complete silence and a scorned look. He sighed in exasperation. "Right well this should be fun," he said dryly, giving Lyrisadora an annoyed look. "Go get me some water, plant food and some of that nutrition potion in the corner, please," he ordered dully.

"Get it yourself," Lyrisadora snapped.

"Oh shut up and just do it," Adrian snapped, at this remark she refused to move, fixing him with a fierce defiant look, he arched an eyebrow. "Do you want to fail or not?" he asked. Lyrisadora glared at him hatefully before following his instructions. "Better," he drawled, before turning back to Elizabeth and Lucretia when Lyrisadora left. The two girls were busy examining their plant and writing down its development, sparing him a glance.

"You know, if you treated her less like a dog and more like a lady, then you might see better results," mused Elizabeth.

"She's the one who's stubborn," he snapped indignantly.

Lucretia rolled her eyes at this. "Yeah but you're a sexist perv who won't stop trying to feel her up," she argued, sighing as she sat up, turning away from her work. "Listen I don't particularly want to play marriage counsellor to you two, but I would rather not spend every lesson hearing you two bicker, so for the sake of everyone here who gives a damn, treat her with respect and she'll treat you with the same. It isn't Arithmancy, Adrian, it's the common facts of life," she snapped, her tone low.

Adrian considered her words, glancing over at an infuriated Lyrisadora who was violently shoving plant food into a tub, before turning back to Lucretia. "Okay I suppose you have a point," he reasoned, clearing his throat and sitting up as Lyrisadora came back to the table, placing the items on the desk before sitting down, giving him a sore look.

"Happy?" she spat.

Adrian opened his mouth, pausing once catching Lucretia give him a firm look. "Very, thank you," he answered, attempting to make his tone sound cheerful, giving her a warm smile.

Lyrisadora gave him an odd look as she watched him work. "Hm….you're welcome," she replied sceptically, before dismissing him and looking away.

"What's your favourite word?" Adrian questioned absently, causing Lyrisadora to raise an inquisitive eyebrow as she turned to him.

"My favourite _word_, don't you mean colour?" she corrected dryly.

Adrian shot her an amused smirk. "No you heard correctly," he said, looking up from his work, writing down the plant's age on his notepad. "Or would you like me to repeat?" he questioned smoothly.

Lyrisadora huffed. "It's a ridiculous questioned," she stated, folding her arms and giving him a withering look.

"I just thought it would be less generic than the common 'what's your favourite colour'," he reasoned pleasantly.

Lyrisadora eyed him curiously. "I enjoy using many words," she responded curtly.

"Yeah but you must have a favourite one, one you like the sound of," he pushed.

"Careful, you're beginning to sound like Fred," she chided, her lip twitching.

"Urk, please don't compare," he said with distain.

Lyrisadora sneered at him, forcing herself not to look over her shoulder where Fred, George, Lee and Cordula were sat. "You're right, I'd just be insulting Fred," she retorted icily.

Adrian gave her a fake wince. "Wow I think that burn was just enough to warm my thumb," he replied sarcastically.

"Adrian," chimed Elizabeth, not looking up from her work as her tone reprimanded him. "Be nice," she instructed pleasantly.

Adrian shot her a quilling look. "Yes thank you for the reminder," he responded in a clipped tone, before glancing back at Lyrisadora, she fixed him with a hard steady stare, keeping her guard up for any potential insults he was about to throw at her. "Your hair looks nice, using a new shampoo?" he questioned.

Lyrisadora gave him a puzzled look, hesitant to answer. "Recently yes, I make my own now, found a recipe in a potions beauty magazine my mother bought me," she answered curtly, shrugging, absently feeling her hair. "Why do you ask?" she questioned sharply, giving him a suspicious look.

Adrian just shrugged, as if the conversation was of little important. "Just noticed your hair was more silky recently. Smart that you made your own shampoo potion," he replied in a bored tone, turning back to writing information in his notebook. "You can copy my notes later, I'll have the plant healthy again by the end of the week," he added.

Lyrisadora looked at him with a mixture of confusion and shock. "Oh….thanks," she said awkwardly, feeling a mixture of emotions.

"No problem," he replied casually, shrugging as he kept his eyes on his work, his face passive as he hid a victorious smirk.

* * *

><p><strong>Chappie! Some more Adrian and Lyra moments, also found the word that describes their relationship, it's 'Juxstapositon' it's and oxymoron and sums these two up. :D<strong>

**Review!**


	34. It Takes Two To Tango

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>Subtlety can be the perfect manipulation <strong>

**Chapter:It Takes Two To Tango**

* * *

><p><em>11th February 1994<em>

George Weasley walked through a crowded corridor as students hurried to lunch, their steps hurried as they pushed past each other a contrast to the current Weasley's mood, who was calmly walking to the Quidditch pitch to go practice with the Gryffindor team, himself dressed in his scarlet Quidditch robes.

The corridors quietened as he made his way outside, his mind snapping to attention once his eyes registered the familiar sight of Lyrisadora Malfoy and Adrian Pucey, both deep in discussion, Lyrisadora carrying a healthy pale green Fanged Geranium in her hands, the plant's jaws still growing and thus unable to open. "...So just remember to feed it one drop of protein a day and to keep it in a moist environment," he drawled. "And please don't kill it before Professor Sprout has time to grade it," he added dryly.

Lyrisadora scowled at him. "Very funny. I'm not stupid, so relax the plant will be fine with me over the weekend," she argued.

Adrian gave her a mocking skeptical look. "Will it though, will it really?" he questioned doubtfully, giving her a condescending look.

She shot him glare. "Oh shut up," she snapped, before facing forward, her eyes widening slightly as her eyes locked with George.

Adrian registering where her eyes had landed, turned to face George as well, smirking. "Hm, long time no see Weasley," he said smoothly.

George shot him a disdainful look, glancing at Lyrisadora, remembering what Fred had told him. "Hey," he said curtly.

Lyrisadora schooled her features. "Hello," she responded stiffly.

Adrian watched the exchange with amusement. "So Weaselby, I've noticed you've stopped gawking at Lyra, does that mean you've taken down that shrine of yours?" he inquired smoothly.

"Adrian shut up," she spat venomously.

George gave him a disgusted look. "Shove off Pucey," he snapped.

Adrian smirked, ignoring Lyrisadora's protests. "Hit a nerve have I?" he inquired curiously. "Hey princess," he began, tilting his head towards Lyrisadora. "Didn't you mention he kept a picture of you in his room...?" he questioned with mocking interest.

"Just piss off already, you think I actually give a crap what you think Pucey?" George scoffed. "Your opinion's worth dirt in my eyes," he stated disdainfully.

Adrian sneered and was about to retort, before Lyrisadora interrupted him, her eyes fierce. "Adrian just leave," she ordered acidly, glaring at him, before turning to George, her gaze softening. "We need to talk," she stated firmly, before glaring back at Adrian coldly. "Leave," she spat.

Adrian looked at her with amusement, shrugging casually. "Sure whatever," he said calmly, placing his hands in his pockets before walking passed George, disappearing round a corner.

Lyrisadora was silent for a moment, George folding his arms as he waited for her to speak. She sighed in exasperation. "Sorry about h-"

"I already told you, I don't give a crap what he thinks," George intersected strongly.

"Right," she said tiredly. "Listen I don't how to...but about you liking me..." she started, looking unsure. "How do feel about...us?" she questioned awkwardly.

George hesitated looking at her warily, before sighing, leaning against the corridor brick wall, shrugging. "Not sure anymore...I mean at first i just thought you were pretty, then third year I started to feel something...weird," he began. "Then I got Jealous of Cedric, which was kinda funny," he said, his lip tugging upwards as he began to look amused. "Then you two were together, which made me more jealous but you were happy so I just tried to step back, which didn't really work since..."

"I always hung out with you," Lyrisadora interjected grimly, sighing. "In sense, leading you on," she added regrettably.

"I blame it on the hormones personally," George joked, giving her a reassuring smile. "Listen it was partly my fault for pining after you, you were my first crush, and the sexual tension didn't help," he reasoned, pushing himself off the wall. "I kind of got it in my head that when you and Cedric broke up, that we'd be together, that you'd return my feelings, but that didn't really work out did it?" he inquired awkwardly.

Lyrisadora shrugged guiltily. "No it didn't...I don't really know what my feelings with you are, I like you but I don't want to kiss you, you're like..." Lyrisadora winced involuntarily as she thought about what she was about to say.

"A brother," George finished, she nodded. "Figured," he said simply, half shrugging. "But I had time to think about it when we didn't hang out," he added. "You can't make someone love you...unless you use a love potion, which is morally wrong, plus I'd probably mess it up and make it into a hate potion," he argued lightly, smiling slightly.

Lyrisadora smiled sadly. "You shouldn't waste your time chasing me anyway, I'm not worth it," she said somberly.

George rolled his eyes. "Bullcrap, you are worth chasing, why do you think I did it for five years?" he questioned in annoyance, shaking his head. "Why would you think you're not worth it?" he inquired plainly.

Lyrisadora hugged the plant closer to her. "Because I'm selfish, oblivious, lack empathy and am a terrible girlfriend, I'd just let you down and ruin everything," she argued weakly.

George sighed, walking closer to her. "Don't think like that, I don't really know what went down with Cedric, but it's like an old muggle saying my dad told me once, it takes two to tango," he reasoned. "And cheer up," he added, punching her playfully. "After all the more happy you are, the more Diggory will regret losing you," he argued cheerfully.

She smiled softly at this. "Hm...heh, yeah I suppose you're right," she said quietly, the uncertainty gradually fading from her tone. "I'm smart and pretty, I can get any boy I want," she added enthusiastically, feeling her confidence build. "And rich, I get the best grades...Cedric should feel, well he should feel worthless for losing me!" she continued.

George gave her a concerned look. "Uh yeah, he sure should," he agreed, wary that he may have just caused Lyrisadora's vanity to skyrocket.

"I'm_ better_ than Cho," she spat. "I don't need_ him. _Father was right I shouldn't associate with the weak," she said, causing George's concern to grow.

"Well I wouldn't be sure about your father being_ right,_ the guy is kind of a git and-" he tried to reason.

"But he was right about Cedric making me weak, you should have seen me, I was a pathetic wreck," she interrupted, her tone bitter. She imagined if her father had seen her display such weakness, thinking how he'd sneer in disgust, himself ashamed of her. "Now I know better," she muttered, herself looking slightly spaced out.

"No listen Lyra, your dad has pretty twisted views, so I wouldn't be relying on him for advice," George advised strongly, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Maybe you should talk to Cedric, it sound like you have a lot of unresolved issues with him," he pushed.

At this her gaze turned cold. "No, why bother when he's probably off snogging Cho in a corner," she spat hatefully.

George looked at her with uncertainty, removing his hands. "But they're not even going out, they're just friends," he said.

Lyrisadora was taken aback by this and was momentarily lost for words. "Are you sure?" she questioned skeptically.

"Trust me if they were the whole school would know, those two are as subtle as a pixie," he joked.

"Oh...I suppose I just assumed," she exclaimed, deep in thought.

George looked at her curiously. "You're not going to go back out-"

"Hell no!" she snapped, thinking how her and Cedric's future would not be at all bright. "We finished on bad terms, I thought he'd go running to Cho after we broke up, especially since I saw them together a couple of days afterwards," she argued. "But I guess I was wrong," she added regrettably, before bristling up and frowning. "And why should I care, I want nothing to do with him, he can be as miserable as he wants, I certainly don't care," she protested firmly, convincing herself that she really didn't care.

George shook his head regrettably. "You shouldn't think like that," he said in concern. "The bitterness is practically overflowing," he added.

Lyrisadora pursed her lips and looked away. "No surprise there. Anyway, I shouldn't be keeping you away from your business, I just wanted to sort some things out," she said. "I assume Fred's informed you of my Slytherin issue?" she assumed.

George nodded. "Yep, which is just further evidence that your dad is a controlling git," he said.

"I assure you, I came to that realization a while ago," she said dryly. "But he's still my father, everyone has their faults," she reasoned.

"Yes true, I've heard they're quite prominent in psychopaths,"he retorted lightly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he pretended to muse.

"He's not a psychopath, he's a _sociopath_, there are many key differences," Lyrisadora argued sternly.

George arched an eyebrow at this. "Oh sorry, _gee_ well when you put it like _that_!" he exclaimed sarcastically, holding his hands up in mock awe. "Forgive me for judging him wrongly," he apologized somberly, sarcasm laced in his tone as he nodded haughtily.

Lyrisadora raised an eyebrow at him in an un-amused manor. "I'll ignore the sarcasm and accept your apology humbly," she said.

Georged mocked bowed, himself grinning. "Why thank you your highness," he said. "Oh also Fred says he's sorry about ditching you in Herbology, well technically he's half sorry, he also thought that not being partners with you would reaffirm that you've fallen out with us for good...and he couldn't stand Lizard and Lulu," he explained.

"I understand, though that doesn't mean I have to like it, now I'm stuck with Adrian," she said, pouting towards the end.

George patted her on the back, earning a scowl. "There there Albino Princess, it'll be over soon, then you'll never have to be partners with him again," he reassured condescendingly.

Lyrisadora half shrugged. "It isn't as bad as I thought it would be, he actually knows what he's doing and he hasn't been that pervy lately, he's nicer than usual," she protested. "Mean look how healthy he made our plant," she exclaimed cheerfully, holding the plant up for view, nearly shoving the plant's face into George's, causing him to back away. "I may actually get a high mark in Herbology for once, can you imagine father's face, so I think I might be partners with him again," she said, lowering the plant. "Then next year I can finally drop the wretched subject, I'll never have to nurse another stupid weird plant again!" she exclaimed in excitement.

George smirked. "Right good look with that," he said amusingly, before his tone turned seriously. "But be careful around Pucey, the guy's a deluded creep," he warned.

"I'm aware. Don't worry about me, us Slytherins know how to deal with one another," she reassured, before she stiffened and looked away as a frantic looking Hermione Granger rushed by, Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed at a thin gold chain around her neck as the girl stuffed something down her shirt and hurried off, but Lyrisadora dismissed it, looking around to make sure they were still alone, paranoia settling. "I should be going," she said warily.

"Yeah me too," George agreed. "Oliver's gonna kill me," he added,imagining how late he was before groaning.

"Sorry," said Lyrisadora guiltily, earning a shrug in response as George started to walk past her.

"Tis life," he said curtly as he walked down the hall. "Seeya," he said casually.

"Bye," she replied clearly, before continuing down the corridor in his opposite direction, dragging her feet as she turned a corner, jumping back in shock as she was greeted by the sight of Adrian leaning against the wall, his arms folded as an amused expression clothed his face.

"What an interesting discussion," he declared brightly, Lyrisadora recovered quickly as she scowled at him. "Now don't look so down, anyone could have eased drop on you, so you should be glad it was someone you can trust," he said cheerfully.

At this she scoffed. "Cut the crap Adrian," she instructed sharply. "Are you going to blab or not?" she questioned.

Adrian tilted his head slightly as he pretend to think hard. "Let me see...let's consider what I'd have to gain, after all I wouldn't particularly gain much from telling now would I?" he questioned rhetorically, smirking as if he'd found a new toy. "One could argue that I'd gain more from not telling, after all, you're the one who would suffer if I were to tell, such information would be most valued by someone like your father for instance," he added.

Lyrisadora schooled her features and buried her dread, her anger rising. "Do it then, I won't be your puppet Adrian," she spat, her gaze fierce as she met his eyes. "You can't control me, I won't let you," she added venomously.

Adrian sighed dramatically. "Calm down, telling your father would ruin everything," he said cryptically, causing Lyrisadora to look at him suspiciously. "No I'm not going to blackmail you Princess-ok maybe a_ little_-I'm actually going to other you a deal," he explained smoothly.

She kept her guard up, folding her arms and eyeing Adrian with hostility. "I'm listening," she said stiffly.

"You should make a habit of it-but we shouldn't talk here," he said, leaning off the wall and gently taking her arm. "Come on," he instructed, beginning to lead hero further down the corridor, Lyrisadora scowling as she gritted her teeth, starting t lose her patience with him as he walked towards a classroom, opening the door to peer inside before letting go of her arm. "After you," he said smugly, opening the door for her. She sneered at him before apprehensively walking in as Adrian entered after her, closing the door behind him. "Right then, the deal I'm offering is simple, I want you to stop worrying," he answered, earning a confused look from her as she placed the plant down on a nearby desk..

"Excuse me?" she questioned hesitantly.

"It's simple, I'll smooth things over with the Slytherins, put a few good words in, make your father less suspicious," he explained.

Lyrisadora looked at him skeptically. "Why would you do that for me?" she inquired.

Adrian gave her an bemused smile. "I was under the impression we were friends, friends look out for each other, correct," he answered.

"I see you've skipped some levels again, I'd hardly call us friends," she retorted.

"Strange," Adrian mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, amusement dancing in his yes. "I was under the impression friends, confided in one another, comforted one another, bantered, hung out and helped each other out," he added, looking at her thoughtfully.

"Yes well they do..." she began, her argument becoming weak. "We're acquaintances, nothing more nothing less," she snapped fiercely, wanting to drop the subject. "Now what's the catch, because we both know there's always a catch," she added sternly.

"The catch is small and simple with little consequence," he began to drawl. "All you have to do, is master the art of subtlety," he replied brightly, relishing at her expression.

"You smug b-"

"The main thing you have to be subtle about it your association with the Weasley twins," he interrupted, she opened her mouth to speak, but again was interrupted. "I can't control who you hang out with, but if you're going to continue being friends with them, you'll need to be subtle about it, be less obvious that you're blatantly a blood traitor," he reasoned.

"Just because-"

"Yes yes I know you may deem being friends with other blood traitors and half bloods, not being a blood traitor yourself," he intersected patronizingly. "However many disagree, if you're going to be sneaky about this then you're going to need to be wary of how other people judge you," he added. "The fact is Princess, I can't smooth things over with the Slytherins if you're blatantly shoving you're disapproved friendships in their faces, it's like Weaselby said, it takes two to tango," he argued.

Lyrisadora pursed her lips tightly as she let his logic seep in. "True," she responded in a clipped tone. "Still though, all this effort won't make me want to marry you Adrian, I know what game you're playing," she added coldly, her gaze icy.

Adrian shook his head in amusement and smirked, stepping closer to her, taking her chin firmly in his hand, lifting her face up to meet his, her dark eyes narrowing at him as he continued to look amused by her antics. "Then it seems you'll need to catch up my dear, because right now you're losing, badly." Removing his hand as she growled, her eyes holding concern that she couldn't mask, his lips curled upwards as his eyes glinted. "lo que tratar de mantener mi querida, yo quiero que esto sea_ divertido_."

* * *

><p><strong>"lo que tratar de mantener mi querida, yo quiero que esto sea divertido"<br>**

**Google translator:So try and keep up my dear, I want this to be fun.**

**The quickest I've ever written and posted a chapter; strangeness this is...**

**But I needed to tie up the confrontation with George. Hopefully the spanish is correct, I haven't taken it since year nine so am rusty, I can remember divertido is fun, que I think is try, yo=I, Mi=my,de=and, the rest I left to google translate. **

**Anyway you guys liked it, thanks for all the follows and favorites! Also thanks to StrawberryObsession for the herbology idea, I was playing on the idea of having him tutor her, but I like the partner idea more. :D**

**Now that's enough rambling! Review please!**


	35. The Thieving House Elf

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Warning: t**here's some foul language in this one. ****

* * *

><p><strong>I Don't Speak Bulgarian<strong>

**Chapter: The Thieving House Elf**

* * *

><p><em>14th February 1994<em>

The night air hung icy as Lyrisadora and Adrian patrolled the corridors, both dressed in casual robes, prefect badges pinned on their chests as they walked. Adrian whistling a merry tune, earning a scowl from Lyrisadora.

"Will you stop that already, you're giving me a headache," she snapped irritably, folding her arm and glaring at him, not appreciating how he had insisted he accompany her on her prefect patrol.

Adrian gave her a bemused look before slowly finishing the tune by fading it out. "Anyone ever told you you're a kill joy?" he questioned dryly.

To this she just rolled her eyes. "If you feel that way, then by all means leave, I never asked you to patrol with me," she retorted, sighing in annoyance.

"I'm just keeping you company, it is Valentine's day after all and you are my future fiancé," he drawled, enjoying her frustration.

Lyrisadora fought the urge to scream at him. "Future, in other words non-existent," she spat. Herself becoming uneasy at the reminder of his plans for her, especially since it was now very apparent that he was serious about his plans to marry her, the fact he was treating this like a game causing her to feel on edge. He was right about her needing to keep up, if she was going to sabotage his marriage plans for her she needed to up her game, which meant to not take his words lightly and to consider everything he would do to have an arterial motive, which was difficult seeing how there was a silent agreement that she owed him and the fact he was a valuable ally when smoothing things over with the Slytherins were concerned.

Adrian just smirked. "I'm patient," he replied simply, the simple answer saying a thousand words.

"Well good because you'll be waiting a long while," she growled, her eyes narrowing at him. "_Lumos_," she uttered once they started to walk down a dark corridor that held rows of sleeping dusty portraits and sceneries, Adrian doing the same.

"Put that light out girl," hissed one of the portraits grumpily, a wrinkly faced wispy woman sleeping against a pillar, Lyrisadora quickly moved the light downwards, muttering an apology, the portrait grumbling in response and settling back to sleep.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Bitch," he said clearly, causing the witch to jolt awake and start yelling after them indigently, Lyrisadora smirking in amusement as they walked further down the corridor, the witch's yells becoming fainter. As they walked further she noticed Adrian frown questionably, though she found it hard to decipher in the dim light, looking at him with befuddlement when he held her arm to stop her, leaning in. "Do you hear something?" he muttered. Lyrisadora strained her ears as they stood in silence, waiting for a few moments before hearing the sound of a damp faint thud in the air, exchanging a look with Adrian. "Turn the light off," he instructed in a hushed tone, turning his off. Lyrisadora did so as she stepped carefully forward towards the sound, her eyes attempting to adjust to the pitch black. The sound growing more prominent with light as they walked closer, their eyes catching glimpse of a blurred light that seeped in from the left, signalling a new entrance to another corridor. The sound became clearer, sounding like mutters and whimpers, the two slowly moving to peer round the corner, finding a peculiar sight before them.

In front of the trophy case, was a house elf, which would normally be a common sight, if the fact the elf was currently trying to frantically stuff the prized Hogwarts House cup into a potato sack, the dim quarter moon light shining on the lanky scrawny elf's form. At that moment two thoughts passed through her mind, stun the elf or try and follow it to see where it was taking the cup, she rethought the second idea, remembering elf's could disappear in a flash, also she wasn't the best runner and she was pretty sure that scrawny thing was light on his feet. However Adrian acted quicker than her, stepping forwards and stunning the elf in a body binding curse, causing it to stiffen like a board and fall to the floor like a tree.

Lyrisadora blinked in surprise before following Adrian to the stunned elf's immobilised body, the elf's round gallion eyes wide and fearful, darting between their towering forms in horror. Adrian picked up the sack, taking the cup out as he gazed down at the elf harshly. "Now this is interesting," he stated coldly, before turning to Lyrisadora, holding the gift up to the light. "Can't say I've ever met a thieving house elf, I assumed they were all killed," he added harshly. The house elf whimpered fearfully, its eyes full of tears as it tried to get free.

"Conks was going to clean cup, Conks no steals, just following orders," he protested, earning a sceptical look from Adrian.

"You looked pretty guilty for an elf who was simply _cleaning_," he argued smoothly, holding the sack into view. "I wasn't aware that you needed to stuff it in a sack and run off with it, don't you usually just polish it down and _carefully_ place it back in its case?" Adrian questioned rhetorically, and evident sneer on his lips.

Lyrisadora watched as the elf's mouth shut tightly, not trusting itself to speak, her mind started to put together the scene before her. House elfs didn't steal, well at least the still living ones didn't, when a house elf is loyal, it's loyal to the end and Hogwarts house elf's were known for their extreme pride and loyalty to the school, her eyes analysed the elf's fearful face, her eyes narrowing slightly in thought as she tried to piece these the puzzle together. If the house elf wasn't stealing for its own personal gain then it must be carry out another orders, that not belonging to the headmaster.

"Who were you stealing this for?" she questioned curiously, Conks the elf bit down hard on his tongue as he remained silent.

"The lady asked you a question, answer it!" Adrian growled, grabbing the elf by the scruff of it's clean pillowcase.

Conks cried. "Conks can not say, Conks forbidden!" it wailed, earning a hard whack over the head.

"Keep it down," Adrian hissed harshly, causing the elf to obey as it bit down on its whimpers.

Lyrisadora sighed. "Calm down Adrian, it's obvious the el_-Conks_, is under someone else's orders, he'll be sworn to secrecy," she reasoned firmly.

Adrian considered her point, grunting in response. "Alright then, since you won't tell us who your master is, tell us why the he-"

"Or she," interrupted Lyrisadora dryly, earning an annoyed look from Adrian.

"Or _she_, wanted you to steal it?" he questioned.

"Conks does not knowing! All conks knows is that he is to go to Romania," Conks pleaded.

"Why?" questioned Lyrisadora sternly.

"Conks knows only to deliver to master," the elf replied miserably.

"But why now?" Adrian questioned.

Conks shook his head violently, scrunching his eyes up. "Can't say! Can't say!" he repeated.

Adrian shook him, Lyrisadora having to intervene again. "Come one, we'll take him to Dumbledore," she said.

"No!" howled the elf hysterically, finally breaking from the curse and lunging for the Cup, Adrian hanging onto it refusing to let go as the Elf tugged frantically. Lyrisadora pulled out her wand to stun him but was pushed back violently as Conks waved his arm hastily, sending her flying, the elf wincing as she hit the floor with a painful thus. "Conks is sorry!" he yelled.

Lyrisadora moaning as she struggled to her feet, rubbing her bum. "Ow," she moaned.

Conks looked back at Adrian, his gallion eyes full of regret and pain. "Conks is sorry for this to," he added before sinking his teeth into Adrian's hand, biting down hard until blood appear, causing Adrian to swear loudly and retract his hand, clenching it in pain as blood stained his hand.

"You little shit!" he hissed, picking up his wand as the elf ran off, Adrian running after him as Lyrisadora struggled to run after them and keep up. Adrian glanced at her behind him, rolling his eyes. "Hurry up," he snapped, before shooting a stunning hex at the elf. Conks whimpered as he lifted his fingers to click them, only to be stopped when Adrian shot a painful curse at him that hit his arm, the blue light making the arm s go slack and the elf to howl in pain; Lyrisadora breathed heavily as she took note to take running lessons in future. She bit back a wince once she ran through the fat friar, a freezing cold eloping her as she drowned out the ghost's cries of outrage.

She managed to catch up with Adrian breathing heavily as her heart raced, watching as the elf lifted his arm again, her eyes seeming to pick everything up in a slow motion, watching as Adrian reached to grab the material of the elf's pillow case, Lyrisadora grabbing onto his arm. Cronks wailed as he clicked his thinks, with Adrian grabbing onto the pillow case garment that clothed Cronks, a swirl of darkness eloping them as a popping noise surrounded them, the corridor twirling away as Adrian attempted to grab hold of Cronks head, Lyrisadora trying to grab the cup as she held on, the scenery around them twisting and blurring, passing by in flashes, air non-existent.

Then just as quick as it had started, it ceased as she felt the cold hard ground beneath her, panting for breath as she struggled to her feet, fingers tightening around the cup as she stumbled to her feet, looking around to find Adrian doing the same as Cronks backed away, whimpering, Lyrisadora noting that the three of them appeared to be on a cliff, the dark night scenery before them a large forest that was darkened by the lack of light.

"Don't move," ordered Adrian angrily, pointing his wand at the Elf. "Where the hell are we?" he yelled angrily.

The Elf's eyes darted between them, only stopping when the sound of a loud grunt from behind them caused them all to freeze. Cronks gulped before raising his hand again. "Bulgaria," he answered weakly before clicking his fingers in a flash and disappearing with a loud pop, leaving them stranded.

It took a moment for Cronks words to sink in as they stood there in silence, Adrian breaking it as he let off a load yell, kicking the ground and then groaning loudly. "_Great_, well this is just _perfect_," he exclaimed sarcastically, before turning to Lyrisadora who was staring behind her, noticing a dark cave. "I don't speak Bulgaria, so how are we meant to book a lift home?" he questioned in exasperation, not noticing the alarm look that was falling on Lyrisadora's pale face, as her eyes locked onto his, he looked at her in confusion before a loud savage yell echoed from the cave, filling their ears as the sound of large footsteps thudded, the sound becoming clearer each step, realisation striking them both like a lightning bolt as Adrian grimaced. "Well this is just _perfect._"

* * *

><p><strong>And this is where some spice gets added to the mix, the review from Remmy prompted this (girl you need to reply to my PM's!) and I'm actually glad because now I've got a plot thought up for this story just got more fun to write :D I'm what you call a late plot bloomer. <strong>

**Anyway let me know what you guys think, review!**


	36. Bulgarian Troll

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Warning: t**here's some foul language in this one. Because everyone's a bit of a potty mouth.****

* * *

><p><strong>Never Step Inside a Fairy Ring<strong>

**Chapter: Bulgarian Troll**

* * *

><p>The sound of feet became as clear as day, the creature stepping forward. Lyrisadora's eyes widened as she laid eyes on a bulky, 12 foot Troll, face as ugly as giant's backside, skin dark scales and mouth large with lopsided rotten teeth rammed in, it carrying a thick large wooden club with a sharked spike rammed through. Lyrisadora was forced to breathe through her mouth as she blocked out the smell of the creature, the smell being that of a mixture of Dragon dung and gone off cheese.<p>

Both of their eyes were locked on the Troll, frozen on the spot as the Troll's eyes darted between them, before growling and letting out a thunderous roar, causing the birds below to fly from their branches unto the air, Lyrisadora whipped out her wand and jumped out of the way as the Troll smashed the club down towards her, herself dodging out of the way. "Everta Statum!" Adrian yelled, sending the Troll backwards so that it hit the cliff wall harshly, the vibration rattling the stones above, Lyrisadora hurried to her feet, her eyes widening in horror as she saw a piece of the cliff break off.

"Look out you idiot!" she yelled, Adrian's eyes darted around, catching sight of the falling rock, jumping out of the way as large pieces of the cliff landed on the ground, narrowly missing. The sound of the Troll getting to his feet caused Lyrisadora's eyes to dart back to it, hastily sending a stunner curse at it, resulting in it howling, being pushed back, but otherwise still standing.

Adrian groaned loudly. "_Great_, looks like that won't work," he said dryly, standing next to her, wands drawn as they both knocked the Troll back against the wall again, causing more rocks to fall, the two narrowly dodging more rocks that fell to the ground.

"I think this technique is making things worse," Lyrisadora groaned, her mind racing as she tried to think of a plan. "Any ideas?" she questioned hopefully.

Adrian glanced behind him over the cliff edge before looking back at the Troll. "Toss him over the cliff?" he suggested.

Lyrisadora glanced over the edge, seeing how high they were, before looking back at Adrian and shrugging. "It's worth a try," she said plainly.

The Troll charged for them waving the club wildly, Lyrisadora and Adrian pointed their wand at it before speaking the spell clearly and loudly. "Wingardium Leviosa!" they yelled in unison, levitating the Troll off its feet, struggling to keep it afloat with magic as his weight pushed down. Lyrisadora gritted her teeth as they tried to move it over the cliff edge, the Troll thrashing violently, waving the club savagely.

The club came down to Lyrisadora's head, she ducked and tried to move out of the way, stepping back to far as the loose ground near the edge gave way, losing her balance and causing her to fall. A scream escaped her lips as she tried to step forward, her arm holding her wand stretched forward, the Hogwarts cup flying from her grasp once her grip on it loosened, herself quickly trying to stretch her fingers out to grab it as it fell, only to be met by air, a sick sensation of shock freezing up her heart as she fell back, only stopped once she felt a hand grab onto the arm that held her wand, wrapping around her wrist. Adrian breathed heavily, his eyes wide as he dug his feet further into the ground, one hand levitating the Troll in the air, the other holding onto Lyrisadora, his wand arm slacking as he tightened his grip on her wrist. "_Nice going_ Lyra," he spat through gritted teeth, sweat trickling down his brow.

Lyrisadora didn't retort, herself frozen in fear, one step away from death, never feeling so afraid in her life, knowing one false move and she could fall, aware that Adrian's palm was clamming up and her arm was slipping. Her eyes locked onto the Troll who was flailing violently in the air, the club coming ever closer to Adrian's head, one plain and simple idea single in her mind. "Lift him as high as you can and then drop him," she ordered shakily, her tone frantic, herself never feeling so vulnerable, feeling the stone beneath her foot crumbling. "I swear Pucey if you let go I'll _murder you_!" she cried, her eyes fierce as they watered.

"Good look with that," he spat, biting down on his tongue as he buried a wince , trying to lift the Troll as high as he could, his grip loosening on Lyrisadora, her footing on the corner of the cliff giving way as she slipped, pulling Adrian down, he growled in pain as he was brought to his knees, looking up to see the Troll was at over twenty feet. "Good enough," he growled, finally letting the Troll drop and dropping his arm. The Troll hit the ground with an echoing thud that vibrated across the cliff, his head bobbling against the ground as he was out cold, rocks falling down in cracks, Adrian quickly casting a shield charm.

Lyrisadora breathed heavily as she struggled to take hold of the cliff edge with her free hand, the dust from the rocks choking her as it filled her lungs, her eyes watering as dust settled on her skin and robes, digging her fingers into the ground and heaving her elbow onto the top, feeling Adrian's grip loosen as his arms slacked, himself sighing loudly in relief, before helping her up, watching as she collapsed onto the ground. "Never again," she panted, forcing herself into a sitting position as Adrian sat next to her, them both silent for a moment as they regained their breath, both looking equally gaunt, Lyrisadora attempting to wife the dust that had settle on her skin, robes and in her hair, sneezing loudly before silence engulfed them once more.

"Trust you to nearly fall off a cliff," he said simply, his tone deadpan. Expecting a growl or angry retort, he was surprised to hear a laugh escape her lips, himself looking at her strangely. "Not the response I was expecting," he confessed bluntly, watching as she hugged herself.

"I nearly died, we _both_ nearly died" she stated simply, her laughter fading as a grim smile etched its way on her lips, saying it being a simple confirmation for herself as she stared out into the night sky. "That's…pretty intense," she added weakly. The two sat in silence once more as they reviewed what had just happened.

"So what now?" he questioned in exasperation, turning to her. "Because I can't speak Bulgarian," he declared.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Well you're in luck, because I can," she answered. "There looks to be a town over there," she added, pointing to the large circle of glittering lights near the left of them, evident shapes of tall muggle buildings evident, looking around fifteen miles away. "We can head there to sort ourselves out…just as soon as we find the house cup," she said, saying the last bit with uncertainty.

Adrian gave her a sharp look. "_Find_?" he repeated tightly, Lyrisadora gave him a sheepish smile as she revealed her empty hands, her wand resting on her lap. Adrian groaned. "Well isn't that just _fan_-fucking-_tastic_," he growled, glaring at her. "Nice going _genius,"_ he sneered, this time earning a fierce growl as Lyrisadora swiped her wand up and bolted to her feet, whacking Adrian around the head hard, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Shut up! I was falling off a cliff for Merlins sake, it fell from my hand you moron," she hissed harshly, jumping once the Troll growled, it stirring. She exchanged an alarmed look with Adrian. "Let's continue this on our way down the cliff," she said warily.

"Good idea, " he said lowly as they both made their way down a cracked narrow stone path, leaning in close to her ear to add. "Just like it _may_ have been a good idea to keep a stronger hold on the cup," he muttered.

Lyrisadora scowled deeply, her head snapping round to glare at him. "Oh fuck off," she snarled, her anger boiling as she thought of how much of an asshole Adrian was being, the fact she nearly died causing her to feel on edge, earning a surprised look from Adrian. "_What_?" she questioned harshly, noting his taken aback look.

"I've never heard you say fuck before…man you really are pissed," he said lightly.

Lyrisadora growled and rolled her eyes towards the night sky. "Oh _gee,_ I wonder why?" she spat sharply, frustration and sarcasm laced in her tone. Adrian wisely kept his mouth shut for the remainder of the journey down, waiting for Lyrisadora's temper to cool. It wasn't until they neared the bottom she decided to break the silence. "It fell in this direction, probably just over quarter of a mile away," she explained, stopping in front of the edge of the forest.

Adrian sighed. "My will to retrieve the cup is dwindling," he stated dryly.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed at him with irritation. "Yes well unless you want to get expelled for losing the most valuable sentimental object to Hogwarts, over a _thousand years old,_ then you can go and find the town yourself, despite the fact it's dark and we're _in the middle of a forest_, better hope there aren't any more trolls nearby," she said condescendingly, waving a dismissive hand.

Adrian frowned and rolled his eyes. "Alright _alright_, I'll help find the stupid cup, even though it's going to be like finding a needle in a hay stack," he snapped.

Lyrisadora looked at him sternly. "I told you, it landed around this area, it shouldn't be more than half a mile away," she argued.

"You said a quarter," he snapped.

Lyrisadora half shrugged. "A quarter or half give or take," she said plainly. "Listen, don't worry we'll find it," she reassured.

"Unless someone else does before us," he pointed out acidly.

"Well there is that to," she said carefully. "But we'll never know until we try," she reasoned. "Now come one, we'll be fine as long as we stick together," she reassured, pulling out her wand, Adrian scoffed at this, but nevertheless followed.

The forest atmosphere was an eerie quiet, the ground moist and air having a wet dirt smell to it, the trees stretching high above, bark cracked and dark, the tree roots pushing out of the ground; nearly making Lyrisadora trip. Despite the relatively dead atmosphere, the air was laced with the feel of magic, a sort of smoky smell, strange, energetic and tantalising, the combination lacing the air as they walked deeper into the forest, shining their wands to provide light as they strained their eyes in the dark, Lyrisadora heard Adrian mutter about the needle and the haystack comment earlier, which she decided to just ignore as she tried to focus. While she was looking, she tried to remember where exactly the cup had fall, remembering it had been thrown straight backwards once she had let go, meaning technically it should be straight forward, as she theorised the spaces between the trees started to grow, an evident clear light up ahead.

She glanced at Adrian who's eyes were to locked onto the space appearing in front of them, their pace becoming more slow as they reached the space. In this space the trees had spread back, leaving a fairly large patch, appearing roundish, and the trees becoming a border. Lyrisadora and Adrian walked closer to the centre, herself stepping on some mushrooms as she stopped near the shape, her eyes narrowing as Adrian stepped closer, his eyes locking onto a dent in the middle of the shape. Lyrisadora notice the grass to be severely trample down, the line of the trample grass appearing to be a large ring, the smell and feel of magic like electricity. Lyrisadora stared at the ring for a while before it clicked, her eyes widening in realisation, before noticing Adrian step inside the ring, her breath catching in her throat as the electricity of magic fizzed. "No!" she yelled, realising the consequences of what he had done. "Get out! That's a _fairy ring_ you moron," she hissed.

Adrian gave her a confused look, wondering what she was talking about. "Fairy ring? Lyra aren't you too old for _fairy tales_?" he questioned in bemusement, Lyrisadora ignored his demission and rushed to pull him out of the ring.

"_Fairy rings_ a name, these rings aren't just confined to fairies!" she snapped, grabbing him roughly, pulling him forcefully out of the ring, her gaze fearful and stern. "You never step into a fairy ring," she stated gravely.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at her. "Oh and why not, will I get bad luck?" he questioned mockingly, himself finding her worries and superstition ridiculous. However before Lyrisadora could reply, the sound of an arrow pierced the air, Lyrisadora and Adrian dodging it by a mere centimetre as it skimmed passed his shoulder, piercing a tree. Adrian's eyes widened, the sound of feet rustling, glancing at Lyrisadora who had gone a deathly pale.

"A fairy ring isn't just confined to fairies," she repeated, herself swallowing a lump in her throat as seven slender figure came into the light, emerging from the shadows of the trees, three of them holding bows and arrows at the ready, seven beautiful faces glaring at them with a deadly loathing, surrounding them in a perfect circle.

Adrian felt his mind fuzz slightly, as he took in there mesmerising beauty, only coming to his sense once he saw the ugly hate that radiated from their eyes, their faces consorted into looks of fury, realisation dawning as he swallowed dryly. "I just stepped in a Veela ring didn't I?" he questioned quietly.

Lyrisadora sighed silently, nodding. "Yes," she answered weakly.

"Which is punishable by death?" he assumed meekly, noting how angry and vengeful these Veela looked.

"By the looks on their faces, yes," she answered again.

"I'm a moron," he said weakly, a grimace forming of his face.

Lyrisadora sighed again. "_Yes_ Adrian, you are," she confirmed, trying to think of a plan, but finding her mind blank, her eyes locking onto the Veela in front of her, the Veela's eyes locking onto hers and holding clear danger, a silent message that they had made a grand error deciding that they probably would have been better off if they hadn't stuck together.

* * *

><p><strong>Man this was quick! My reason for all these quick updates is because I'm currently on half term, so I have more time on my hands. Hope this chapter is okay.<strong>

**Review! :D**


	37. Seven Devils All Around You

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Warning: I suck and trying to right a Bulgarian accent so I apologies beforehand for his.**

**Quoted Seven Devils-belonging to Florence and the Machine**

Normal**-what is spoken**

_Italic_**-what is translated into English.**

* * *

><p><strong>With every Action There is A Ripple Effect<strong>

**Chapter: Seven Devils All Around You**

* * *

><p>The seven Veela surrounded them, the creatures deep captivating eyes full of fire, narrowing at their prey with distrust and rage, a evident sneer painted on their delicate beautiful flawless faces, slender bodies stiff and on guard like warriors, a contrast to their white fragile clothed tunic form, the thin material draping and wrapping around their bodies.<p>

Lyrisadora stared at them with a hint of awe, the full pure Veelas being every bit as fascinating, beautiful and deadly as the books and images described, herself feeling little in comparison, imagining how dishevelled her appearance was and how filthy her robes were. She glanced at Adrian who seemed to be fighting to stay focused, but still visibly attentive, she imagined the Veela' powers of charm were at a low as the creatures anger stood prominent, shattering any judgmental thought that these were just fragile beautiful woman of no threat.

A silence stayed hung in the air as nymph and human eyed each other down, the eye contact breaking once one of the Veela stepped forward, causing all eyes to turn to her. The Veela was of medium stature, as equally beautiful as the rest, but with a prominent air authority, raising her hand and lowering it to signal the archers to lower their weapons, which they did so, however the arrows still stayed loaded in their bows, Veela ever still on guard. The Veela leader's head was held high, steps graceful and calculated, her hazel green eyes flaring with a calm adrenaline that readied for battle, loose wavy hair a silver colouring that shined in the moonlight, an ivory band on her head, holding small flowers and moss, looking like a crown, her skin pale and face sharp with a strong jaw. "I am Forsythia, vee high priestess of vee Veela. Vour kind are not welcomed in vese sacred courts," she snarled venomously, her accent a thick Bulgarian.

Lyrisadora exchanged an anxious glance with Adrian, both trying to think of a way out of this, she felt the apparent leader's eyes resting on her expectantly. "Well you see…." Lyrisadora began unsurely, looking at Adrian before turning to face the leader and stepping forward, attempting to smile, the smile appearing strained and weak. "We simply stumbled upon this area," she began evenly. "You see we arrived here by accident, we're actually just students from England, and we study at Hogwarts-you might have heard of-"

"Ve are aware of your kind's magical establishments," a bright ginger haired Veela sneered, her accent a slight lighter Bulgarian, looking at the two with furyr.

Lyrisadora swallowed a lump in her throat. "Right, well that's good, which means surely you can understand our carelessness when walking around a forest in the dark?" she stated, earning silence, hastily continuing. "You see we were looking in the forest for something we've lost, when we accidently stumbled upon your court," she added.

The leader sneered. "_Accident,"_ she repeated icily, eyes cold. "You talk of such a disrespect as if it ver nothing!" she snarled, her voice rising as feathers started to poke out of her skin. Lyrisadora stepped back as she tried to keep calm.

Adrian seemed to now be completely focused, attempting to assist reasoning with the Veela. "She didn't mean it like that! Listen we didn't mean to fall on it, we tripped over and landed in it," he lied. Lyrisadora fought the urge to glare at him, deciding it best to go along with his exaggeration of the truth.

"Vee male lies surely! The deception of wizards runs deep in its young," one of the Veela behind them spat. "Нека ги убият като наказание и да се направи с него, " she added hatefully.

_"Let us kill them as punishment and be done with it."_

"No," said the Forysythia firmly, silencing the Veela's protests. She eyed Lyrisadora and Adrian calculatedly. "We do not kill on sacred ground," she added sternly, eyeing the rest of her court down into submission, before her eyes darted back onto Lyrisadora. "State your reason for being in these forest parts," she ordered coldly.

Lyrisadora met the piercing eyes of the high priestess, struggling to keep her eyes locked onto the other's hypnotising deadly green. "We came to find a gold cup we had lost, we were attacked by a Troll on the cliffs, the object fell into the woods," she explained, catching glance out of the corner of her eye, of the Veela turning to one another with knowing looks. Lyrisadora looked at them all suspiciously before exchanging a knowing glance with Adrian. "Which I assume you've seen," she added, levelling her gaze with Forsythia.

Forsythia's eyes narrowed at her. "The object you speak of was a gift to us from the fates," she argued icily.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at her. "It fell from a _cliff._ I think history would beg to differ, I was under the impression the Hogwarts House cup belonged to the said building," he protested in frustration.

The ripple effect of this comment caused a sound of hisses to emerged, the Veela becoming ever more bird like, a Veela behind them lighting her hand on fire, ready to attack. Lyrisadora's eyes widened as she hastily tried to calm the situation, stepping in front of Adrian. "What my companion is trying to say, is that the cup holds enormous sentimental value to its owners, its rightful place with its owners," she reasoned.

Forsythia's eyes narrowed more, holding a controlled cold rage. "_Rightful Owners,"_ she repeated, her voice dripping with ice, causing the other Veela to calm and come to attention, silence hanging in the air, Lyrisadora feeling a shiver run up a spine as she stood frozen and waited. "Do not dare to tell us of returning objects to their _rightful owners_, when wizards have dared to desecrate our culture and stolen what _is rightfully **ours**_**!**" she spat, beginning to circle the two, her flawless face becoming more visibly bird like. "On the celebration Velebit the most _cherished_ and _sacred_ object of the Veela was stolen by a wizard, one of _vour_ kind who took it for selfish actions, the very action spitting on our valued traditions and ways," she snarled, stopping in front of them, her eyes ablaze, all elements of green replaced with a deep onyx with a red tint. "We danced and prayed to the fates in effort for justice and retribution, this place where we all stand being the place where our prays were answered and ground was touched by great power," she continued to explain, her tone powerful and fierce as Lyrisadora and Adrian edged closer together, their eyes wide as they stared at the furious high priestess, afraid to turn away. "The cup fell from the sky and landed in the very centre of the circle, given by the powers above as a gift, a sign of justice, that we may fill the void of loss that _vour kind_ caused," she spat, her glare fierce. Lyrisadora was thankful to see the Veela was gradually calming down as her future returned more human, however a clear anger stayed prominent as the danger stayed. "Vat vwas once belonging to man is now ours, this is our justice, something we will not part with," she declared strongly, stepping back as she eyed the two intently.

Adrian and Lyrisadora stared at her with a mixture of fear shock, Lyrisadora's mind raced as what the said Veela had said sunk in. Their situation was growing worse by the second, even if the Veela refused to kill them of sacred ground, that didn't write of the possibility of death since they could easily take them prisoner and hunt them down, Lyrisadora absently touched her wand in the inside of her inner robe pocket, they could fight their way out, however that still seemed a bit grim seeing how they were outnumbered seven to two, with a key disadvantage that Veela were powerful fighters, shooting fireballs and arrows left, right and centre, the adding factor of these current Veela being already infuriated, creating a very grim theory of how things would end up turning out.

So fighting their way out didn't look promising, Lyrisadora tried to think of a new plan as the silence surrounding them became more tense and strained, ready to break at any given moment. Forsythia's tale of a wizard stealing their object rang in her mind, an idea forming. "This object the wizard stole, when was it stolen?" she questioned clearly, looking the Veela in the eye as she stepped forward.

Forsythia eyed her warily. "It vas taken three months ago while we vere preparing for vee celebration, a branch of hunters vere sent to track him down," she explained, her tone turning bitter. "But we vere unable to step out of our forest territory and such further into the man's domain of ver it is hidden," she continued.

Adrian looked at her questionably. "If you know where it is why weren't you able to leave and search further?" he questioned, at this the surrounding Veelas' glares intensified as the high priestess scowled at him with hate.

"Vee Bulgarian ministry deems us _wild Veela_, unless we register, we are not permitted to leave our territory," she snarled. "We are unable to roam free, our existence being at magical beings mercy, oppressed," she spat, earning a murmur of concurred growls, Lyrisadora grimaced as she shot Adrian a warning look to say no more. "Only those Veela who betray our vays and culture, forsaking our traditions and submitting to the ministry's will are _free_ to enter out of this forest, themselves mating vith man and becoming mascots for sports!" she yelled, her anger mounting.

Lyrisadora quickly held her hands up in surrender. "Which we both understand! Please, I understand why you must feel hate towards our kind, but what if we come to an agreement," she implored carefully, something which caused the Veela to pause in their anger, the high priestess eyeing Lyrisadora with distrust and interest.

"Vot sort of agreement? You have nothing we vont, vot could you offer us to spare your lives?" she questioned coldly.

Adrian looked to Lyrisadora questionably, to which she responded with a firm look which told him to shut up and let her do the talking. "An exchange," she began clearly. "We go get back the object the wizard stole from you, in exchange that you spare our lives and give us back the cup," she proposed evenly, waiting for a reply as the Veela exchanged suspicious looks, Forsythia looking at Lyrisadora with uncertainty and interest.

"An exchange you say?" she began slowly. "You would return what was taken from us, for this cup?" she repeated carefully.

"Yes,the cup is all we need and desire," Lyrisadora confirmed, trying to keep her mask of confidence steady as she waited for an answer.

Forsythia kept her eyes on Lyrisadora, analysing her for any element of treachery, the ginger haired Veela beside her glared at her with great distrust. "You are voolish to think we vill agree to such a thing," she spat acidly. "A witch's tongue is as treacherous as a snakes bite, your smooth words will not cloud your true intentions," she added, earning an annoyed look from Adrian.

"Actually if you used your brain for once you'd realise she's giving you an opportunity to get back what was stolen from you, without even lifting one little pretty finger," he retorted acidly, causing the Veela to growl and her anger to flare.

Lyrisadora glared at him and groaned. "You're not helping the situation!" she hissed.

Before the red haired Veela could attack Adrian, Forsythia spoke up. "I accept your deal," she said smoothly, never taking her eyes off Lyrisadora.

The ginger haired Veela's eyes widened in shock as she began to splutter. "But Priestess! How do we know vey will not simply leave and never return? Vey can not be trusted," she argued.

"Not entirely Meliai, however vey have offered to return what was taken, such an offer presented by fate cannot be dismissed carelessly," Forsythia argued, causing the said Veela named Meliai to scowl, but cease her protests. "Vese humans will be useful and their price is fair," she continued, stepping closer, before turning to a dark haired Veela to her left, nodding to her, a silent order. The Veela returned the nod and opened the flap of the medium forestry bag she was carrying, pulling out the golden Hogwarts House cup, the metal holding remarkably little damage, with the exception of a few dents, Lyrisadora absently wondered if the cup had a protective shield charm around it. "This is the item you desire I presume?" Forsythia inquire coolly, noting the look in Adrian and Lyrisadora's eyes, their heads nodding in unison providing her answer. "Ven we are in agreement," she concluded, Lyrisadora held back a sigh of relief, as the Veela continued. "However, a vow must first be made," she added, causing Lyrisadora to tense as a prominent quote lingered in her mind, _"there's always a catch."_

* * *

><p><strong>Now this is the last quick update for a while, because I really need to finish my homework!<strong>

**Anyway hope you guys like where this story is going, I'm happy to say this little adventure won't be pointless as a lot of important develops are going to happen. MWAHAHA (rubs hands together evilly) the plans I have for these two...**

**But anyway! Let me know what you guys think!**


	38. Sewing up The Loopholes

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Warning: I suck and trying to right a Bulgarian accent so I apologies beforehand for his.**

* * *

><p><strong>Be complacent and you'll never realise you're slipping<strong>

**Chapter: Sewing up The Loopholes**

* * *

><p>"What type of vow?" Lyrisadora questioned, thinking carefully as she stayed alert, exchanging a look with Adrian.<p>

Forsythia gave her a collective look, before explaining. "Ve Vow is simple and less extreme than others. It is ve blood vow," she said curtly.

Lyrisadora nodded, recognising the vow, a blood vow was a binding contract in a sense, the materials used to cast it being magical blood, a few carefully selected words and magic in the air, both parties having a bargain to fulfill both having to complete their end of the deal, the consequences for breaking the vow were not as severe as the unbreakable, instead being that of a sort of curse, bad things happening to the person who broke their end of the deal; disease, mutilation, forever misfortune and etcetera. "Very well," she said finally, before adding. "However it's only right that we first learn what exactly we are looking for," she stated, making sure she knew what she was getting herself into.

Forsythia nodded clearing her throat. "The object that was stolen was the sacred Cornucopia horn," she declared, holding her head higher.

Adrian arched an eyebrow. "Wait hold on a minute, you mean that thing exists, I thought it was just a legend," he said, ignoring the glares he was receiving.

"In every legend ver is an element of truth," she declared, her tone clipped. "Ve horn's origin and powers have been distorted over time, but it's sacred meaning has forever remained," she continued. "It was crafted by ve first Queen of the Veela, ruler of ve first court, before ve golden age was lost," she started to explain. "It's ability to produce food is false; an imbecilic legend made by muggles," she sneered. "Ve horn holds little power and it's sentimental value is irreplaceable," she added.

"Didn't stop you from taking the cup," Adrian muttered.

Forsythia hearing him and glaring at him loathingly. "A simple justice. Vour _flimsy_ cup is vorth nothing, only kept to fill ve void," she spat, her eyes flaring up again.

Lyrisadora sighed, hastily intervening again. "Yes we understand. Now, this man who took it, did you get a good look at him?" she inquired.

This deflated Forsythia's anger slightly as the High priestess frowned. "Only a glimpse, he came in ve dead of night, taking it from our hidden shrine beneath ve caves, stunning the guard and taking it," she began. "He was voung, slender, I can barely remember his face, only ve shape being too pointy in the vrong places. I remember his eyes being vat of dark grass, his hair short and as black as a raven's feathers, his skin looked tanned," she described smoothly. "He ran fast and was light on his feet," she concluded.

Lyrisadora thought Forsythia was being rather dramatic in her wording, but nonetheless, she and Adrian nodded, repeating the description of the man in their heads, imprinting it in their minds as they tried to create an image. "Alright then," Lyrisadora said, looking back at Forsythia. "Let's begin," she said tonelessly.

Forsythia nodded. "Very vell, which one of you will be making the vow?" she questioned, looking between the two.

There was an awkward silence for a moment as Adrian and Lyrisadora slowly turned to one another. "Your idea, your vow princess," he said seriously.

"Uh I don't think so," she said simply, keeping her voice low giving him a bemused look. "You see, I have every intention in completing my 'quest' and returning the cup to Hogwarts, however I don't have the same confidence in _you,_" she stated smoothly.

Adrian's eyes narrowed at her. "And how do I know you won't abandon me when the going gets tough?" he hissed.

"When I'm truly loyal to someone, I'm with them til the end," she stated plainly.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "A nice sentiment I'm sure. But seeing how we have our rough patches, forgive me if I'm reluctant to trust that you won't leave," he sneered.

Lyrisadora sighed, frustration cancelling out any element of fear she had that Adrian would refuse to take the vow. "Listen _darling,_ the whole reason we're in this mess is because you didn't listen to me," she hissed, leaning in as she glared at him.

"Which would have not mattered if you hadn't dropped the cup," he spat, himself struggling to keep his tone hushed as he glared back at her.

"Which would have never have happened if you hadn't grabbed the disapperating house elf!" she growled.

"I wouldn't have had to grab him if you weren't so slow at running," he growled back.

Lyrisadora bit back a scream as she took in a deep breath and counted to ten, keeping her frustration at bay as she tried to stay focused, massaging the bridge of her nose. "Listen, this blame game isn't helping matters," she sighed. "Let's just face the facts of our situation and deal with it. You don't trust me , I don't trust you, however we both need to get home, so unless you want to be horribly killed by Veela, shut up and take the vow, _please_," she implored evenly. "You have my word that I'll stick by you," she added, looking at him earnestly.

Adrian hesitated, biting down hard on his tongue before glancing at Forsythia, before groaning. "Alright, fine then, but you owe me," he said sternly, giving her a piercing look, before stepping forwards. Forsythia nodded stiffly, stepping forwards as well, so they were now facing each other; Lyrisadora noted how they were of similar height. Forsythia was given a silver dagger by Malili, Adrian holding his palm out as Forsythia held hers out as well, before making a deep cut line cut in the middle of her palm. "Ve fate line," she called, Adrian struggled to not roll his eyes at this, instead keeping them fixed on the Veela in front. The blood shimmered on Forsythia's pale palm as she passed the dagger to Adrian.

Lyrisadora watched him carefully, herself shivering as she became aware of the freezing Bulgaria breeze, watching a his jaw tighten as he bit down on his tongue, the blade piercing his palm. The knife was then handed back to Malili as the vow commenced, Adrian and Forsythia locking hands, palm against palms as they kept their eyes locked on one another. Forsythia began first. "Recite vour name," she commanded. Lyrisadora remembering the Veela did not know their names.

"Adrian Pucey," he recited, earning a nod.

"Do you Adrian Pucey, swear to seek out ve lost horn of Cornucopia, returning it to ve Veela court present?" Forsythia questioned, her face glowing.

Adrian seemed to lose focus for a moment before nodding. "I promise to seek out the lost horn of Cornucopia, returning it to the Veela, in exchange for the Hogwarts house cup and my companion and I's lives not to be harmed," he stated stonily. "Does that high priestess Forsythia and all the Veela in her court agree to this?" he questioned, the energy of magic filling the air ,as it grew.

Forsythia eyed him calculatedly. "I do," she answered, the rest of the Veela nodding solemnly. "On ve condition vat ve thief who stole the horn of Corncopia is captured and given to ve Veela, to do as we wish with him," she added icily.

Lyrisadora clenched her fists, her eyes narrowed at Adrian. "Agreed," he said curtly, causing Lyrisaodora to swallow deeply, forcing herself to not think of what the Veela would do to the thief. "With the condition a member of your Veela guides us out of the forest to the nearest town, providing food for travel and a substantial amount of money to live off," Adrian continued.

Forsythia's grip tightened around his hand as her eyes narrowed. "Agreed, on the condition the task is completed by the end of the Verebit festival and no harm befalls the Veela which guides you," she replied, Lyrisadora blinked as she wondered when the Verebit celebration actually ended, herself not knowing how long it lasted, only aware of the meaning and name.

"I agree," he said, before pausing making sure to run through the list of loop holes he needed to tie. "We give you the Cornucopia, you give us back the Hogwarts house cup-_undamaged_-and allow us to leave to return home with our lives, vowing not to kill us," he finished.

Forsythia looked at him carefully for a moment before nodding. "Agreed," she said finally, the vow ending with the final incantation, their hands breaking apart, stained with blood, but the cuts slightly grazed over with a fresh scab, the smell of magic in the air as the two eyed each other warily, both feeling a rush that ran through them as the vow was sealed. There was no turning back now.

* * *

><p>Forsythia provided what was promised, very reluctantly giving them 400 gallians to live off and a bag of ham each, not a bad amount of supplies, in Lyrisadora's opinion. One of the Veela hunters walking in front of them, guiding them towards civilisation. They had been walking in silence for some time, occasionally eating some of their food as they walked. Adrian broke his gaze from the slim form of the Veela in front of him, shaking his head as he tried to focus, glancing at Lyrisadora before yawning loudly. "Well this has been an adventurous night," he said brightly, earning an quilling look from Lyrisadora.<p>

"Considering We've nearly died three times in the space of under two hours, I can't help but agree," she drawled, her eyes feeling tired, she sighed. "Looks like we won't be heading back to Hogwarts any time soon," she stated, worry filling her. "Which will cause only more consequences no doubt," she muttered.

"Then we'll just have to be quick won't we," he said grimly. "You have any idea when this Verbit celebration ends?" he questioned, looking at her expectantly, Lyrisadora shrugged, before the Veela in front called out.

"Nine days," she said curtly, not even glancing at them as she continued to walk.

"Nine days," Adrian repeated, processing the answer. "Being missing for nine days will raise a fair few questions and we do have a time limit to get this horn," he mused. "Looks like we'll have to think fast," he added. "All this trouble for a stupid cup," he muttered bitterly.

Lyrisadora scowled at him. "If you had only listened," she chimed.

He glared at her. "Yeah I know, now can we move on from this, we do have bigger things to worry about after all," he said coolly.

Lyrisadora scoffed. "I gathered," she said dryly, her scowl slipping off her face. "First we need to find a place to stay," she pointed out.

"True, somewhere low key-you know of any places?" he questioned hopefully. Lyrisadora shook her head, shrugging. "Right well that makes things a tad difficult…oh well, we'll just have to improvise," he sighed, scratching the back of his head, before straining his eyes to examine his dishevelled mucky robes. "Starting off by actually looking semi decent," he declared, pulling out his wand to clean himself up, Lyrisadora rolled her eyes but followed suit. "You know it feels weird using magic outside of school," he mused.

She glanced at him, remembering that in Bulgaria a Witch and Wizard came of age at sixteen, this coming of age status varied in many countries, but usually staying in the late teens level, she knew the ages of some; France being seventeen, Spain eighteen, Italy sixteen, America eighteen and so on. "Know what you mean," she replied, struggling to watch where she was going as she cleaned herself up, before a frown fell on her face. "There's still another question that needs to be answered," she said aloud, turning to him. "Cronks the thieving house elf," she drawled.

"Ah yes him, that does complicate things slightly doesn't it," he mused. "I have a good feeling he'll be coming back to get that cup," he added.

"And tie up some loose ends," Lyrisadora added grimly. "I believe our number of near death experiences will be growing," she sighed in exasperation, wishing she could just go to bed. "So let's play the game of assumption," she drawled, pocketing her wand as she smoothed down her hair. "First off, all the house elves that work at Hogwarts technically have no masters, if Cronks is still in his masters services then it means he was never dismissed," she started to theorise.

"Unless his master died and a new master took over, say a long lost son," Adrian assumed.

"Or daught-"

"Master is a male term Lyrisadora, accept it and move on," Adrian snapped in irritation

She narrowed her eyes at him, her lips pursed. "Jerk," she mumbled.

"So anyway, we've theorise the Master set up, let's think about the why," he continued, ignoring her comment.

Lyrisadora shrugged. "I'd honestly just assume selling it on the black market, it is a prized relic after all," she exclaimed.

Adrian frowned. "True…but all that effort, something just doesn't add up," he argued, before shaking his head. "But we'll think about that later, right now we have to find this horn," he said, before shooting a glare at her. "Thanks for making be the one to suffer the consequences by the way," he added sarcastically, Lyrisadora just smirked.

"Oh Adrian," she started sweetly, her smirk turning into a smile. "You know you're just _so _much better at making deals than I am," she said sweetly still.

Adrian's mouth twisted into a smirk which resembled a sneer. "Just make sure you keep up my dear, wouldn't want to _trip,_" he said lightly.

Lyrisadora just gave him a nasty smiled. "_Charmed_," she retorted dryly, before facing forwards. The unpleasant smile dropping off her face as her face laid blank, herself wandering how her family would react to her disappearance, she buried a wince and hope the headmaster would keep things quiet for the time being, but even then, if they got back; the 'if' still lingering in her mind. How would they explain all of this, wondering if anyone would still believe them or expel them from under the assumption they had been trying to steal the House Cup. So far their story was that they had been patrolling the corridor at night, when they had discovered a Hogwarts house elf trying to steal the House cup, struggling with the elf and ending up in Bulgaria, stranded, before being attacked by a troll, nearly falling off a cliff and dropping the house cup, only to have it land in a fairy Circle where a court of vicious bitter Veela had just so happened to be dancing, then to be confronted by said Veela, make a blood pack and find a lost object that had been stolen, all by the time limit of nine days….Lyrisadora stopped and inwardly groaned as she read the story in her head, things did not look promising.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile faraway in an old aged cottage in the depths of the Romanian forest, Cronks the House elf was eyeing his master fearfully, as the said Master frantically clutched his balding head, himself screaming as the voice in his head tortured him.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>I did enjoy writing the Blood vow banter! I was laughing a bit when I imagined them explaining this to their parents and Dumbledore, though I picture Dumbledore believing them, their parents though...not so sure XD<strong>

**Also I am thinking of an idea where it's a 'characters read fanfic' type of thing, where the Malfoy/Blacks read this fanfic in like 1978, anyway it's something different, I think I'll put a poll up.**

**Anyway let me know what you guys think! Hope you liked this one, Review!**


	39. The Charade

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Warning: I suck and trying to right a Bulgarian accent so I apologies beforehand for this.**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained<strong>**

**Chapter: The Charade**

* * *

><p>Once Lyrisadora and Adrian had been led to the end of the forest by the Veela leading them, the Veela had curtly given them directions to the nearest town that held a gateway to the magical world, telling them to present their wand to the statue witch's heart, ominously reminding them of their time limit, before disappearing into the forest. Seeing how they didn't know how to apperate or where exactly they were going, the journey to the town had been on foot, the wind icy as Adrian and Lyrisadora placed heating charms on their robes, sadly this didn't prevent the rain from drowning them and by this point, they were both too tired to care.<p>

When they had arrived at the town, they had been met by more rain and a homeless woman who had rambled on about berries and mushrooms. Lyrisadora hurried away from the raggedy old witch, dragging Adrian along as they searched for the statue of the witch. "You know, that Veela could have been more specific," grumbled Adrian as the rain water dripped from his face. "Why is it Veelas feel a need to be dramatic?" he spat acidly, tiredness and frustration clear in his tone.

Lyrisadora shivered as she wiped the water from her eyes, trying to see through the heavy rain. "Just keep your eyes peeled, this town isn't that big, we'll locate it sooner or later," she said through gritted teeth as they continued to search.

It wasn't until they had wondered towards the edge of the town that the statue was found, they hurried towards it, examining it intently, looking for where the heard would be. The witch was a unpleasant sight to look at, this was not because she was foul looking, but by how her face was consorted, the face of stone expression of pure agonising pain, her face stretched, robes frayed and ragged, the witch tied to a steak, looking in her late thirties. Lyrisadora read the text below which was written in Bulgarian, _"Bilyana Radomir, 1384-1422_…" she tried to read the rest of the writing, but was unable to, only able to speak Bulgarian, unable to read it.

"There," said Adrian confidently, pointing to a section of the statue, causing Lyrisadora's head to snap upwards to see where he was pointing to, he tapped the hard chest of the statue. "See that dent," he said, prodding it, Lyrisadora squinted her eyes, making out a faint worn dent in the chest, he removed his finger, pulling out his wand and placing it on the spot before glancing at her. "So, do you think I need to say open or something along those lines?" he suggested, Lyrisadora just shrugged.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," she said plainly, watching as he swallowed before commanding the 'open', which resulted in nothing happening, the two still standing in the rain soaking wet.

"Well that didn't work," stated Lyrisadora dryly, gaining an irritated look from Adrian.

"Care to assist," he hissed, lowering his wand and folding his arms.

Lyrisadora sighed quietly before examining the text on the statue, trying to find any clues, she supposed if she knew how to read Bulgarian, things would be a lot smoother going right now, then again if the Veela had been a _little more_ informative with telling them how to get through the magical gateway, then they could be in a nice cosy warm bed by now, her growing resentment towards the Veela increased at each fat raindrop that landed on her face. She crouched down to examine some smaller writing at the bottom, the word 'gateway' catching her eye, trying to pronounce the lettering. "Heka gateway…enbet-nnt…otopeh," she read aloud with difficulty, trying to pronounce the letters the letters correctly, muttering the sentence over and over. "H is n...so," she mumbled.

"I thought you knew Bulgarian?" he questioned in confusion.

Lyrisadora continued to try and decipher the letters. "I can speak it, but I can't read it," she replied tightly, earning a dawning look from Adrian as he remained silent. She shook her head and sighed as she repeated muttering the sentence, before clicking her fingers in realisation, standing up and taking a deep breath. "Alright, I think I may have got it…hopefully," she said.

"Just make sure we get there in one piece," Adrian sighed.

"I can't make that promise," she replied lightly, before taking a deep breath. "нека…gat-e-wayto свет…илище отво…рен!" she recited, before pulling out her wand, placing it on the witch's heart. "нека…gatewayto…светилище…..отворен!" she commanded, a spark issued from her wand before silence hung, before she felt a tingle fill her. She glanced at Adrian unsurely before slowly removing her wand, opening her mouth to speak, before the ground crumbled beneath them, swallowing them whole as they let out a terrified scream, leaving the rain behind them.

A whirlwind of darkness and colour surrounded Lyrisadora as she choked, unable to breath, her scream caught in her throat, air only returning to her lungs once her feet his the ground. She stumbled as she tried to regain her balance, clutching her head. Adrian landed next to her, himself nearly falling over as he stepped forward. "Well that was unexpected," he stated breathlessly, shaking his head as he tried to regain focus.

"Agreed," she coughed, looking around, her eyes widening as she took in where they were, they appeared to be in a street, one very similar to Diagon alley, with its cobble stone roads and pathways, aged brick building and range of shops, streetlamps providing light. But holding a striking difference, being that there was no sky, the whole place looking to be underground, thus being completely void of rain, instead having a cool air, the only source of light being the street lamps and an artificial lightly above, seeming to look like a starry fox, with a mixture of dark marine colours, silver stars laced in, an enchanted moon prominent, brighter and bigger than any muggle moon she had ever seen before.

Adrian let out a low whistle. "Wow, this is pretty cool," he said, looking up to the sky. "Impressive work," he commented, Lyrisadora nodded slowly in agreement.

"True," she breathed, before shaking her head and remembering why they were here. "But unimportant, come on we need to find somewhere to stay," she said, beginning to walk down the street, but still unable to stop her eyes from wondering around to examine all of the streets details, it being relatively dead, besides the odd light in a building window, the buildings looking made from old dark stone, the roofs flat.

Adrian followed her as he looked around, them both coming to the town square, seeing a flowing fountain in the middle, a large majestic building behind it, the bricks a ghostly white, along with its pillars, the doors a dark blood red. Adrian looked around, noting three passed out beard men outside a pub, all snoring loudly. He looked around, straining his eyes in the dim light. "Over there," he said, pointing the near distance to his right, Lyrisadora looked to where he was pointing to a tall building just in eye distance at the turning of a corner. "I don't care if it's five star or two, I need a bed," he stated in exasperation as they hurried towards the building, stopping in front of it to read the sign. The sign having two headings, one in Bulgarian, the second in English. "I have no idea what the Bulgarian is, but _Welcome to hotel nut tree Bed and Breakfast_ does seem optimistic," he exclaimed, grinning as he opened the door and stepped inside.

Lyrisadora followed into the building, her hair dripping wet, water dripping onto the worn wooden floor of the hotel. Adrian shut the door behind him as they both looked around the hotel. The entrance was small, square shaped with two wooden doors on either side, an abandoned reception desk in front, which led into a back room. A winding staircase going next to it, the staircase disappearing into the wall as it went upstairs. The walls of the entrance being a faded tea cream, that glowed in the dim candle light, the wallpaper slightly ripped in places. Lyrisadora's wondered towards the reception desk, her eyes searching for anybody nearby, before resting on a scratched golden bell near the side of the desk, looking around once more before ringing the bell.

Adrian stood next to her, them both waiting in silence, Lyrisadora frowned as she heard a small chirp from behind her, her head whipping round, but finding nothing, she narrowed her eyes slightly before turning around again as she waited. Adrian folded his arms and tapped is foot in impatience. "Well this is terrible service," he said indignantly.

Lyrisaora sighed in frustration. "They're probably just sleeping," she argued. "Stop being so im-"

"Hello there!" yelled a jubilant voice, as a white haired bearded old man jumped up from under the counter, smiling broadly. Lyrisadora and Adrian jumped back and screamed in surprise, eyes wide as they stared at the old man in bewilderment.

"What the-why-would?-who!" Adrian began to splutter, unable to speak clearly as he stared at the man in confusion, a feeling shared with Lyrisadora as she looked at the man in befuddlement, them both recovering from their shock.

The old man simply chuckle in amusement. "Ah it gets vem every time," he exclaimed brightly, broad smile lines appearing on his wrinkling face, his squinted hazel grey eyes staring at them in amusement, he smiled at them, smoothing down his bright flower patterned dressing gown. "I am sorry, forgive my obscure humour, I like to give my guests a bright experience ven staying at my hotel," he explained happily.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at him. "I assume not many return then," he commented dryly, Lyrisadora couldn't help but concur as she stared at the man in frustration.

The man stroked his beard as he muse don this. "Hmm, I suppose vat would explain why…but oh well, enough of vat, how can I help you?" he inquired cheerfully.

Lyrisadora took a deep breath as she stepped forward, leaning on the counter. "I'd like two rooms please, I- well _we_- plan on vacationing for the next nine days," she explained.

The man arched an eyebrow. "And if I may inquire, ver is vour luggage?" he questioned.

Lyrisadora's gave him a fixed smile. "We've had to travel lightly I'm afraid, this vacation is more of a shopping spree so to speak," she explained.

"A shopping spree…for nine days," the man repeated sceptically, finding her story weak. Adrian rattled his brains before a smile etched its way onto his lips, stepping forward.

"Princess, we should just tell him the truth," he said, giving her an anxious look.

Lyrisadora's eyes widened as she gave him an alarmed look, wondering why he would tell a stranger of their mission. "What? No-"

"It's best if we're honest-I'm sure he won't tell," Adrian interrupted, his tone hesitant and warm, Lyrisadora looked at him in confusion, wondering what he was doing. Adrian turned back to the man. "The truth is, we're not here on vacation," he said, casting Lyrisadora a worried look. "We're eloping," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist. Lyrisadora froze, her mouth parting, as she looked up at questionably Adrian. "We're hoping to stay here for a few days, rest, buy some supplies and be on our way to start a new life," he continued, he pinched her to signal her to go along with it, Lyrisadora closed her mouth, forcing herself to smile shyly.

"It's true," she said quietly, slumping her shoulders, reminding herself that she needed to make this look convincing. "Mother and father disapprove you see," she began weakly. "We tried to make them listen, but they wouldn't, they forbade us to associate and I just…" she continued, making her eyes water slightly as she looked the man in the eye. "They're no doubt worried sick, but I just can't force myself to stop loving him," she gushed, forcing back some vomit down he throat, as she stared adoringly up at Adrian, who stared adoringly back. "We just hope they'll come to accept it over time, please don't think harshly of us, we're just in love," she sighed, leaning her head on his chest.

Adrian hugged her close as he stared back at the man. "We just need a place to rest, if you want us gone in the morning we'll go-"

"Now I will have none of vat," snapped the man, putting his foot down as he stared at the two with pity. "You may stay as long as possible," he declared strongly, smiling at them fondly. "I remember ven I eloped with my wife, ven I vos vour age," he said, sighing. "Ah young love-come, I shall show you to your room, ven will arrange room costs ven you are vel rested and fed in ve morning," he exclaimed brightly, grabbing some room keys and coming from behind the counter with open arms, Lyrisadora and Adrian nodded timidly as they followed him up the stairs.

As soon as his back was turned they unembraced, Adrian smirking at her. "_I just can't force myself to stop loving him,_" he whispered in amusement. "Where did you get that from?" he questioned.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Same place you got your acting skills," she muttered.

"Just play along," he whispered in her ear, placing his arm around her waist.

Lyrisadora scowled at him. "Stop enjoying this," she ordered through gritted teeth, her lips barely moving as she cast Adrian a warning look.

"Can't, having too much fun," he replied in a hushed tone, walking along as the man, who seemed to be in charge of the hotel, led them down a dark brown hallway, the wallpaper decorated with a tree branch pattern, beautifully illustrated squirrels on, the metallic lining on the wallpaper faded, it becoming more clearer that this man was obsessed with squirrels.

"Here we are," the man declared cheerfully, stopping in front of a room door, the number being room eighteen, Lyrisadora quickly plastered on a smile as she hugged Adrian closer as the man turned around to face them. "Breakfast is vat 7am, if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask, at this hotel, we put ve customer first," he recited, handing over some keys to Lyrisadora.

"Thank you, I promise we won't be a bother," she said pleasantly, giving him a shy smile. "Mr…?" she inquired slowly.

"Ivo Poliakoff-Mr Ivo for short," he replied.

She gave him warm smile. "Mr Ivo," she said.

He nodded curtly smiling, before pulling out his wand. "Good night and enjoy vour stay," he declared before smirking, nudging Adrian in the shoulder. "And you both have fun," he chimed. Lyrisadora's smile became more fixed as she gritted her teeth, her patience starting to wear thin. Adrian smirked.

"I will," he joked back, Lyrisadora's eye twitched as she felt and urge to strangle him. "Won't we princess?" he questioned sweetly, enjoying the charade.

Lyrisadora dug her nails into his arm, her anger boiling as she smiled sweetly. "Oh yes, lots," she replied, giggling as she pretended to blush. "Oh but Adrian, we must make sure you don't have any more accidents," she added pleasantly, her tone turning to worry, as she looked toward Mr Ivo. "He has terrible gas problems you see, his bladder-"

"Yes well that's enough sweetheart!" Adrian interjected quickly, his cheeks turning a bright pink, Mr Ivo staring at Adrian with an arched eyebrow, Adrian taking the key from her. "We've taken much of Mr Ivo's time already-good night," he said. Mr Ivo smiled in amusement before nodding.

"Sleep well," he exclaimed, starting them slightly as he turned into a squirrel and scampered away, Adrian and Lyrisadora watching him scamper away with elements of surprise, before shrugging it off.

Adrian opened the door to the room, grinning as his eyes locked on the double bed, collapsing on it and sighing in relief. Lyrisadora shut the door behind her as she looked around the room, it being open and square shaped, the walls holding the same wallpaper as the hallways, except this one being of a dark red colouring, the floor a dark wood, the varnish slightly faded, a door to the bathroom at the end of the room, a medium sized window at the end, with the brown curtains drawn. As she walked further in she noticed a single wooden wardrobe opposite the bed, an identical table next to it with a chair pushed in, the bed being a double and holding a small table on both sides, which each had a candle on them, the candle seemingly charmed as it lit up once someone stepped into the room.

After taking the room in, her eyes landed on Adrian who was slaying on the bed. "Get off the bed," she ordered sharply, pulling out her wand as she went to stand by the bed.

Adrian looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. "Why?" he inquired smoothly.

Lyrisadora looked at him sternly. "I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you, so get off so I can separate the bed," she snapped.

Adrian eyed her with bemusement for a moment, before shrugging and complying with her wishes, watching silently as she transfigured the bed into two singles, pushing her bed and table towards the bathroom door and collapsing on it. Adrian just smirked, a yawn escaping his lips as he glanced at the time, moaning as he found it to be four in the morning. "I think a lie in should suffice for tomorrow," he drawled, taking off his outer robe and dropping it on the floor, before running a hand through him hair.

Lyrisadora turned over and shot him an annoyed look. "We don't have time for lie in, need I remind you that this isn't a holiday," she snapped.

He rolled his eyes at her, taking off his wet shoes as he removed his damp clothes. "Yeah, it's hard to forget when I have a blood vow scarred on my hand," he bit back, flashing his scarred palm.

Lyrisadora grumbled tiredly as she rubbed her eyes, feeling completely exhausted, every bone in her body aching. "Alright, argument invalid," she replied dully, a loud yawn coming out as her eyes drooped. "Let's just gets some sleep already, we'll start planning in the morning," she said, removing her shoes and taking off her soaking wet robes, her hair tangled.

Adrian climbed into bed, placing his wand under his pillow as his damp cloth lay on the floor. "Yeah sure whatever," he muttered, blowing out his candle and happily collapsing his head on the pillow, closing his eyes.

Lyrisadora silently removed her tights, stripping down to a vest and underwear, placing her wand under her pillowing and burying herself under the bed cover, the bed eloping her in warmth as she snuggled in, blowing out her candle as she lay awake, closing her eyes as her mind wondered towards how people would react to her and Adrian missing, in one scenario they could be accused of stealing the cup, or disappeared without a trace, kidnapped and so on. She bit back a groan, she hoped no one thought her and Adrian actually had gone and run off together, stupid rumours that held little logic to them, always seemed to become real, born from the idiocy of humanity.

Her mind began to haze as sleep over took her, herself deciding to put such matters aside to deal with in the morning.

* * *

><p><strong>нека gatewayto светилище отворен<strong>

**Google translate: Let gateway to sanctuary open**

**Urk now I've caught my dad's cold, parents, they claim to take care of you, when in reality they infect you with viruses :(**

**Meh anyway, hope you guys like this one, the next one is going to be all about planning and the everyone gradually finding out Lyrisadora and Adrian are gone.**

**Rview please! :D**


	40. 10,000 promises, 10,000 ways to lose

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Warning: I suck at trying to write a Bulgarian accent so I apologies beforehand for this.**

**Qoute Origen-American Horror Story**

* * *

><p><strong>Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, you're smarter than that.<strong>

**Chapter: 10,000 promises, 10,000 ways to lose**

* * *

><p><em>15th February 1994<em>

When Elizabeth Orion awoke in the morning, she had not been expecting Lyrisadora's cat's face in front of her, its bright sapphire eyes staring back at her, causing her to scream and jump up, backing away against the wall as she stared at the cat in bewilderment. Sapphira simply meowing in response as she nuzzled Elizabeth's hand. Elizabeth sighed and stroked the cat back in response, before scanning the room to locate its owner and tell Lyrisadora to take her cat back, only to be greeted with the sight of her empty bed. Elizabeth frowned before turning to the still sleeping Lucretia.

"Tia, Lyra's missing," she stated anxiously, Lucretia groaned as she groggily flipped over to face Elizabeth, her eyes barely open as she wiped some drool from her mouth.

"She's probably at breakfast," she mumbled, snuggling into her bed as she closed her eyes again.

Elizabeth didn't look convinced. "But she always wakes us, or at least attempts to and come to think about it, I didn't hear her return from her prefect duties," she argued, getting out of bed and looking around the room.

Lucretia just yawned in response. "She's probably fine, maybe she probably came in late last night and left early in the morning, she is a morning person after all," she replied, her voice becoming a mumble towards the end as tiredness over took her.

"I suppose…." Elizabeth replied, trailing off as she looked at Lyrisadora's tidy bed, noting that it didn't look like it had been slept in, seeing that her Herbology plant hadn't been watered and Sapphira appeared to not have been fed as the cat was scavenging for crumbs on the floor. These things didn't add up, well the plant looking like it was dying seemed perfectly normal, but it appearing that Lyrisadora had neglected to feed her cat, seemed peculiar. "I'm going down to breakfast to find her," she declared quietly, moving to go get dressed, hoping that her friend had just been absent minded in leaving this early without going through her regular routine.

"See you down there," Lucretia said, waving a dismissive hand as she went back to sleep.

Elizabeth quickly changed into her uniform and hurried down stairs, being followed by Sapphira, who was mewing loudly to be fed, resulting in Elizabeth caving and feeding the cat, so she could be left alone at peace.

When she stepped into the great hall, she was met by the usual hustle and bustle of students who were piling in for breakfast, she made her way over to the Slytherin table as it was filling up with students, choosing to sit in the middle, which was currently the end of the table as students continued to file in.

"Hey watch it," exclaimed butch voice, as Elizabeth went to sit down, she stopped and looked underneath to find a mouse nibbling on some jam covered bread, the boy who had spoken quickly scooped the mouse up, Elizabeth wrinkled her nose in distaste as she pushed the bread to the floor before sitting down, looking at the boy who was feeding the mouse some toast. "Next time, look before you sit," he said, giving her a frustrated look, Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at the boy, trying to recognise his appearance, his skin being olive, hair quite shaggy, looking a dark auburn, jaw little too long while his nose was short, making his forehead look small, his eyes a dark blue, covered by wide framed black glasses which shaped his eyes. It took a moment, but Elizabeth soon recognised him as Sebastian Daley, someone in the year above her.

Her lips pursed. "Well next time, maybe you should keep better track of your rodent," she bit back, grabbing some buttered toast.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed at her, but was interrupted by Miles Bletchley, who had come to sit in front of him. "Have you seen Adrian around?" he questioned, his tone holding a slight urgency.

Sebastian shook his head in reply. "Can't say I have, last time I saw him was last night when he went off to do prefect patrol with Malfoy," he replied.

Elizabeth perked up at this. "He was with Lyrisadora, are you sure?" she questioned.

Sebastian shrugged. "Looked like it, he went off with her, though she didn't look pleased about it," he replied.

Miles turned Elizabeth. "Did Malfoy say when she last saw him?" he questioned.

Elizabeth shook her head, starting to put the pieces together. "No, because she's missing as well," she replied worriedly. "I never saw or heard her come back last night, her bed doesn't look like it's been slept in and I never saw her this morning," she continued.

Sebastian looked more alert as he looked between Elizabeth and Miles. "So what you're saying is that they both were last seen at the same time and presumably went missing the same time, now the question is how and where," he mused.

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at miles. "If Adrian's done anything to Lyra…" she threatened coldly, her gaze harsh.

Miles sneered. "Don't be ridiculous, Adrian isn't like that," he argued sharply.

"I wouldn't put it past him, he's a scum bag," she spat.

Miles glared at her. "Oh Please, remove the pole from your ass and wake up, this is obviously Malfoy's fault," he snapped harshly.

Elizabeth scoffed. "And how exactly did you come that assumption?" she sneered.

Miles faltered slightly, unable to think of a valid argument, only wanting to blame someone. "Simple, she probably snapped and hexed Adrian,and is now gone missing to try and cover her tracks," he replied.

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at him. "Are you kidding me? That reasoning is so stupid and primitive that I don't even think a Troll would think it," she scoffed.

"_Oooh_ cat fight, fun times," said Lucretia from behind Elizabeth, distracting Miles and Elizabeth from their argument. "Oh please don't stop, I love it when people argue," she said, smiling, before sitting down next to Elizabeth. "Some see it as distressing, I see it as entertainment," she added cheerfully.

Sebastian sighed. "Enough of this, let's not play the blame game-if we're going to find out what happened to Malfoy and Adrian, then we're going to have to do some research before notifying the headmaster," he drawled.

Lucretia perked up at this. "Oh, what am I missing, Liz fill me in," she said, turning to her friend.

But Elizabeth wasn't paying attention, instead she was focused on Sebastian. "Why do you care so much?" she inquired.

Sebastian arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm one of the prefects, it's my job to make sure the Slytherins are safe, so having two go missing on my watch, isn't good, especially since those particular two are from very powerful and influential families. Second, I'm friends with Adrian, so believe it or not I do care about his wellbeing," he explained condescendingly.

Elizabeth pursed her lips, folding her arms. "Alright point proven, so where do we start-"

"Daphne!" called a small voice, Elizabeth whipped her head around to see a brown haired, Slytherin first year girl running towards Daphne Greengrass, at the near end of the table , a few rows in front of them, the four students recognised the girl who was running to Daphne, to be Astoria Greengrass, Daphne's little sister. Astoria was followed by another first year Slytherin girl, a round faced Japanese girl, who was hastily following her friend. "Daphne the house cup is missing," Astoria panted, tugging on her sister's sleeve frantically.

This caught a majority of the Slytherin's table attention,as a number of students stopped talking and stared at the youngest Greengrass. Daphne, broke off her conversation with Pansy Parkinson as she stared at her sister in annoyance. "What are you rambling on about Tori?" she questioned dully.

Astoria took a deep breath as she composed herself. "The Hogwarts house cup is missing, Daphne, not just gone as in gone to be cleaned, but gone gone!" she hissed.

Daphne massaged her temples as she looked at her sister with confusion. "Astoria calm down and start explaining properly," she ordered briskly. "And speak clearly, don't rush," she added sternly.

Astoria exchanged a glance with her friend before taking another deep breath, trying to word everything properly. "I was in my dorm, when Yurika rushed in and told me the cup was missing," she began, before turning to Yurika to continue.

The said girl,Yurika Haneda gulped as she felt the eyes of many of her classmates on her, forcing herself to hold her head higher as she spoke. "I found the cup missing when I wondered past the case early this morning and I knew something was wrong, because my brother always said the cup is always in its case and the Fat fryer was pacing in front of it-"

"-He was really upset-" Astoria interrupted, before quickly silencing after a firm look from her sister, who was just as enthralled as the other Slytherins.

"So I asked him where he cup was and he said someone had stolen it, but not just anyone-"

"-It was a house elf!" interjected Astoria in disbelief.

"Astoria don't interrupt!" hissed Daphne.

"Sorry," apologised Astoria meekly.

Yurika shot Astoria an annoyed look before continuing. "And at first I didn't believe him, but then he explained that the house elf had been trying to steal the cup, but was being chased by two students, a boy and a girl, he said the two were trying to stop the house elf, but disappeared along with him when the house elf disapperated," she explained, there was silence for a moment, as a number of Slytherins gave the two skeptic looks.

Daphne frowned at her sister in disapproval. "Astoria what have I told you about making up stories," she said curtly.

Astoria's shoulders slumped. "But it's true Daphne! I asked the ghost and he said it was true, go look the cup is missing," she argued desperately.

"We're not lying!" Yurika protested, glaring at Daphne.

Pansy sneered. "Oh go away, the ghost was obviously lying to you, everyone knows you can't disapparate or apparate in Hogwarts," she said haughtily.

Yurika and Astoria shook their heads. "No it's true!" they said in unison.

Daphne shot them an annoyed look. "Keep your voices down," she spat, noticing some of the other house tables were looking their way.

For Elizabeth, Sebastian and Miles, the pieces were finally coming together. "Did the Fat Fryer say what the boy and the girl looked like?" Elizabeth questioned, drawing in everyone's attention, Astoria looked taken aback, but nodded.

"He said the girl was blonde and the boy had dark hair, he said they were teenagers, but that was it," she replied.

Daphne's eyes narrowed at Elizabeth. "Don't tell me you actually believe my sister and Haneda's story, Orion?" she said in irritation.

"Actually I do Greengrass, because it just so happens that the students the fat fryer described, look like the same people who are currently missing; Adrian and Lyrisadora," Elizabeth explained.

Cassondria eyes widened in disbelief at Elizabeth, herself sat slightly further down from Daphne. "What do you mean Adrian and Malfoy are missing?" she questioned.

Sebastian decided to take over. "They were last scene off patrolling together late at night, they both never returned to their dormitories, which means believe it or not, little Greengrass and co is probably recounting how they went missing," he said seriously. There was silence for a moment before the whole of the Slytherin table broke out in hushed whispers, the information no doubt going to spread across the entire school before lunch.

Yurika and Astoria looked very pleased with themselves that they had been believed.

"Wait a minute," said Lucretia, trying to process all this information. "So Adrian and Lyrisadora are missing, after chasing a thieving house elf," she repeated.

"Glad to see you've woken up," Miles said dryly.

"We need to tell Professor Snape, the sooner the headmaster knows the better," Elizabeth said in a hushed tone.

"Knows what?" questioned a familiar drawling voice, all four whipped around, finding the voice to belong to Draco Malfoy, who was looking at them curiously, Crabbe and Goyle behind him. "Have you lot seen my sister?" he questioned.

Elizabeth winced, looking to the others for support, only to find them looking away in disinterest, or whistling absently as they took a great interest in their breakfast and their surroundings, pushing the explaining to her.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at them, sometimes she really did hate being in Slytherin.

* * *

><p>In the Bulgarian hotel, Adrian Pucey lay sleeping in his bed,snoring as drool seeped from his mouth onto his pillow. Until he was awakened by the force of a pile of newspapers falling on him, jolting him awake, the newspapers burying him as he moaned.<p>

"Rise and shine darling," Lyrisadora chimed brightly, earning a groan in response as Adrian shoved the newspapers off him, sitting up to glare groggily at her. Lyrisadora stood beaming at the end of his bed, fully dressed in new clothes, with her hands on her hip.

Adrian's eyes widened as he blinked, staring at Lyrisadora in befuddlement. "Your clothes are different?" he mumbled, pointing to her, the realisation just dawning. Lyrisadora smirked eyeing herself up and down, looking indeed different than how she usually looked, instead of the usual dress and robes, she was wearing a loose collared brown turtle neck with a scarlet petticoat, which held a gold lining pattern t it that intertwined, her hair tied back into a pony tail and herself wearing trousers. Adrian looked at her legs, the trousers looking strange, being slender and tight, a dark brown colouring with gold brass buttons. Adrian arched an eyebrow at her. "Nice legs," he said dryly.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at him, frowning in irritation. "Gee thank," she exclaimed sarcastically, before smirking. "It's the latest spring fashion in Bulgaria, they're much more comfortable than a dress," she replied brightly, enjoying how free the pants made her feel. "Besides, it looks like we're going to be more active here, so I need clothes that won't hold me back," she drawled, shrugging. "And look, I even got boots," she exclaimed, lifting her foot up to show him her leather thick footed brown boots, before putting her foot down and picking up a weaved bag on the floor, tossing it to Adrian. "I bought you some clothes as well-be warned, brown and red are the in thing around here," she said, watching as he examined the clothes.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at the clothes. "At least it's not a big heath of fur," he said dryly before placing the bag down, examining the news papers scattered on his bed. "Mind explaining this?" he inquired sarcastically.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at him. "It's research, so far I've gathered every weekly newspaper documenting from the last four months-which believe me, was difficult," she groaned.

"But I thought you couldn't read Bulgarian," he stated, looking at her in confusion, wondering if the lack of sleep had effected her brain.

However she simply smirked, walking over to the writing desk opposite and picking up a bag she had dumped there, pulling out an old leather bound book and turning around to face him, holding it up to view. "I can't, but with this wonderful thing, I don't need to," she replied brightly, opening the book up as she searched for the right page, pacing around the room as she continued to explain. "Now, I knew the only way we were going to be able to research the news was if we could read the papers, which left a very big snag in the plan, so I got to thinking, I remembered reading a book once when I was a child, it was about a wizard who travelled the world searching for his son, along the way he entered many different countries he was foreign to, places he couldn't speak the language to. So he used a translation spell," she explained, looking up from the book to check if Adrian was listening. "The details were simple, just a mentioning of him using it to translate some writing into English, however it made me think, even though fiction, the chances of a translation spell existing was still plausible and realistic, so I set off to find a library," she continued.

"So you went to library to find the spell, which no doubt is in that book," Adrian finished, understanding now. Lyrisadora nodded, finding the correct page.

"Correct. Now hurry up and change, we have work to do," she ordered smoothly, sitting down on the end of his bed. Adrian frowned in annoyance as she ordered him about, but nonetheless complied, grabbing the bag of clothes and sauntering off into the bathroom.

When he returned fully dressed, Lyrisadora was already busy translating the pages of the first two newspapers, casting her wand over the words as she muttered the spell from the book. He sat down on the bed and grabbed a couple of newspapers, frowning as he scratched his back, not liking the clothes Lyrisadora had picked for him. True he supposed he should be thankful the clothes weren't ugly, she could have gotten him revolting ones. Instead he was wearing a thick dark maroon jumper, black trousers tucked in thick boots and a un-buttoned black flowing robe with brass buttons, looking more like a trench coat. The jumper was itching him, making him squirm every now and then, he swore she must have dipped it in a potion, it feeling stiff and dry, adding to the un-comfort. He didn't voice his complaint, knowing that it would be a waste of time to waste money on buying new clothes, especially since the other clothes she bought him were more or less exactly the same.

She passed him a translated paper, before hurrying back to translate the other papers, her translating like mad as he scanned the pages, using a pencil to highlight important events. Both sat in silence for a long remainder of time before Adrian decided to speak. "So what's the theory on our thief, the who? What and Why?" he drawled.

Lyrisadora stopped working as she mused, trying to think, before turning to him. "For him to steal the object, he needed to know where it was, which means he would have had to watch and study the Veela for some time," she mused aloud.

"Which means he would have had to believe the thing existed," he added.

"Exactly. This is someone who believed in the Cornucopia, someone who was convinced it existed despite many discouraging the idea," she theorised.

"Or he could have stolen it for someone else, like a black market dealer," he suggested.

"True, but it doesn't seem like that, this person knew where and when the Cornucopia would be and when best to take it, that's sign of obsessive behaviour, why all that trouble over something you'd sell?" she questioned. "Imagine if all your life you believed in a legend and all those around you thought you deluded and doubted that you'd ever succeed in proving it existed," she said seriously. "This person is young, someone who believes in a dream so powerfully they'd risk their life to prove it exists," she continued.

Adrian racked his brain. "So we're looking for someone who's trying to make it big, prove everyone wrong….like put it in a museum," he thought aloud. Turning back to the paper as he scanned through the pages he had highlighted. Lyrisadora watched as he scanned the writing before pointing to a paragraph on the second page. "Legend to be made true," he read, Lyrisadora peered over to read, taking the paper to examine it. "Young dreamer Nayden Stoyan Yasen has attracted the eyes of many, as he claims to have completed his mother's work, former Professor to Museum on Old Versika Levski street in Opul-chen-ska," Adrian struggled with the name**. "-**Underground, Mrs Olga Yasen nee Valentinov, who has passed seven years prior. The young Mr Yasen has not revealed much to what legend he has made true, only that it will all be revealed in a few months time," he read aloud.

Lyrisadora searched through the rest of the papers. "We need to find a photo," she said. "We may have just found him," she rambled, feeling so close to finding him.

Adrian smirked. "May I have a _'thanks Adrian_'?" he inquired amusingly.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes as she searched through the scattered papers. "Thanks Adrian," she replied dully, annoyance lace din her tone.

* * *

><p>"Well this does seem problematic," Professor Dumbledore said gravely, the twinkle gone from his eyes as he stared at the four Slytherin students in front of him in his office. To his left an equally grave looking Professor McGonagall stood to his left along with a grim looking Potions Master, all standing in silence after registering the information of Lyrisadora and Adrian having gone missing and the house cup disappearing.<p>

Lucretia looked towards her housemates with uneasiness, before speaking directly to the Headmaster. "Sir, why would a house elf want to steal the house cup? I mean it doesn't really make that much sense," she argued.

Dumbledore stroked his beard as he hummed to himself in thought. "It is a mystery my dear, one which will take proper investigation into. Rest assured the house elves are currently counting their numbers to find if there is an elf missing, and I will be inquiring to the portraits and fat fryer to find out their versions of events," he reassured.

"So what do we do, just sit back and act like everything's normal?" Miles sneered. "Our friends are missing, we should be doing something, telling newspapers, filing a missing person report," he fretted, gritting his teeth.

Dumbledore held his hand up to calm him. "Rest assured, immediate action will be taken, but first we need to find out what has happened, bearing in mind that we currently have no idea where they are, for all we know they could simply be out of the grounds," he tried to reassure firmly. "I assure you their absence will not be treated lightly," he added.

"But what if the Dementors get them and treat them as a threat?" Elizabeth question anxiously, chewing her tongue.

"The Dementors are only allowed to attack Sirius Black, Miss Orion-" Snape attempted to reason, but Elizabeth interrupted.

"But that didn't stop them from attacking _Harry Potter _now did it," she interjected, before cowering back slightly from the angered glare she received from her Head of House, for interrupting, biting down on her tongue as she looked away.

Professor McGonagall held her hands up, giving the students' stern looks. "We all understand this is a troubling situation, you must be patient," she said sternly, this seemed to deflate the two teens tempers as they subdued.

Sebastian eyed the scene with acute ears, himself having remained more or less silent throughout the whole episode, only speaking when adding to the theories of how Adrian and Lyrisadora had disappeared. "What do we say to our classmates?" he questioned smoothly, arms folded as he eyed his teachers coolly.

"You may tell them that your friends are missing and we are currently attempting to find them, but I discourage you telling them your theories, as we are still investigating," the Headmaster answered plainly.

"In other words, spreading gossip will not be tolerated," Professor Snape concluded tightly, as he looked at his students with sternness.

"_Well,"_ Lucretia said, dragging the word out, fighting back a smirk, herself feeling daring. "With all due respect Professor, that ship has already sailed, we all know nothing stays secret at Hogwarts," she chimed brightly, earning a growl from her head of house.

A tired amused smile etched its way onto Professor Dumbledore's lips, shaking his head in bemusement. "I suspect it has my dear, however it is best not to stir the waters," he responded lightly. "Now I think it best if you four return to your lessons, rest assured you will be kept informed of the search for Miss Malfoy and Mr Pucey," he said, nodding to them.

Elizabeth, Lucretia, Miles and Sebastian nodded curtly in response, before reluctantly leaving. Once gone, Dumbledore sighed anxiously, stroking his beard as he paced around the room, his eyes holding immense worry, wincing as he heard some faded vulgar language from behind the door as the students' voices faded.

"Miss Orion mention beforehand that Draco has been informed of his sister's disappearance, his mood is described as that of a raging dog," Snape said smoothly, turning to the headmaster.

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "The Puceys and Malfoys will need to be notified immediately, in the meantime, Minerva I've had Dexter Fortescue integrate the portraits, you can find out the story so far from him, he should still be in his portrait by the kitchens," he instructed, McGonagall nodded stiffly in reply. Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, sighing in exasperation as he tried to figure out why someone would send a house elf to steal the House Cup.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile deep in a Romanian forest where an old cottage stood, behind the silencioed enchanted walls, crazed screams bounced from the walls. "Stupid, stupid STUPID!" screamed a frantic looking man. Cronks cowered under his master's screaming, fresh deep cuts and bruises on the elf's body, backing up against the wall of the dark old messy cottage, his eyes popping out of his skull. His master breathed heavily, tears streaming from his eyes, the said man looking frantic. The man looked to be aged in his mid-forties, body bulky and robes tattered, his face oval shaped and skin sickly pale. His face holding numerous stress lines and bags under his piercing blue eyes, his mousey brown hair matted and falling out from the back. "Stupid elf!" he growled, worry heavy in his tone, before he screamed aloud and clutched his head, kicking frantically.<p>

"Master…" choked Cronks, watching as his master bashed his head against the wall, Cronks biting down on his tongue until it bled, before rushing over to his masters side and attempting to pulling him away from the wall. "Master Balik must stop! Master will hurt himself," he wailed.

At the mention of his last name, the said man whipped around and through Cronks across the name. "Don't say my name!" he shouted, lunging for the elf, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the wall, breathing heavily as his eyes darted around, ears acute in the thick silence. Cronks looked ta his master fearfully as Balik breathed heavily, his eyes narrowing at the elf. "Mustn't say my name Cronks, or they'll find us," he hissed, tears streaming down Cronks' face.

"Cronks not knowing who 'they' is, Master," Cronks croaked.

Balik furrowed his brow and bit down on his tongue, looking very confused and lost, his eyes searching the house elf's face for any sign of closure, but receiving only fear. "The voices do…..Master helps keep them away…." Mumbled Balik, his eyes glazing over as he let his hand fall, Cronks crumbling to the ground as the elf clutched his throat. Fresh tears brimmed in Balik's eyes as he whimpered like a lost child. "Where is Master? Master help please, talk to me," he sobbed, pacing around the dark small molded cottage, his worn shoes dragging on the chipped floorboards. Wishing to hear the commanding voice in his head to tell him what to do, adding some purpose and structure into his life. "Master!" he wailed, before feeling an immense throbbing in his head, like a silent scream pounding and vibrating in his skull, ceasing his begging.

"_Silence!"_ the voice hissed, disgust evident in the tone, causing Balik to bite back his sobs. "_Cease your pathetic sobbing, you have already angered me enough," _the voice sneered, making Balik wince.

"Forgi-"

"_I said silence! Your pathetic words are useless, I have no time for them,_" the voice snapped, silencing the man. "_Your elf's failure has caused my plans to stumble, meaning a new plan will be needed to remedy," _the voice said coolly; Balik finding comfort in the tone as he waited for the voice to continue. _"I still need the cup to complete the ritual, and I wish to find out who these meddlesome children who have possession of it, are. Make sure the elf brings them to me to be interrogated,"_ the voice instructed.

"Master…Cronks does not no where they are…they were not at the mountain top when he returned," stammered Balik hesitantly, keeping his eyes locked on the floor. The voice hissed painfully in impatience.

_"Then he must search for them! Your elf spoke of them not knowing how to apperate, which means they must have had to think of another way to return to Hogwarts, have the elf search the forest for sight and word of them, time is of the essence, I need that cup, bring it to me_!" the voice ordered in a deadly tone. Balik wriggled his hands, biting down on his tongue. "_I sense hesitance Balik, do I sense your loyalty wavering?"_ the voice questioned icily, making Balik shiver and shake his head violently.

"No master-" he tried to protest.

_"Are you not grateful to me for making you sane again?"_ the voice hissed.

"Forever grateful master," Balik sobbed, clutching his head. "I'm just afraid the plan wont-"

"_I could always bring the voices back Balik, would you like that better, Hm_?" the voice suggested softly, tone light and gentle.

Balick choked, shaking his head in desperation. "Please Master don't, I'm just scared , don't leave me," he choked, tears blinding his sight.

The voice laughed coldly. "_Pathetic. Oh Balik you amuse me, but don't worry, I won't be going anywhere,"_ he replied velvety, Balik wiping his eyes as he buried a sob. "_Now enough of this, pay attention Balik and listen carefully, this is what I want you to tell your elf to do."_

* * *

><p>"I still think it looks like vomit," said Adrian casually as he and Lyrisadora stared at a large painting in front of them. The two were currently in the Museum on Old Versika Levski street, the large building opposite the fountain they had seen originally upon entering the underground town. The Museum was large and spacious, stone walls a bright clear white, floor a polished black marble.<p>

Lyrisadora didn't seem to be listening as she stared at the most recent paper which had brought them here, holding it in her black leather gloved hands, the paper being translated into English and holding very interesting details about the mystery object which they had theorised to be the Cornucopia.

The paper was a week old, but the most recent one, detailing that Nayden Yasen was to reveal the object to Bulgaria's richest and most famous on the 17th February 20:45, before revealing it to the rest of the public. In her mind a plan was readily forming, herself dwelling on how they could check that this was the Cornucopia, how they would steal it if it was, as well as kidnapping Yasen and interrogating him to get the full story as to why he stole it, before handing him over to the Veela, something she very much did not want to do. She sighed, reminding herself of necessary evils, wishing she had just left the cup in the forest, thus avoiding all this mess. Lyrisadora looked around the Museum, attempting to memorise very inch of it, the whole purpose of this trip to analyse security and stake out the place, one thing off their list besides finding the Cornucopia's hiding place and getting Yasen when he was alone and vulnerable.

"Come on, we have more to see," she said coldly, folding the newspaper back up and placing it in the inside pocket of her thick flowing scarlet robe, walking towards another room.

Adrian followed, himself frowning as he scratched his back, the jumper he was wearing underneath his robe irritating him again. "Did you dip this in an itching potion or something?" he hissed, glaring at her once he saw her lips curl into a smirk.

"Don't be ridiculous, you probably just need to wear layers," she replied lightly, waving a dismissive hands. Ignoring his growl as her eyes locked on the sight of wizards and witches moving large displays into another room, a narrow man telling them to be careful with the paintings. "Ssh," she ordered firmly, holding up a finger to silence him as her eyes stayed locked on the back of the man's dark hair. "Stay here," she ordered sternly, grabbing the museum map from Adrian's hand before leaving him befuddled as she walked over to the man. Her face turning to the mask of anxiety and exasperation as she fumbled with the map.

"Nо!не можете да го поставите там, това е на гърба капка!" the narrow man yelled, clutching his face in his hand as Lyrisadora approached from behind, clearing her throat.

"Excuse me, Но мисля, че съм загубил," she said, explaining she was lost. The man whipped around in surprise, Lyrisadora biting back a satisfactory smile as she recognised it to be Nayden Yasen, a surprised look etched on his face. Lyrisaodra plastered on a charming innocent smile. "прости ми за изумително ви ... Говорите ли English?" she questioned.

Yasen recovered from his hesitance and smiled. "Yes I can, vow may I be of assistance?" he questioned.

Lyrisadora smiled, holding the map up to view. "I'm confused, I'm trying to find the exhibit on the human body, but I think overshot it and I'm really bad at reading maps, especially since I can barely read Bulgarian….which I suppose is the root of the problem," she explained sheepishly, giving him a nervous lopsided smile. "Can you point me in the right direction?" she implored.

Yasen nodded, smiling awkwardly. "Of course," he replied, before then proceeding to explain which way was the quickest to the exhibit. She smiled in reply, only half listening as she tried to think of a way of weaseling information out of him. "Does vat help?" he questioned.

Lyrisadora nodded. "Very much, thank you-oh wait, sorry where are my manners," she laughed, before holding out her hand, thinking of the first name that came into her head. "My name's Elizabeth Orion, I'm on holiday here, hoping to catch the sights, gain some cultural insight what not," she added brightly. "Since I've just finished school, I thought Bulgaria would be a good place to start," she continued.

Yasen looked slightly intrigued. "Ah a traveller, I to did the same when I left school, how are you enjoying Bulgaria so far?" he questioned.

"A lot, your culture is exquisite, as is your fashion," she replied, smiling as she signalled to her clothes.

Yasen gave her a small smile. "Hm yes…anyway I must be going…" he began awkwardly.

Lyrisadora's face consorted in embarrassment. "Oh sorry, I didn't know I was keeping you-oh but wait, my manners are terrible, I don't know your name?" she said hurriedly, attempting to keep him talking, so far gathering nothing useful besides the fact he used to travel.

"Nayden Yasen," he replied. "Now I really must be-"

"_Sweety_, what's taking you so long?" called Adrian's familiar voice as he walked over to them. Naydon stopped and looked to Adrian, as did Lyrisadora's, shooting him a glare when her head was turned away from Yasen, knowing Adrian would ruin everything.

"I was just asking for directions to the human exhibit, Mr Yasen over here was just telling me," Lyrisadora explained. "Mr Yasen, this is my boyfriend David, he's travelling with me, David this is Nayden Yasen," she introduced.

Adrian gave him a charming smile and tipped his head to him. "Thank you for your kindness, my girlfriend can be a scatter brain at times," he said brightly, Lyrisadora's eye twitched as she continued to smile. Adrian looked at Yasen for a moment before a look of realisation masked his features. "I knew I recognised you, Nayden Yasen the dreamer, I've heard about your big reveal, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said cheerfully, holding out his hand to shake. Nayden seemed to regain his power of movement and speech as he shook Adrian's hand.

"Thank you….I find vour words kind," he explained sheepishly.

"No problem, I was wondering though, what's all this _legend made real_ heading about?" Adrian questioned curiously.

Yasen seemed reluctant and pursed his lips. "Can't say, all will be revealed in a few days," he answered cryptically.

Adrian knew it would be dangerous to push the subject, instead accepting the answer. "Fair do, fair do. So do you like Quidditch, sweetie pie and I are planning to watch a game over here, I've heard Viktor Krum is one of the best in Europe," he said.

Yasen's face lit up. "He is, I knew him from school; ven he vos vounger of course, back in school, I vos captain of the Quidditch team at Durmstrangs. Do you play Quidditch?" he questioned.

Adrian nodded casually. "I used to play Chaser back at school, Seeker in my third year at , not so much now I've left," he answered, Lyrisadora looked between the two as she listened intently, seeing what Adrian was doing and not understanding why he got a better response than her. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you get into the whole Museum business, you don't seem the type," he inquired, looking at him with interest.

Yasen cleared his throat, sighing. "My mother was a big inspiration, her life work became my calling in a sense," he replied.

"She must have been a heck of a woman," Adrian said, smiling reassuringly at him.

"Yes, she vos...I just vish more could have seen vat," Yasen continued, his tone holding anger.

Adrian looked at him curiously. "I'm guessing she didn't receive the respect she deserved," he egged on, determined to get some more information out of him.

"No," replied Yasen coldly. "She vos a brilliant woman and they made her feel like a fool, all because vey could not see past ver nose," he continued on a harsh voice, before regaining his composure and clearing his throat. "But in two days vey will be eating their own words," he declared.

Adrian smiled. "I'm sure they will," he said, before stepping closer. "Since we'll be staying here, we might come to the public unveiling, I think it would be a momentous occasion," he said smoothly, looking Yasen in the eyes, Yasen gulped and looked away, Adrian smirked, Lyrisadora looked more confused. "I think I'd enjoy another future discussion with you," he added.

Yasen laughed nervously. "I-I vould like vat as v-vel," he breathed, keeping his eyes trained away from Adrian's, before swallowing and attempting to keep it cool, holding his head up high as he held out his hand. "But I must be going," he said, Adrian shook his hand again and nodded before stepping back.

"Of course, until we meet again," he said.

"Miss Orion," Yasen said curtly, bowing stiffly before glancing at Adrian anxiously and hurry off.

Lyrisadora was dumbstruck for a while as a triumphant smirk spread across Adrian's lips. "What just happened?" she breathed. "_What just happened_?" she repeated, her voice demanding at she glared at Adrian.

Adrian turned to her, smirk still evident. "Just charming some interesting information out of our thief, since you seemed to be failing miserably, then again you aren't his type," he replied smoothly.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped, folding her arms as she looked at him demanding.

Adrian just smirked and shook his head. "You really do need to learn to read between the lines sweetheart," he answered amusingly. "But I'll explain later, right now we need to finish scoping this place and start planning-while also doing some research about dear old Nayden's dead mummy," he said in a hushed tone.

"Oh so it's Nayden now is it?" she inquired quietly, arching an eyebrow, beginning to piece things together. "Fine then, we'll talk later," she added, before jumping surprise as someone grabbed hold of her arm from behind her, Adrian whipped out his wand and pointed it at the person. Lyrisadora looked behind her in confusion, her face becoming more confused as she recognised the person to be the homeless woman from last night who had been rabbling on about mushrooms. "What on earth-"

"Пазете се от управлението елф!" the woman hissed, her eyes frantic. "_Beware of the running elf!_" Lyrisadora translated in her head.

"Get off her," Adrian ordered firmly, harshly pulling the woman's arm away from Lyrisadora, the woman stumbling back. "Get out of here you crazy old bat," he snapped. Lyrisadora stared at the woman in astonishment.

"Управлението не трябва да следват!" The unbalanced woman yelled hurriedly, clutching her head. _"The running-you mustn't follow!"_

"What is she saying?" Adrian questioned in confusion, looking towards Lyrisadora.

"Огънят ще отнеме живота на невинен," the woman rambled on, Adrian and Lyrisadora stepped back, Lyrisadora watched as the woman was taken away by the museum guards, registering her words, her gut twisting as she translated them as "_The fire will take the life of an innocent."_

* * *

><p><strong>40! The ball is now rolling. Hope you guys like this one, let me know what you think.<strong>

**HAVE A HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!**


	41. Hide and Seek

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Warning: I suck and trying to wright a Bulgarian accent so I apologies beforehand for this.**

**Quote**** origin-Denis Waitley **

**'...'-heard as Bulgarian**

* * *

><p><strong>Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.<strong>

**Chapter: Hide and Seek  
><strong>

* * *

><p>When Conks had been brought into the world by his timid mother, this had not been the life he had expected. Up until he was a teenager and sold off to the Balik family, he had expected he would spend the rest of his days happily serving a self respecting family, obeying their every whim and living a perfectly boring life until he died, something he always wanted. The moment his Master Balik started hearing the voices however, was when everything changed and he knew things would be anything but blissfully boring as he so wished.<p>

He always blamed himself for being so blind to the signs, the little details that made all the difference. Thaddeus Balik; born in Poland but raised in England from the age of four. Had always been special, at least that is what Conks had heard the boy's aunt say. Mistress Olga Balik; a polish born witch and Thaddeus Balik's only living relative. Conks didn't know why his Master had no parents or why Olga would never speak of it, Conks never questioned anything, it wasn't his place and perhaps that had been his greatest mistake. Never wondering why she didn't let Thaddeus attend Hogwarts when he received his letter, never thinking it concerning how extremely protective and paranoid the aunt was with the young Master, filling the young boy's head of stories of the bad and horrible things that dwelled in the world, making it seem all that bleaker.

The only thing close to questioning the environment he was in when the Mistress had ordered him to lock Thaddeus away when the boy had tried to run away from home at the age of fourteen. When she had given him that order, Conks had hesitated, paused and opened his mouth to speak, with no sound coming out. His Mistress had grown angry and repeated the order more harshly, to this Conks obeyed, himself still apprehensive, yet still he obeyed and did not dwell on the order given, even when the boy was kept locked away for more than a day, only becoming concerned when Thaddeus hadn't been fed for two days, the concern growing once that two days stretched to a week, until Olga let the boy out and fed him. Conks had watched as the aunt cradled the starved weak boy in her arms, apologising for being so harsh and reassuring him that she loved him so very much. A sight Conks couldn't help but find disturbing.

These memories were the things Conks thought of as he walked through the dark forest in Bulgaria, himself trying to understand how his life had become this, a stealing house elf who was supposedly freed after his Master's supposed death, who turned out to not be so dead as everyone had thought, but more insane and broken than before.

Conks had been searching for hours, feeling misery take hold of him as he felt hopeless, knowing he couldn't return to his master empty handed, he needed to find the girl and boy that had disappeared, last time he had searched for them the rubble from the mountain had indicated signs of a fight as many rocks had collapsed and lay scattered, not knowing what to do he had searched the area, finding nothing, they were long gone and it was hard to see in the night. Now he was searching for a second time and the result seemed bleaker, the sun was just setting, causing the sky to light up in an array of warm colours, giving the forest a faded calm look.

Conks stumbled over a tree branch and fell flat on his face, this being the last straw as he let despair over take him, his eyes watering as he sniffed, before letting out a loud bawl and cried. Curled up in a ball, he stayed like this for some time until he felt a soft hand smooth away his forehead. 'Why are you weeping small creature,' said a soft voice in a foreign tongue, Conks couldn't understand what she had said as he looked up, his eyes widening in shock as he laid eyes on the most beautiful young woman he had ever met, the woman's face glowing, her silky wavy hair a rich red, her perfectly sculpted face peering down at him.

After a moment Conks forced himself to speak. "C-Conks is lost Miss," he explained timidly, hurriedly sitting up as the woman watched him curiously.

"Ah, English. You have come var little elf," she said, straitening up. "I am Meliai, a member of ve Veela court, I know vis forest like ve back of my hand," she said. "I vill help you find vour way," she added warmly.

Conks hesistated before swallowing his remaining courage. "Conks is looking for a young Witch and Wizard, had the Miss seen them?" he questioned quietly, his breath hitched his his throat as Meliai's eyes grew cold.

"Voung Vitch and Vizard?" she replied slowly, her voice turning cold.

"Y-yes miss, a girl which is blonde and a boy which is being brown haired," he said anxiously.

"Ah I see, I have seen them," she replied calmly, her tone dangerous. "Vy do you search for vem?" she questioned, beginning to circle him.

Conks watched her cautiously. "Conks was separated from them," he began, his mind racing as he tried to think, resisting the urge to punish himself for deceiving the Veela, something which was easier considering the woman was not a witch, meaning she yielded less power over his conditioned mind, a Veela ranking lower than a witch in a house elf's eyes. "Conks needs to find them so that he can help them go home," he lied.

Meliai eyed him suspiciously. "I see….very well ven," she said slowly. "Vey have ventured to ve magical community of Bulgaria, you will find vem in a place called Opulchenska," she explained, seeing no harm in telling the elf, fully aware of the consequences the arrogant wizard would suffer if he did not keep his end of the bargain, knowing he would suffer greatly, something that made her smile.

"Thank you!" exclaimed Cronks happily, rushing over to hug the woman. Meliai smirking at him as she patted his head fondly, amused by the small creature as it disappeared in a pop.

* * *

><p><em>Beware the running elf<em>, the sentence that Lyrisadora couldn't get out of her head, along with two others, _the running elf-you musn't follow _and _the fire will take the life of an innocent_. Providing a prominent distraction for the remainder of the day, meaning she was only half listening to Adrian's rambling about how he was piecing everything together, well the bits about Yasen's life, even locating where his office was. An office they were currently standing in, a mundane crowded room in one of the many rooms of the town's university, where Yasen worked part time lecturing students on Bulgarian history. The place had a series of strong wards placed upon it, meaning getting in had been a great difficulty, but far from impossible. After a good two hours of combined magic, the wards had been weakened and brought down, allowing them access to the empty office.

But even as they searched the place for any vital information, her thoughts stayed on what the woman had said, trying to understand the warning, the elf the woman was referring to made her think of Conks, someone she suspected they would be meeting soon enough. The woman could have been a seer, or she could have been a simple crazy mad woman, but the latter seemed more accurate, if anything Lyrisadora needed to talk to her. However their lied the problem of the fact she had no idea where the woman was, seeing how when Lyrisadora's had tried to go looking for her once the guards had thrown her out and had found she had disappeared.

Lyrisadora massaged the bridge of her nose as she believed herself going crazy, shaking her head as she tried to focus on finding something of relevance. Her eyes rested on some nearby photos on the small fireplace in the corner of the room, moving images of a young boy and his parents, the boy looking around two or three dressed in brown and white robes, hair messy and face fresh and full of life, the boy no doubt Yasen and his mother and father. She noted that as the images progressed, Yasen's father became absent, noting a ten year old still happy Yasen and his mother on a beach, father absent. She examined the back of the photos, looking for any notes or messages that might hold importance, only to find simple dates the photo was taken.

So far they had found mountains of research on the Veela, maps on their territory along with many non-fiction and plain fiction books on myths surrounding them, Yasen was anything but Obsessive and by the dates and series of information, his mother was the same. Her life's work passed down to her son, who seemed determined to finish what she started.

But still they had found no Cornucopia. "I've looked in every nook and cranny and I can't find it," Adrian exclaimed in exasperation, walking into the room.

"I told you he wouldn't keep it here," she said curtly, making sure the photo's were back in their former place. Dusting off her leather clad gloved hands.

"Well he didn't keep it guarded in the museum, so I just assumed," he argued. "Find anything interesting?" he questioned.

Lyrisadora shook her head. "No," she sighed, pacing around the room as she tried to think, forcing her distracting thoughts to one side. "Did you find his planner diary?" she questioned.

"Nope," he answered.

"He must keep it on him," she concluded.

"How are you sure he keeps a planner diary anyway?" he questioned.

"He's a planner, he plans everything to near detail, documenting everything, it's only realistic that he'd have a planner diary," she drawled. "If we're going to find out the best time to kidnap him, we need to know his schedule," she explained, a wicked grin crept on her face as she looked to Adrian. "You could always seduce him, a simple kiss-"

"No," said Adrian sternly, his eyes narrowed. "I don't swing that way I'm afraid," he said coldly.

Lyrisadora folded her arms. "Well I can't do it, like you said I'm not his type," she argued.

"Let's not argue here, we'll make plans back at the hotel," he said firmly, pulling out his wand to make sure everything was perfectly back into place.

"Alright fine, but at least it's an easy way to search his clothes," she reasoned.

Adrian groaned. "Could you _not_, please," he hissed, giving her a withering look as he peered round the doorway to check the coast was clear, quickly ushering her out as they left the office, twitching the lights off and silently sneaking away, missing sight of a house elf watching them from behind a pillar.

* * *

><p>The artificial sunset in the underground community was perfect, that was the one word that summed it up in Lyrisadora's eyes as she looked up onto the sky from the opened hotel window, allowing herself to leisurely view the sight. The sunset was a combination of warm oranges and yellows merges together, fading in beautifully as some streams of blurred pink came through, the whole artificial sky a massive painting of colour, like a rich fire in the summer.<p>

She guessed a lot of magic had gone into making it enchanted like that, but she supposed it was to make up for the lack of real sunlight, painting a pretty picture to make up what they didn't have, true the people weren't trapped here, but the whole shops, hotels and public area were here, a whole community that was regularly filled with people. There was the other fact that during the witch hunts this served as a sanctuary for witches and wizards, a smart move that no doubt had taken a lot of combined magic to make.

She was brought out from her musing from the sound of the door opening, her hand instinctively grabbing her wand as the door opened fully, relaxing as Adrian emerged, and two brown paper bags in his right hand. He smirked and closed the door behind him, tossed the bags on his bed. "Bon appetite, take away from the cheapest place in Opchenska-or whatever it's called," he announced.

Lyrisadora closed the window and walked over to the bed, picking up one of the bags and sniffing it. "What did you get?" she questioned curiously, watching as Adrian opened his bag.

"Fried pixies, I hear they're delicious," he answered, taking out a lumpy battered piece and taking a huge bite from it.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at him before glancing down at her bag, her stomach rumbling. Sighing she took out a piece and cautiously took a small bite chewing it slowly. "This is actually…quite good…which is weird," she said gradually, expecting food to taste disgusting.

"I know, I mean I wouldn't choose it over house elf cooked food, but it's still good," Adrian drawled sitting on the bed.

Lyrisadora's finger twitched at the house elf reference, her mind lingering to what the woman had said, thinking now was the best time to bring it up. "You know that woman at the museum this morning," she began, sitting next to him.

"The crazy one who was rambling? She's hard to forget," he replied dryly.

"Yes well, I think she was trying to warn me-well us-about Conks, she said '_beware the running elf'_ and '_the running elf-you mustn't follow',"_ she explained.

Adrian looked like he very much wanted to scoff, however the elf reference did seem oddly coincidental. "Well, I guess that's strange, but she didn't seem entirely with it so I wouldn't mark her as a reliable source, besides we have bigger things to worry about, like finding this cornucopia," he pointed out.

"True, but she might be a seer, she could be trying to warn us," she argued.

"Yeah but seer's aren't the most accurate of sources, their prophecies can be misleading," he protested, devouring the rest of his food in three bites.

"Ew," Lyrisadora said deadpanned, raising an eyebrow as he stuffed his mouth. "Anyway, I think we should just be wary, Conks could catch up with us," she said.

Adrian swallowed down his food and wiped his mouth before turning to her. Yes, but it's probably going to take him a while, after all he doesn't know where to look," he reasoned.

"I still think we should be on guard," she said firmly.

"Yes of course, will do," he replied dismissively, removing another fried pixie from the bag.

Lyrisadora shot him an annoyed look. "I'm serious Adrian," she said sternly.

Adrian sighed. "Yeah sure," he said, earning a growl. "So how are we going to steal Yasen's diary?" he questioned, quickly changing the subject to avoid an argument.

Lyrsadora paused, forgetting about her frustration as she tried to think of a plan. "Well personally I think the seduction rout would be the best way to go," she began, Adrian's eye narrowing at her. "But since that isn't going to happen, we'll have to take a more creative route, she added.

"Listen why don't we just stake out the Museum, he's bound to be their late working overtime to set up this big presentation," Adrian suggested.

Lyrisadora pondered on this idea. "To do that we'd need to find somewhere to hide so people wouldn't notice us spying on the museum," she pointed out.

"Less than two days is all we need, we could just appear to take a fancy to a popular restaurant, we keep hidden and blend in with everyone else we should be fine," he reasoned. "We get him when it's late at night, I'll _coincidentally_ bump into him just a he's leaving the museum and get him to have a drink with me, slip a potion into his drink and then we can integrate him," he explained.

"And if that doesn't work?" Lyrisadora inquired.

"Knock him out and quickly drag him away, but I prefer the latter, it's less brutal….but you should be on standby just in case things get ugly," he replied, taking another bite of his fried pixie.

"Thanks for the confidence booster," she muttered sarcastically, biting back a groan as she thought of all the things that could go wrong at this stage.

Her thoughts turning back to her friends and family, guessing they would have discovered her disappearance and no doubt worried sick, herself wanting to contact them desperately to tell them she was alright and safe, unsure how, seeing how owl would take too long, message flooing restrictions were slightly different here. She sighed. "Adrian, do you think our plant will still be alive when we get back?" she questioned dully.

Adrian stretched as he laid down on the bed. "I doubt it," he answered dryly.

"Yeah, I figured."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys had a happy Easter! I sure did, so much chocolate :D<strong>

**Hope you guys like this chapter, I know it's pretty short and not a lot happens, but a longer chapter was going to take longer to write, so here's the result. **

**Hope you like it, Review! :D**

**P.s didn't realise I wrote three 'Hope you' lol**


	42. Flawed Design

** First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Warning: I suck and trying to write a Bulgarian accent so I apologies beforehand for this.**

**Quote**** origin-J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix_  
><em>**

**'...'-heard as Bulgarian**

* * *

><p><strong>Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike<strong>

**Chapter: Flawed Design  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>16th February 1994<em>

"So Dumbledore, what you're trying to tell us, is that you've lost our children and haven't the faintest idea where they are," Lucius Malfoy stated coldly, his tone dangerously soft as he faced the headmaster, himself accompanied by his wife Narcissa and Adrian Pucey's father, who were all sat in a row facing the headmaster who sat behind his desk in his office.

Dumbledore sighed silently, thinking how best to word his explanation, a tense silence hanging in the air. "The school did not lose your daughter Lucius, the theory stand that she was transported by a house elf along with Adrian Pucey," he began. "The story I have just told you is the explanation as to how she has gone missing, the rest I'm afraid is a mystery," he explained diplomatically.

"In other words, you have no idea where they are and there's nothing you can do to find them," Lucius concluded smoothly, his eyes narrowing dangerously, his wife mirroring him as she stared at the headmaster with loathing.

Dumbledore buried a wince, his guilt growing. "I'm sorry, but we are looking into it-"

"First my son now my daughter," Narcissa snapped suddenly, her glare intensifying. "My son injured by a brute beast in class, under the school's watch. Now my daughter is missing and could be dead for all I know, and again this happened under _your watch_," she said icily, her tone chilling.

"You're lucky we haven't filed a lawsuit," Elatus Pucey said solemnly, his face gaunt.

"A threat that still stands," Lucius chimed coldly, never taking his eyes off the headmaster.

Dumbledore clasped his hands together on his desk, as he looked at the three parents. "There is still hope, I do have a theory which could lead us to finding them," he reassured.

Lucius arched a mocking eyebrow at him. "Oh _really_? Do tell," he sneered, looking at him expectantly.

Dumbledore ignored the tone and continued. "The house elf that transported them is named Conks, he was a house elf in the school's service for eight years, he came here after his former owner committed suicide; a Mr Thaddeus Balik. His master was dead, therefore he was free to work at Hogwarts," he explained, Elatus interrupting him with a choked cough.

"Sorry," the said man apologised as he cleared his throat.

Dumbledore nodded curtly before continuing. "Conks would not have stolen that cup unless ordered to, which would mean he would be under someone else's control than the schools," he continued.

"But you just said his master was dead, technically since he was working for you, he could only serve the school," Elatus stated, earning two frustrated looks from the Malfoys.

"Perhaps and yes that could further the argument that he is now under someone else's services," Dumbledore indulged.

"Seeing how by law he's a free elf since his master is dead, he could serve another master," Narcissa pointed out.

"Yes that does add to the argument, but things didn't add up, so I then began to wonder, why would elf would risk so much for a new master, unless there was a strong connection. Thaddeus Balik had no family after his aunt died, ten years ago, he was recorded to have had no friends and often remained in isolation," he explained. "Another thing which made me ponder, was that they never confirmed his body, when he committed suicide, he burned his house down with fiendrey, all they found was a body _similar_ to his and personal possessions on it which linked it to him, an envelope found in his vault at Gringottes holding a suicide note inside, Conks had conveniently been sent away to gather groceries just before the suicide was committed. So if Thaddeus faked his death and went underground, technically Conks is still under his ownership," he explained.

There was a pause for a moment as the three former Slytherin's soaked up the information. "It would explain why an elf would do such a thing, stealing isn't in an elf's nature," Elatus pointed out warily.

Lucius seemed reluctant to agree with the headmaster, but he too had to admit there was a good amount of logic to his theory. "So this Mr Thaddeus is responsible? Have you made any attempt to try and locate him, any family homes he may reside in?" Lucius questioned coldly. "Seeing how the elf was under your care, therefore the matter is still your responsibility," he added acidly.

Dumbledore closed his eyes and calmed his mind before responding to Lucius. "Yes I am investigating the matter and I apologise for not keeping a firmer eye on Conks, I was under the impression he was harmless," Dumbledore reasoned. "However I was wrong," he added. "Lyrisadora and Adrian are level headed smart students, near the age of adulthood, I trust they will find their way home. And I will continue to help them complete that journey quicker."

"You're speaking as though we should just leave them to have their little adventure!" snapped Narcissa fiercely, her eyes watering, a lump forming in her throat.

"No Mrs Malfoy, I mean to imply nothing of the sort," Dumbledore quickly protested, trying to keep the situation calm and controlled. "I am only saying that Lyrisadora and Adrian are not helpless. Do you trust that your daughter is resourceful and can take care of herself?" he reasoned.

Narcissa remained silent as she pursed her lips, refusing to answer. Elatus however paused as he considered the headmaster's point, before nodding. "Adrian is resourceful, I've taught him that much and his magic is up to sparse,so I do understand what you're trying to say, they're resourceful students," he said curtly.

"Thank you Elatus," Dumbledore responded curtly.

Narcissa clenched her fists as her eyes burned into the headmaster's skull. "Be as it may, I want my daughter found as quickly as possible, whether you have to hunt down every eye witness, elf and ransack every potential hideout. I don't care how I just want her found!" her voice near hysterics, her composer slipping as her bottom lip trembled, looking down, Lucius placed a comforting hand on hers as she gradually calmed.

There was a tense silence as Dumbledore's face sunk. "I assure you they will be found," he reassured, his mind turning to that of the flawed investigation of Thaddeus Balik's suicide case.

* * *

><p>The enchanted afternoon sky glowed over the busy town below, behind the Museum on Old Versika Levski street stood an apartment building that overlooked the back of the museum. The apartment building held four floors, the bricks looking grimy and moss ridden, the building lay mostly quiet as a majority of the occupants were away at work. It was on the second floor on which Adrian Pucey was currently residing, his frame sat on the large window sill of the closed window, apartment number eight. His eyes stayed locked on the back entrance of the museum before him, viewing it through a slit in the heavy drawn curtains, a large seashell in his hand, as he leant his head back on the wall behind him, letting out a long sigh before holding the shell to his mouth.<p>

"I'm bored," he said flatly, before holding the shell to his ear, waiting for a reply.

"And? I fail to see how this affects me," Lyrisadora replied evenly from the other end of the enchanted seashell.

"And I want you to amuse me, tell me a joke," Adrian pushed.

"No," she replied firmly.

Adrian sighed, looking around the apartment lazily before replying. "Fine be like that, just trying to lighten the mood. How are things at your end?" he questioned carelessly.

"Still no sign," she reported, herself on stationed at the front of the museum, sitting in café as she looked out the window, giving a clear sight of the museum, a book next to her coffee on the table. "I'll no doubt have to leave in a few hours, there's only so much food left on this menu to try," she drawled. "How are things where you are? Did you find an empty apartment?" she questioned quietly.

Adrian's lips twitched. "Not exactly, but close enough to. To cut a long tale short the guy who lives here is unconscious and tied up in the closet," he answered casually.

There was a pause before she spoke again. "Just make sure you obliviate him afterwards," she advised tensely. "I'll call you back when something happens," she added before cutting off.

Adrian tossed the shell in the air before catching it in his hand, surveying the apartment as he drummed his fingers on his knee, eyes absently flickering to the locked the closet before glancing at the draw which held the unconscious man's wand, recalling how relatively easy it had been to disarm the unsuspecting man, then again the man had just woken up so he supposed such a surprise attack was unexpected. The wards around the apartment had been the hardest part to get through, though not especially strong, they still held a good fair amount of strength to keep intruders out.

Adrian continued to stare out the window in disinterest, waiting for a single glimpse of trouble, but found himself quickly disappointed. Usually a patient person such waiting wouldn't really have bothered him but the growing anxiety of the vow and time limit was taking its toll. He absently scratched his scarred palm a distasteful constant reminder of the blood vow, wanting to get the kidnap over and done, knowing the longer they stayed here the more people would question their disappearance.

Upon this thought he started to wonder how his parents were taking the news of his disappearance, himself aware that the school would have had to notify them eventually once their disappearance was known. He leant back into the wall as he thought about them, deciding that the only one who would probably care enough to inquire would be his father, his mother probably after a month or so, which really didn't surprise Adrian in the slightest.

His eyes fell back onto the shell in his hand, pausing before bringing it back to his mouth. "Lyra," he began.

There was a brief silence before a reply was met. "Yes," she answered impatiently.

"When you leave school, what are you going to do?" he inquired smoothly.

"Why are you asking me?" she replied tightly.

"Just interested," he replied curtly. "Personally politics is too messy for me, I prefer business, though not in England, America is nicer. I went there once-"

"Why are you telling me this?" Lyrisadora questioned irritably.

"Just telling you about my ambitions for the future, a little conversation to pass the time, no need to be a bitch" he replied innocently.

"its second nature with you I'm afraid," she replied.

He smiled in amusement. "So what are your plans, or 'dreams'?" he questioned.

There was a hesitant silence, something Adrian noted as he waited for her reply. "I'm not sure, I never gave it much thought, I suppose I wouldn't mind," she confessed tightly.

Adrian bit back a scoff, knowing she was holding back. "Huh I see, so I guess working as a cleaner would suit you just fine?" he suggested condescendingly. "Come on you're a Slytherin, you must have some ambition in you? You managed to get yourself in this mess," he pointed out, holding the shell to his ear as he waited.

"I want to be someone successful," she replied after some hesitation, waiting for his reaction, Adrian remained silent as he waited for more. "I want to have control over my life…" she trailed off, emotion seeping into her tone.

"Elaborate," he said curiously.

"I can't explain it… she concluded.

At this he scoffed. "Sorry that isn't going to cut it. Elaborate, tell me why you want do something important," he pushed, his voice determined.

Over at the café Lyrisadora bit her tongue and drummed her finger as she tried to figure out what to say. His question catching her out. "This isn't the right place to talk about it," she answered firmly, looking around the café, making sure to keep her voice low, seeing some customers giving her off looks.

"Just tell me already," he snapped, Lyrisadora wondered why he was getting so worked up over this. She sighed quietly.

"I want to be important, I don't want to someone who stands there and watches," she hissed.

"Go on."

"I want power, some control, alright. I want to do something I'm proud of," she confessed, looking out at the museum. "There, happy now?" she added sarcastically

"Near enough, anyway I was just curious," he replied lightly.

Lyrisadora narrowed her eyes at his tone. "I'm sure. So what's the plan? Going to promise me that you can make all my dreams come true," she questioned bitterly.

"No just curious to see what your plans are, for someone who wants to have control of her life, you sure do lack planning skills," he replied dryly.

"I'm leaving the conversation now," she said acidly.

"No don't do that, we're connecting. Come on, you obviously haven't opened up before. Besides you still owe me, so a simple conversation to pass the time is little to ask for," he reasoned.

Lyrisadora moved the seashell away as she groaned, remembering the vow he had made. "Alright fine, you get to ask me one more personal question and then we call the deal paid," she suggested begrudgingly.

"Sounds wonderful, let's see…ah, I know," he drawled, smirking at the question he was about to ask.

"Ask away," she replied sweetly, biting back a snarl as she drained her coffee.

"Are you a virgin?"

Lyrisadora's eyes bulged as the coffee burned her throat, taking a moment to compose herself. "Obviously not, Cedric and I were together for a few years after all," she replied curtly, wanting him to drop the subject.

Adrian let out a low whistle as he searched the larder in the apartment. "So you have training."

"If you dare say another word I'll rip the skin from your body, fingers first," she threatened warningly.

Adrian wasn't moved by the threat and just smirked as he took a bottle of butterbeer out of the larder. "And no doubt feed the rest to the dogs, but there's no need to be so sensitive, it's just sex," he drawled, closing the larder and making his way back to his spot at the window.

"No it's private, some things are better left unsaid Adrian," she argued tiredly.

He rolled his eyes at this as he opened the bottle. "To you maybe, but to me it doesn't really mean anything," he said dismissively as he took a drag of his drink.

There was a short pause before he heard her voice again. "So you think of it the same way you think of love?" she questioned.

"Precisely," he answered.

"Then what do you want then?" she questioned, catching him off guard. "I mean you obviously don't want to fall in love, since you consider it pointless," she added.

"I never said it was pointless, just unlikely," he corrected, shifting against the wall as he continued. "I mean people can claim to be in love, but nobody really knows what it really is. People put too much confidence in it, most of the time it's just young love. Besides I wouldn't want someone to have that much control over me."

"Love isn't about control," Lyrisadora snapped, Adrian detected a layer of hurt in her tone. "It's about a special bond people share and the moments they make," she argued evenly, regaining her composer. "I know it doesn't always last, but it's worth the risk," she reasoned.

"Even if the risk hurts others?" he argued.

"I…I suppose it does have it's cons, just like everything does, but it is important to love others," she reasoned.

Adrian just shrugged, keeping his eyes locked on the museum. "Maybe," he said, before choosing his next words more carefully. "I'm just saying that I personally don't want it," he began. "When you love someone they have a good amount of control over you and if you lose them it hurts, I don't want to be vulnerable like that, I mean I saw you and you were a wreck," he drawled, smirking as he heard a faint growl erupt from the shell.

Back at the café Lyrisadora's mind was moving, trying to figure out what Adrian really wanted from her. "Why do you want to marry me?" she questioned curiously.

"I like blondes."

"Stop messing around and tell me," she ordered sternly.

"I've already told you, I think you're-"

"I'm interesting and you don't want to have to marry an air headed girl, I'm aware. But Lucretia isn't an airhead, neither is Elizabeth," she interrupted.

"Lucretia is too snarky and Elizabeth is a tad too focussed on witch weekly for my liking," Adrian countered.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Either way, I don't understand why you want me so much?" she questioned, her tone earnest.

There was a long silence for a while as she waited for an answer, eyes staying focused on the museum as the waitress poured her a fifth cup of coffee, giving her a curious look as she glanced at the shell, before brushing it off and walking away to serve the next table. "I've never cared about anyone like I have you before," he suddenly spoke, catching her by surprise. "I've cared about my friends, but not like I do you."

Adrian placed his bottle down as he waited for her to respond. "In what way?" she questioned, a slight cautiousness in her tone.

He chose his next words carefully, not really sure how to communicate his reasoning. "I care about your future, your wellbeing and your potential. I feel a need to care for you and I want you I feel I'm entitled to you."

"Like you own me," she suggested, evident edge to her voice.

"Well isn't love like that? You claim I'm obsessive yet wasn't Diggory for wanting you all for himself, ripping you away from your family?" he argued, glad to hear hesitation in her reply.

"Some love is like that, but real love isn't, love means that you take the other persons feelings into account, there's a warmth and a connection," she bit back.

"And you would know? After all it isn't like you're parent's control you and it's not like Puff boy didn't try and control your life either," he replied sarcastically, a cruel edge to his tone.

His comment seemed to trigger the desired effect as it was some time before she replied, her voice holding clear hurt. "Love isn't perfect, just like people aren't perfect," she bit back. "Things may have ended badly for us, but I still loved him…maybe a part of me still does…but that's life and I still believe love is something everyone should experience, because in a sense that's what living is," she argued.

Adrian considered her point. "True, I'll respect that," he admitted begrudgingly. "But it's still a weakness," he added.

"You have your view I have mine, the point is I don't belong to you and I won't marry someone who doesn't love me, I won't be owned anyone," she said determinedly.

Adrian sighed. "If you insist. But anyway, you want to know why I'm obsessed with you so much?" he questioned, his questioned being met with a stubborn silence. "You try so hard to be a different person with your family and friends, giving so much effort in keeping up appearances," he continued, brushing away the curtains slightly to gain a better view of the outside. "You slip into both roles like it's second nature, a subtle split personality disorder ready to crack and the fact you're only vaguely aware of it makes you just that bit special."

At the word 'personality disorder', she clenched her fists, a slight panic filling her. "I'm not crazy," Lyrisadora argued instantly, her voice jumping a tad in the middle.

"Never said you were," he reassured. "You're perfectly sane don't worry. I'm just saying that it's interesting, because when you pretend to be someone you're not for so long, you tend to become the person you pretend so much to be," he drawled.

"I…just stop analysing me," she ordered desperately. "Stop it now, or so help me I'll hex you so hard you won't have to worry about that blood vow," she warned.

Adrian reviewed his options as he remained silent, hearing the clear distress in her tone. "Calm down," he said. "You're getting worked up," he added.

"I am calming down, I don't need you to tell me," she hissed defiantly, forcing herself to regain her composer. "I still don't quite understand though, because you can care about a lot of people in your life, so why is this specific caring for me so different?" she questioned.

He hesitated for a moment, something he reprimanded himself for doing, allowing her to have an effect on him. "Caring about you is probably the closest thing to love I'll get," he answered, an answer she hadn't suspected. "I'm the only person who really knows you and will accept_ all_ of you, not just the nice side, but worst as well, something Diggory couldn't do," he finished. "Does that answer your question?" he inquired, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of a figure walking towards the back of the museum, himself only half listening to the shell.

Which was just as well seeing how it was a while until Lyrisadora spoke. "Yes it does…" she answered warily. Her hands clutching her cup of coffee, placing the shell down as she took a long sip, her mind processing their conversation. "Listen…Adrian..."

"Yasen's been sighted, Heading down there now," his voice interrupted.

Lyrisadora's eyes widened as she sweeped up the shell. "Stun him and I'll be there in a moment, hide afterwards," she hissed, hastily paying the bill and leaving her coffee as she hurried to Adrian's location with a careful urgency.

Some of the eyes of the occupants of café followed her as she left. A middle aged man at the café counter watched her leave before turning to the waitress. 'Was she having a conversation with a shell?' he questioned warily.

The waitress just shrugged. 'Strange girl from a strange country.'

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry," said Cho suddenly, herself standing outside the greenhouses with Cedric,<p>

"What for?" he questioned in confusion.

Cho took swallowed. "For ruining things with you and Lyrisadora, I didn't mean to," she stressed, before sighing in frustration, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "I've liked you for a long time and when you got a girlfriend I tried not to like you for a long time, but that didn't work. And I'm sorry but I don't like Lyrisadora," she said.

"Go on," Cedric pushed cautiously.

"I didn't like how she ignored you and I didn't want her to hurt you," she continued. "Because I knew her family were bad news and I didn't want you to suffer from that. I know what they're like, I mean her father nearly cursed my dad because he wouldn't agree to get rid of Dumbledore back when the chamber of secrets was opened, they're dangerous people and I didn't want you mixed up with that," she argued.

"I knew that well before I started dating Lyra, Cho," Cedric protested, before shrugging. "I knew the risks, when you're in love you do crazy things," he stated.

"I know,," Cho agreed awkwardly. "But it wasn't just that, she's selfish but not a bad person and I get that growing up as a Malfoy must be difficult, but I was jealous because she had you," she confessed, becoming more embarrassed. "And every time she upset you I disliked her just that bit more."

There was a quiet pause as the two stood in silence. "This is all messed up," Cedric sighed, leaning against the greenhouse wall, rubbing his eyes. "I didn't want it to end like this," he added.

"And I didn't want to be the bitch who broke you guys up," Cho said guiltily.

"It was long overdue," Cedric argued, shrugging. "I hope she's okay, though the fact she's apparently with Pucey isn't that comforting," he added.

"Yeah me to," Cho said, earning an arched eyebrow in response. "Hey I'm not cold-hearted! I never wanted her to disappear like that, my feelings for you feel wrong now, ever since she's disappeared the guilt has been coming in lapses, I never wanted this," she argued fiercely. "I just wanted to be with you, now I don't know what I want," she added sadly.

Cedric was quiet for a moment, unsure how to comfort her. "We both have issues we need to sort out, some apologise are in order."

* * *

><p>"Awfully sorry," said Lyrisadora as she knocked out the partially beaten Yasen to the ground, surveying the yard of the back of the museum, concern and anxiousness sketched on her face.<p>

Adrian was gone without a trace, Yansen was disarmed, beaten and found moaning on the floor and she had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Why couldn't things ever go to plan?

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the delay, still working on how to write Cho and Cedric together.<strong>

**Anyway let me know what you guys think!**

**REVIEW**


	43. Beware of the running house elf

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**I will FINISH this story, no matter how long it takes!**

**'...'-Bulgarian**

**Quote origin-Florence and the Machine,Rabbit Heart (Raise it up)**

* * *

><p><strong>Frozen in the headlights<strong>

**Chapter: Beware of the running house elf**

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora groaned as she stuffed Yasen in the backroom of an abandoned shoe shop. Yasen dressed in a large coat and hat to hide his appearance, she placed her wand back in her robes after using it to levitate Yasen's body in a way that gave the appearance of a slugged limped walk as she held him close to her, exclaiming loudly how he mustn't drink so much next time, while also trying to find somewhere to hide it, stumbling across the shop and breaking in. Sighing in relief as she straightened up and surveyed the abandoned shop, the place was coated in dust the inside of the building. She glanced at the tied up unconscious form of Yasen, sighing heavily as her thoughts turned to Adrian dread filling.<p>

"Beware the running house elf," she muttered, a warning which had proved fruitless. She frowned as she thought of that woman, the seer may have been a bit off, but her predictions seemed legit, her from deepened as she remembered the other prediction the woman had made. _The fire will take the life of an innocent,_ that one was the most troubling. She placed her hands on her hips as she tried to figure out what to do next, interrogate Yasen and find the Cornucopia or try and find Adrian.

She paced around the store as she thought of the best action, Conks was the prime suspect in kidnapping Adrian, meaning he was probably being held hostage for interrogation, which could end badly if the elf's master was insane, not to mention the Veela would kill Yasen the moment she handed him over to them. Lyrisadora rubbed her temples, trying to calm her nerves, taking a deep breath before looking back at Yasen. Not to mention people were going to start looking for Yasen, the more she thought the more she realised she might end up in a murder case. She ran a hand through her hair as she tried to find a loophole in the vow Adrian had made, they had promised hand over Yasen as well as the Cup, a grin broke out on her face before looking back at Yasen with determination, they wanted Yasen, she'd give them Yasen.

She walked over to him and checked his condition, wondering how long he'd be out for, his wand safely tucked away in her robes, he'd be out for another, two or three hours estimated. Taking out her wand she levitated him to a closet, gagging him and tightening his bonds as she silenced the inside of the closet and dumped in and locked the door, before hurrying out of the shop to find the mysterious seer.

* * *

><p>When Adrian started to regain conciseness the first sensation that hit him was a painful sting in the back of his head, a throbbing that clouded his senses. He felt confused as his body tingled, the last thing he remembered was fighting that retched house elf, ending with him getting knocked out by the said elf.<p>

At remembrance of the elf Lyrisadora's nagging voice _beware of the running house elf_ reverberating in his ears, causing him to groan in frustration as he tried to silence the nagging voice, easing his eyes open as he heard footsteps faintly. His vision was blurred as he frowned, seeing a dark blurred figure stop in front of him. His sense becoming cleared, realising he was currently tied up in a wooden chair, ankles tied to the chair legs and hands tied behind his back. He blinked rapidly as his vision cleared.

"Oh…hello…" Adrian greeted anxiously, tugging on his restraints, his mind registering his situation as he tried to think. He looked back at the man, registering his dishevelled groggy appearance, looking into the man's tired stress lined piercing blue eyes. "Um….why am I here?" he questioned, hoping to get some answers from the man, getting kidnapped has not been something anticipated, then again it never really was to most people.

The man swallowed and appeared to be forcing himself to speak, strangely wary of Adrian's presence, Adrian arched an eyebrow at this, wondering why. "Where is the house cup," the man demanded sharply.

Adrian couldn't help but be surprised once he realised the man sounded English, the thought that maybe he wasn't in Bulgaria anymore entering his mind, which then made him realise this would cause a whole array of issues since he was now separated from Lyrisadora and had to complete his end of the bargain if they were to complete the vow and not suffer the consequences. So for now he'd have to first find out why he had been kidnapped and then how to escape. His first challenge was discovering who he was dealing with. So he narrowed his eyes, remaining quiet for a moment, calculating what his boundaries with this man were. "You'll have to be more specific, my memory is a little foggy right now, which is expected," he answered.

The man clenched his fists in anger, Adrian studied him, analysing his posture and the little ticks that revealed every crack that exposed the man's personality. "The Hogwarts house cup, the one you stole from Conks the house elf, where is it?"

"House cup…" Adrian mused, pretending to think, waiting to see how long the man could go without snapping. "Hm….give me a moment," he said, taking the time to gather his surroundings, realising he was currently in the middle of a living room/kitchen, with two doors leading to more rooms at the side. The place looking grimy and the colours adding to the dirt appearance, Adrian wrinkled his nose as the smell of sweat that engulfed the room was registered by his nose. He scanned the floor, but the room was dim, meaning finding any cracks, loose floorboards or hidden exits was difficult, he glanced back at the man, seeing his eyes narrow. "I don't think I have, are you sure you have the right person?"

Adrian watched as the man's face fell, before it moulded into something that resembled the look of realisation. "Conks!" he yelled at the shadows.

There was a moment of silence before the sound of bare feet erupted, a small gangly figure emerging from inside a broken cupboard, slowly crawling into view before propping itself up to stand, wringing its hands as it looked around fevretely. "Yes Master Balik?" Conks questioned apprehensively, looking prepared for a random assault.

"Are you sure this is the person who took the Cup?" the man, who Adrian had registered was the elf's master, Balik.

The elf nodded. "Yes Master, Conks is sure!" the elf answered strongly.

Balik turned back to Adrian. "Tell me us where the cup is," Balik ordered.

Adrian looked at him and the elf inquisitively, wondering what the hell was going on, and the elf was as stupid as elves came, but the master was more like a bodyguard than a person who could orchestrate a plan of actual intelligence. "Why do you even need this cup of yours, whatever it is, what's it for?" Adrian question, tired of not understanding.

Balik tensed, his shoulders hunched slightly. "I…we…Master needs it…to help get better..."

"What? What master? Why would he need an old cup to 'get better'," Adrian question in frustration, frowning at Balik.

Balik turned a deadly pale, wriggling his hands. "I…"

Adrian watched him before biting back a smirk, a plan forming in his mind. "If you tell me why you need the cup, then I might be able to help you," he reasoned, forcing his voice to sound sincere.

Balik seemed to see the bait and bit his lip, looking like a lost child. "Could you….I…we need the cup, because….the master can't get better until his soul is repaired…" he went on, Adrian listened intently as he watched the man struggle with his words. "Balik was alone and sick when master found him, he helped me, so now I have to help him, or he'll let the voices come back."

"Voices…you mean in your head…" Adrian said warily, looking the man over, recalling the different types of mental illnesses discovered by wizards, the earliest ones discovered being schizophrenia.

"Yes, but Master made them go away, so I only hear master's voice now…which is better than before…so I can sleep at night, the nightmares are still there though…but that's just to remind me…" Balik trailed off, before hitting himself and shaking his head. "Where's the cup! Master needs the cup!" he ranted, his mood changing drastically, much to Adrian's alarm.

Adrian decided his best bet was to keep the man talking. "I-I…this cup, why a specific cup, why not anything else, how would it help him?" he inquired hastily.

I seemed to the trick as it got Balik thinking. "Because…it has to have meaning….Master didn't explain properly, but there has to be a bond, or it won't be as strong….souls and Horc-" Balik was cut off as he screamed in pain, clutching his head in agony as Adrian watched wide eyed wondering what the heck was going on. "P-Please no I'm sorry! I know-I won't-I just-don't think!" he rambled, his eyes turning wild as he lunged t Adrian, causing him to cough as the sweaty smell of Balik hit him. "Please just answer!" Balik cried, his eyes watering, much to Adrian's alarm, the man was more emotionally erratic Moaning Myrtle, Balik clutched Adrian's robes and wept. "Just answer! Where is it!" he cried, before flinging back away from Adrian and hitting his head on the wall.

Adrian gaped as he watch d the grown man's breakdown, he had to admit it was slightly fascinating, the amount of erratic behaviour and emotion constantly changing randomly, showing the man had not self-control, like a new-born baby who acted only on instinct. Balik gritted his teeth and stopped banging his head on the wall, turning to face Adrian. "My Master…want's to speak with you," he exclaimed weakly.

Adrian's eyes widened slightly."Uh yeah….could we reschedule that?" he inquired nervously, watching as Balik's eyes started to grow darker. "That's a no then isn't it? Figured, alright where is he?" he questioned, looking around the room expectantly, wondering where this insane master had been hiding, no doubt silently observing the interrogation. As he was looking around he heard Balik groan and bones crack, causing Adrian to frown in confusion as he looked back up as Balik, seeing the man squeeze his eyes shut and clutched his head in pain. "You may want to get that checked out…." Adrian trailed off as the man's posture changed, shoulders becoming straighter and more relaxed, the piercing blue in his eyes becoming more sinister.

"There's no need for that, we have business to attend to," the not so Balik said.

Adrian looked perplexed, taking a moment to look around before scanning the man in front of him. "Are you-wait…you mean his master, is just another voice in his head," exclaimed Adrian.

The man sneered, a sneer which seemed to strangely fit on Balik's face. "No, I'm far more than that…to put it simply I'm a soul in his body," he elaborated casually.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at this. "You mean like a demon?" he questioned dryly.

The man frowned in annoyance, before chuckling darkly. "To a muggle perhaps, but no I'm not a demon, just a soul who has latched on to dear Balik here," his tone condescending.

Adrian suppressed a shiver, this man reminding him of something of a parasite. "A soul…well that makes sense I suppose, so you're in his head and can control his body?" he pushed, trying to find more answers.

For the time being the man appeared to be willing to entertain him with answers. "Only for a short amount of time and it is draining, but desperate times call for desperate measures, I need that cup," he said, his tone chilling, stepping closer to Adrian, resting a hand on his shoulder, Adrian despite himself held his breath as his fingers clenched tightly. "Balik's mind is weak, his soul is only half, I need to consume it, which means I need that cup," he said smoothly, Adrian's eyes stayed locked on his as the man smiled.

"And how do you expect me to get it?" Adrian questioned, struggling to keep his voice firm and even as his heartbeat increased.

The man reached into his pocket. "You will be used for two purposes," pulling out the sea shell Lyrisadora and him used to communicate, holding it up to view. "The first being bargaining."

* * *

><p>Files of information on Thaddeus Balik lay scattered across Professor Dumbledore's desk, as the elderly man poured over every inch of the history of his family, the case surrounding his death and the events that occurred around the time.<p>

While all this was relevant in deciphering the man's personality and mental illness, it was a document about travel which had the headmaster's attention, he had been scanning through the dealings of illegal immigration that wizards and witches had dealt in, focussing on the descriptions on who had escaped England illegally with the help of Rashnove Gland who had once been in charge of the largest magical illegal immigration office up until five years ago when he had been found out, since he was now in Azkaban all his recent records on his dealings has been made public only gathering over the past twenty years, as it appeared Rashnove burnt records past a certain date so the evidence wouldn't gather, the main focus Dumbledore was focusing on was the ones that had taken place after Balik's disappearance.

He had narrowed it down to ten, ten male wizards who fit the scarce description provided, six countries where Balik had possibly fled to: America, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany and Australia. He pondered on where Balik would most likely flee to, looking over his childhood homes and family history, like sand dislikes, ambitions and what job he was last known to take.

Dumbledore sighed tiredly as he sorted through the files, the still evident situation with the Dementors and Sirius Black at hand, the minister's trust in him dimming ever so slightly as time passed. Pushing those thoughts aside he carried on with the task at hand, determined to find the missing students. Europe seemed the best place to start.

* * *

><p>'Excuse me have you seen a deranged woman muttering,' Lyrisadora questioned to people passing by, only to be met by the same answer, No. She sighed as she repeated the same questioned again to another hurdle of people passing by on the street, only to be met by the same answer. She groaned loudly, watching as the artificial sly turned to evening, wondering how much time she had left before Yasen awoke. Her legs ached as she caught sight of a bench nearby, seeing the people becoming scarce as the sun started to fade. Sighing in defeat she plumped herself on it, taking time to close her eyes and clear her mind.<p>

'There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you," said a carefree voice, causing Lyrisadora to jump and jerk her head to the voice's direction, her eyes widening at the sight of the middle aged homeless woman.

"You!" she exclaimed, recognising the woman she had been looking for. The Seer look confused at what she had said.

'I don't speak English….sorry,' the woman said shrugging, before sitting down next to her, allowing Lyrisadora to get a good look at her, registering the woman's misty brown eyes, pale complexion and round face which made Lyrisadora think of a full moon, shaking this thought Lyrisadora decided to get straight to the point, making sure to speak Bulgarian this time.

'Listen, I need your help, you made a prediction saying an innocent would die in the fire, along with others which have come true. And now my friend has kidnapped, I need to know what's going to happen next,' Lyrisadora explained quietly, her eyes earnestly locked on the Seer. The woman looked at her blankly. 'This is a lot to ask, but is there any warning you can give?" she questioned.

The Seer paused for a moment drifting off as she remained silent, Lyrisadora hoped this woman was sane enough to understand her predicament and not go on about mushrooms or any other nonsense.

'I don't know what I say when I make predictions, it's like an instinct…' the woman said vaguely. "Like right now," she said, her tone turning suddenly cheerful and she smiled at Lyrisadora. 'I came here because of a gut feeling, I get that sometimes, like a need to see someone,' she rambled, Lyrisadora growing more confused by the minute. 'I keep thinking about your face, it happens sometimes when I feel I have a lot to say to people….I think it happened when I saw you for the first time, I got this aura, this sense…..Like perfume!' she exclaimed.

'Um….listen-' Lyrisadora tried to interject, figuring this had been a bad idea.

'You think I'm mad don't you?' said the woman seriously, eyes boring into Lyrisadora's.

Lyrisadora was taken aback by the bluntness and blushed. 'Well…I'm sorry, for my rude-'

'Don't worry, everyone thinks I am,' said the woman, her tone turning meek, before shrugging dismissively. 'But when you lose everything, sometimes you can't help but embrace the madness,' she added tonelessly, her eyes dead, Lyrisadora looked at her in confusion as she tried to figure the woman out, the two remaining sombrely silent, until the woman broke the silence with a painful grin. 'But I suppose that's life now isn't it….but that doesn't make sense now does it? Well I suppose it does in its own way…" she trailed off.

Lyrisadora blinked, looking perplexed before sighing, trying to think of the best way to leave without being rude. "Well that's nice, but I'm on a time limit-'

'Oh I know! That's why I came quickly," said the Seer, stopping Lyrisadora in her tracks as she wondered what on earth this woman was saying. 'Give me your hand," she instructed, Lyrisadora hesitated before complying, the Seer traced the palm of her hand. 'This will help establish a connection, do you know of palm readings?' the seer questioned innocently, cocking her head to the side.

Lyrisadora nodded. 'The basics, I learned of it in divination, I didn't bother to learn more,' she confessed. 'Seer's use it to help establish a link of sorts? That's what I have heard, I do not know how it works.'

'You're correct! Your lifeline is the most important part,' she traced the middle of Lyrisadora's palm, closing her eyes as Lyrisadora looked at her questionably, wondering if all Seer's were like this.

After a while Lyrisadora glance dup at the sky, her brow furrowing as she wondered how long this would take and if she could afford any more time. 'How long is this….'

'Shhh,' the Seer said faintly, Lyrisadora snapped her mouth shut and remained silent, she nearly jumped when the Seer's eyes sprang open, seeming out of focus, her voice having a frantic edge to it. 'And you will have regrets, too many to count, picking the losing side to win. The alchemic circle will form at dawns light before the marching storm…." She began, her voice fast. Lyrisadora's eyes widened as she listened intently, the Seer's fingers tracing the different line son her palms. _'And the twin will die_.' Lyrisadora's eyes widened in shock.

'Wait what!-'

The Seer's eyes seemed to focus more on her. _'_In your family holds an ally, you must find and trust completely…'

'What about the twins! Who are you talking about?' Lyrisadora but in, shaking her with her other hand, panic and dread filling her. 'Please tell me who!' hoping it wasn't the Weasley twins, the Seer's muttering became fainter as she slowly de-tensed. Lyrisadora panicked once she realised what was happening. 'No please just tell me more! I need to know,' she begged frantically, staring desperately at the Seer.

The Seer's lips parted, struggling to get the words out. _'You cannot stop it._' She finished, closing her eyes and letting out a long breath as she regained herself, removing her hand from her palm. Lyrisadora stood frozen as she stared at the woman in dumbstruck, soaking in all the information, a lump forming in her throat. The woman seemed oblivious to this and just smiled. 'I hope that helped, I'm never sure what I say, but anyway I think that's all I needed to tell you.'

Lyrisadora shook her head absently. 'No, there must be more, that can't be it,' she pleaded desperately.

The Seer looked confused. 'I told you before, it's instinct, you can't light it up like a candle,' she tried to explain, snapping her fingers to emphasize. 'It's a surge of power that needs release and once it's released that's it,' she explained, shrugging.

Lyrisadora turned away, absorbing the news. Though not specific it was clear who the twins were, either Fred or George was going to die, the who being a mystery and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her eyes watered slightly, but she bit back the urge to cry, now was not the time, especially since she still had other issues at hand, besides the future could still be changed, she'd make sure Fred and George would remain safe and alive, up until they died a ripe age. She smiled at that, imagining then old and grey but at peace, a smile on their face as they drifted away. That was a better future, something she had to fight for.

Glancing back up at the sky she saw twilight coming, she narrowed her eyes and stood, before turning sharply to the Seer. 'Thank you….it wasn't the prediction I wanted, but the one I needed,' she concluded, the woman smiled.

'Thank you! I try my best….though I get confused sometimes…but about predictions and gut feelings, there when I'm most sane,' she stated happily.

Lyrisadora smiled sadly, but with a hint of fondness. 'I never got your name?'

'It's Violetter Olga, common name I know,' she answered brightly, waving a dismissive hand.

Lyrisadora smirked. 'I gathered,' she replied fondly. 'I'm sure we'll see each other again,' she added.

Violette looked confused. 'We will…'

Lyrisadora nodded. 'We will…now I must be going, people to interrogate, a moron to rescue,' she concluded, giving her a brief wave before walking away.

Violette sat on the bench still confuse, her brow furrowing as a thought occurred to her. 'You never told me your name!' she called.

'I'll tell you next time we meet!' Lyrisadora called back before hurrying away. Leaving the woman in a state of blissful confusion.

As she walked Lyrisadora's hands reached to the sea shell, frowning at it, receiving no reply last time she had attempted to contact Adrian, fresh after his disappearance, but only to be met by silence. She was about to put it back in her robe pocket, until she felt it tingle, the magic tingling her hand, her stomach sunk as she stared at the shell for a moment, frozen as she pondered whether to answer it, swallowing a lump in her throat as she put the shell to her ear to receive the message, a metallic voice spoke. "Hello."

Lyrisadora hesitated before speaking into the shell. "Hello, may I ask who's speaking?" she inquired tightly, before holding the shell up to her ear as she waited for an answer.

"Just call be Marvolo for the time being, I have your friend with me and I believe you have something of mine with you as well."

Lyrisadora bit back the comment _it wasn't yours to begin with_, as she took a deep breath. "An exchange?" she questioned, practically hearing the smile through his tone, satisfactory found through the arrogance that he had everything under control.

"Very much so. Now let's keep things simple, when you go to your hotel room you'll find a Portkey, it will take you to your location, the Portkey will only take one person, there is no return. You have 2 hours." The voice instructed coldly.

"I need 24," Lyrisadora said firmly. There was a pause, Lyrisadora had hoped she had taken this 'Marvolo' by surprise with that comment.

"I said 2 hours," the voice said icily.

Lyrisadora ignored the dread forming in her stomach. "I need 24."

"You are in no circumstances to haggle my dear," spat Marvolo acidly.

Lyrisadora forced her tone to sound braver than she actually felt. "Oh but I am, 2 hours isn't enough time to get the cup, I need more time," she argued, her heartbeat quickening as she attempted to control her breathing, which she couldn't help but hold in effort to stop it from getting to loud. "Just give me 24, two hours isn't enough time."

There was a painful pause as she held the shell to her ear. "Very well, 12 hours. Ask for anymore and I'll cut your friend's limbs off for every hours you request," the voice warned icily, tone sickly sincere.

Lyrisadora's mouth was dry as she nodded, even though she knew Marvolo couldn't see her. "Deal, 12 hours," she agreed.

"We'll be waiting," Marvolo said lightly, evident danger in the light tone. Lyrisadora hastily removed the shell from her ear as the tingle subsided, placing the shell back in her robe pocket, clenching her fists as she hurried to the Hotel.

* * *

><p><strong>Am back! Boy it's been a busy month, finishing exams, uni accommodation, student finance, birthday parties, BBQ'S and more importantly, Time management! <strong>

**Well I hope you guys like this one, I really want you guys to review to let me know what you guys think. Even if you hate it, tell me so I know, that way I can fix the flaws!**

**REVIEW!**


	44. Twisted Acquaintances

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**'...'-Bulgarian**

**Quote origin-Florence and the Machine,Rabbit Heart (Raise it up)**

* * *

><p><strong>This is a gift, but it comes with a price<br>Who is the lamb and who is the knife?**

**Chapter: Twisted acquaintances **

* * *

><p>Adrian watched as the man that possessed Balik's body, 'Marvolo', examined the shell in his hand after just finishing his conversation with Lyrisadora. There was an eerie silence as the man seemed lost in his own thoughts, leaving Adrian uncertain what to do, in no hurry to draw the man's attention. Logically he knew it was smart of Lyrisadora to bargain for twelve hours instead of the supposed two, however it did mean he was left at this lunatics mercy for the said time, torture did not seem appealing at all.<p>

Still twelve hours gave him time to think, hatch a plan of sorts, of course it was difficult to hatch a single plan seeing how Lyrisadora was no doubt hatching a separate one, and then again her planning skills still needed improvement. He reluctantly admitted his did to, he slumped his shoulders as he pondered on this, manipulation he could do, put improvise a plan that had a definite risk of him dying? His skills were stiff in that area.

He looked back at Marvolo, his mind split in his comclusion of if there really was a another living soul trapped in Balik, or if Balik simply had a split personality disorder. That mental disorder had been next to schizophrenia and did seem to be more realistic. But Adrian was aware that logic did not answer everything, after all he lived in a world where a woman could turn into a cat with the drop of a hat, the impossible was possible. But right now he would have preferred a split personality over an actual deranged living soul, a former person who was currently dealing with dissecting another human soul to make himself whole again, even the synapsis sounded wrong.

"Did you create this?" Marvolo questioned lightly, causing Adrian to snap his head up in Marvolo's direction, refusing to flinch when he met the man's dark foreboding gaze, seeing him hold up the shell to view.

"Not really, we bought it at a market stall, originally it was enchanted to only communicate for half a mile, but we extended the communication distance so it can stretch miles," Adrian answered, keeping his voice even, watching the man warily.

Marvolo said nothing and simply placed the shell on the nearby table near in the kitchen before turning back to Adrian, a smirk playing on the aged Balik's lips. "It worked well, I'm a little impressed."

Adrian test the strength of his bonds, deciding to test his limits. "Only a little?" he commented lightly. "A little harsh," he added.

The man said nothing and simply walked closer, eyes boring into Adrian. "Something more impressive would have been if you had lengthened the range, or even created the object from scratch. There's also an issue with the strain of the magic and the fact anyone could link in to the communication and listen in," Marvolo explained dismissively. Adrian couldn't help but scowl as he looked annoyed. "But besides that, at least you had the brain capacity to improve the product and make it better so it could fit your needs," Marvolo added condescending, causing Adrian to subtly roll his eyes while his head was lowered. "I'm curious to know why you needed it, I'm also curious as to what you were doing at the museum, the elf said you were investigating a Professor at the museum," he drawled, eyes piercing Adrian as the said boy tried to think carefully.

Adrian tried to think how to word his answer rand how much to tell, since even the small information could lead to the unravel of everything and he wasn't exactly eager to reveal where the house cup was, especially if it meant his use would no longer be needed. He hoped the strain of taking over Balik's body would cause Marvolo to retreat back into the said man's mind so he would have chance to plan an escape, knowing once Lyrisadora showed up with the cup things would not end well. The 'if' she got the House cup, still bold. "We were trying to figure out a way to get back to Hogwarts," he answered evenly.

"You took your time, why not leave straight away,hm?" Marvolo questioned icily.

Adrian swallowed. "Sight seeing…" he muttered, causing Marvolo's eyes to narrow.

"It's rude to lie to your host," Marvolo said quietly, drawing out a wand. "Even if we've only just met, but then again I suppose your silence would be understandable seeing how we're practically strangers to one another," he said, stepping closer to him. "So let's start with the basics," he continued. "_Legilimens!" _he hissed.

Adrian flinched as his thoughts were invaded, a flash of his father eyeing the house maid at the dinner table when he was six, remembering his mother leaving to go on another prolonged vacation by herself, before her return a year later. Adrian clenched his fists as he tried to fight the spell. "Get out of _my head_," he growled, squeezing his eyes shut as he concentrated hard and fought the legilimens, causing Marvolo to retract from his mind, looking disgruntled.

"Hm, well that barely scraped the surface, having you fighting this will only take the fun out of it. Besides…" Marvolo said silkily, smiling chillingly. "I would prefer if you said it aloud, it establishes a certain trust, don't you think?" he implored pleasantly, Adrian felt panic fill him as the man aimed his wand at him. "_Adolebit,"_ he hissed.

In an instant Adrian's flesh felt like it was on fire.

* * *

><p>When Yasen's gag was removed Lyrisadora slapped her hand over his mouth and glared at him. 'Scream and you'll regret it,' she warned. "Understood?" she questioned, Yasen nodded fearfully. Lyrisadora slowly removed her hand, keeping her eyes locked on him, there was a brief silence before Yasen started screaming, causing Lyrisadora to groan as she promptly kneed him in the face to shut him up. "Oh shut it," she hissed.<p>

Yasen silenced himself as he moaned in pain, his bottom lip swollen as he looked at Lyrisadora closely, his eyes widening in realisation. _'You! _You're the girl from the museum!' he exclaimed backing away.

Lyrisadora sighed. 'Yes I am. Now listen to me, I need you to cooperate, my friend is in danger-'

'You're trying to steal my Cornucopia aren't you, who are you-' Yasen began to yell before being silence with another swift kneeing to the face, making him moan in pain.

'Will you just listen already, I'm not working for anyone, and right now I'm just trying to get my friend back so I can go back home,' she explained calmly, she looked at the confused Yasen and sighed, rubbing her sunken eyes. 'Alright I understand this is confusing for you, so let me start from the beginning," she began to explain, sitting down opposite Yasen.

* * *

><p>At the Spanish Ministry of Magical protection, Spain's ministry of magic, Dumbledore was finishing examining the immigration record around the time of Thaddeus Balik's disappearance, examining any property bought. Checking two of the male wizards which had fled here. He placed the files away as he snuck out of the immigration office he had been researching in, slipping past the deserted hallway unseen.<p>

* * *

><p>'…..Which means I now have to do the exchange in less than twelve hours or Adrian's going to be killed,' she finished, leaving out the section of the Veela wanting Yasen's head. She looked at Yasen intently who looked deep in thought. 'So I would very much appreciate it if you would just cooperate and tell me where the cornucopia is," she continued.<p>

'They thought she was insane, even after her death,' Yasen spoke softly, Lyrisadora stiffened as he continued, realising where this was heading. 'When I was growing up she would tell me about her research and how one day she was going to find the Cornucopia and prove everyone wrong. My mother was a stubborn determined woman,' Yasen continued, keeping his eyes trained on the floor. 'I never understood how she could have so much faith in something, even when everyone around her told her she was wrong. My dad used to say it was more of an obsession, something she had lost control of. And I guess it was in a way, it still was everything to her, even if it cost her marriage and career…' Yasen paused as he closed his eyes in remembrance.

'But she never found it did she,' Lyrisadora said softly.

Yasen clenched his fists. 'She was so close…but she became ill, years of stress and the obsession taking their toll….so I carried it on for her while she was in the hospital, but I was just grasping the basics of the research, I didn't have time…'

'She died before you could find it,' Lyrisadora finished tonelessly, unable to suppress the pity she felt for this man, hating herself for what she needed to do.

'….Yes….so I had to lie to her face,' he said quietly. 'When she asked me, I just said I had found it, I promised her I'd show it to the world and then she died in front of me,' he finished, his voice cracking, growing empty.

Lyrisadora felt a painful feeling in her chest as her fingers curled inwards. 'I'm sorry, but….I have to save my friend,' she spoke regrettably, forcing her voice to stay strong, as Yasen met her gaze. 'He'll die if I don't save him,' she argued. 'I know this is devastating for you, your mother's legacy is everything to you, but someone's life is at stake, not to mention something bigger at play, I need to the Cornucopia to get the House cup from the Veela, which will give me bargaining worth to rescue Adrian and then take down this crazed psychopath, while also trying not to die in the process,' she divulged. Yasen remained in a deep silence as she stared at him intently. 'Can I guarantee your cooperation?' she questioned sternly.

Yasen paused before looking back up to level her gaze. 'I'll show you where it is, you can have it, on the condition that you allow me to reveal it at the unveiling tonight,' he said gruffly.

Lyrisadora considered his proposition for a moment, eyes never leaving his. 'Alright then, but we seal with a vow,' she concluded, causing Yasen to stiffen before his eyes narrowed.

'Very well then, I presume you will want a blood Vow?' he inquired in a clipped tone.

Lyrisadora nodded solemnly before reaching into her robes and pulling out the shell, using the sharp point it to make a deep cut into the palm of her hand. Biting down on her tongue so as to not make a sound, a scarlet ribbon streamed down her palm as she carefully untied Yasen's hands, wand still trained on him, confident that he wouldn't do anything, she took his right palm and made the cut, Yasen had enough pride to bury a painful wince by biting down on his tongue, clenching his left fist.

Lyrisadora took the bloodied palm in hers and looked him in the eye. 'Do you Nayden Yasen agree to hand over the Cornucopia once you have unveiled it at the museum?' she questioned.

'Yes, on the condition that it is made known that you stole it," he agreed, the magic sparked.

Lyrisadora narrowed her eyes slightly. 'Agreed, on the condition that my identity is not revealed,' she concurred smoothly.

Yasen tightened his grip around her hand. 'I will agree to that as long as you promise to be…dramatic when you steal the Cornucopia,' he replied.

Lyrisadora narrowed her eyes slightly. 'I agree, but you must promise to not try and stop me from stealing it, just stand back,' she said sternly.

'I will, but only on the condition that you will not hurt, kidnap or murder me,' Yasen said harshly.

Lyrisadora closed her eyes and tightened her hold on his hand frowning, thinking of a way out of this. 'I promise Elizabeth will not pursue you.'

Yasen's eyes narrowed as the magic sparkled dangerously. 'I said _you_, not Elizabeth,' he countered, causing her palm to burn, she tried to loosen her hold but his only tightened, her eyes pierced his as she bit down on her tongue. 'Very well, I agree that I will not murder, hurt or kidnap you,' she agreed.

'Then it is agreed,' he confirmed, the final incantation being muttered to finish the vow. Lyrisadora stood and wrapped her robe around the wound, before releasing Yasen. They eyed each other steadily for a moment before Yasen looked away, holding out his hand. 'Do you have my wand?' he questioned curtly. Lyrisadora eyed him with distrust, he frowned at her and sighed. 'You mentioned that you had a time limit, and the unveiling will begin in an hour, it'll be quicker to Apperate and seeing how it seems you obviously can't, then it's up to me,' he said gruffly.

Lyrisadora hesitated before handing him his wand, squeezing her hand around hers as she kept her eyes on him. Yasen started to walk out of the shop, Lyrisadora following as she pocketed the shell once more. When they were outside she looked back at him, a question forming on her lips. 'Where is it hidden?' she questioned.

Yasen looked uncomfortable. 'In a graveyard,' he muttered.

Lyrisadora's paused for a secound before her eyes widened slightly. 'You buried it with your mother,' she stated, slightly unhinged.

Yasen frowned as he held out his hand for her to take, refusing to reply, Lyrisadora took his hand and felt a familiar sick feeling in her stomach as the world swirled away with a single popping noise.


	45. Song Of The Grave Robbers

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**'...'-Bulgarian**

**Quote origin: Call me (Shinedown)**

* * *

><p><strong>Maybe that's the way I should go,<br>Straight into the mouth of the unknown**

**Chapter: Song of the Grave Robbers**

* * *

><p>The air was cold:this was the first sensation that hit Lyrisadora when she landed in the graveyard. Everything in this artificial city; or town,she still wasn't sure how big this underground community was. Was perfected to detail, which meant the graveyard was naturally formidably cold and sombre, the drawing night adding to this. Lyrisadora's eyes wondered over the numerous graves that stretch across the dark grass.<p>

Her attention being snapped back to Yasen as he let go of her hand and started to make his way towards a grave. She remained silent as he stopped in front of the grave that was apparently his mother's. She drew closer as she inspected the grave, the headstone was in the shape of a flame, a peculiar shape that held the inscription, she couldn't read the Bulgarian very well, only recognising Olga Valentinov and the words, beloved mother,' taking note that it appeared Olga had wanted her maiden name on her grave, instead of Yasen. She frowned at this slightly, it was strange she would abruptly want to be remembered by he maiden name seeing how she had still kept the Yasen name after her husband left her.

She focused on Yasen, he appeared to be preparing to dig up the grave, her jaw tightened as she decided not to push the subject, Yasen's absent father were most likely not on the best of terms. Instead she pulled out her wand and prepared to help him dig up the grave, but he gave her a sharp look. 'I'd rather do this myself,' he interjected sternly.

Lyrisadora faltered briefly before she realised why he wanted to do this alone, nodding faintly as she stepped back. He lifted his wand, brow furrowed as he started to remove the dirt, he did it in silence, them both refusing to say a word as the digging up process took place, an uncomfortable silence taking pace. Her thoughts turned to how she was going to find a loophole in the agreement with the Veela, her sore palm stung slightly as she contemplated kidnapping Yasen anyway, the thought quickly subsiding upon the pain. The Veela they were dealing with were vengeful, they wanted blood, their choices being herself or Yasen. Even if she escaped before they could kill her, the agreement was not fully completed, which could have dire consequences for Adrian.

Her thumb picked at the flesh of her hand in anxiety, the fact Adrian was currently being held captive not helping matters. The portkey would allow her to get away from the Veela with the cup, but they might not give her chance if they saw Yasen was not with them. feeling her brain begin to frazzle Lyrisadora took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly, trying to clear her mind, seperating the plans to analyse them more easily. 'How many guards will be surrounding the Cornucopia?' she questioned suddenly, drawing Yasen's attention.

The said man paused before answering. 'Four,' he answered.

Lyrisadora's eyes bore into him, it was around now she was wishing her father had begun her Legilimens lessons this year instead of promising she would begin next. She supposed he could be telling the truth, but figured his words should be taken as hiding deeper answers. 'I see,' she commented, her mind racking as to how she was going to elaborately steal the Cornucopia while also being able to escape, a darkness spell could do the trick, but she was still rusty with those, there also was the issue of not being able to see. She glanced back at Yasen who was still digging, she wasn't eager to share her plan as to how she was going to cause enough chaos to steal the Cornucopia, but it wasn't like he could stop it now could he. She mused on this and sighed. 'What distraction should I use when stealing it?' she questioned curtly.

Yasen dumped a heath of earth on the ground, nearly half way done. 'I'm not the best person to ask since I'm the one your stealing from,' he commented.

'I'm aware, but I'm limited with the number of people I can ask,' Lyrisadora replied dryly, earning a scowl in response.

Yasen bit back a groan. 'I don't know, release mice, dogs...explosions,' he exclaimed warily.

'Limited time remember,' she pointed out. Spells could be rebuffed and fizzed out by the protection charms, the only thing she could think of would be a potion, but time was limited, she'd have to steal one, he rbrow furrowed as she kept and eye on Yasen, she'd have to get him to steal it. The vow was a shaky trust, a loophole could still be found. Her mind raced as she thought of which potion she would be able to use and how she was going to infect the guests with it.

A loud thud issued as the last heavy pile of dirt was dropped to the ground. Yasen cracked his arm as he de tensed it, looking down into the grave and using his wand to open the casket. Lyrisadora peered down as Yasen froze, the smell traveling towards them; smelling like strong spice and essence of rotten flesh. Himself hesitating as he stared at his mother's rotten corpse, himself pale. Lyrisadora's eyes locked on the wrapped up object nestle in the dead woman's arms, wondering, before eyes wondering to the decaying body that held it. She wondered how Yasen had stomached this the first time.

'_Wingardium Leviosa_,' Yasen muttered as he levitated the cloth covered object up out of his mother's arms towards them, catching it in his hands, holding it tightly, before unsheathing it to reveal the Cornucopia beneath. Lyrisadora stared at the object intensely, the legends about the Cornucopia may have been exaggerated, but there was a definite feel of magical energy from it. The shape was a twisted horn, the front large and round the tail twisting into an 'O' before ending where the mouth piece was, having a gold rim around it, the material of it looking like a shell, coated with a thin layer of gold that made it shine, having a glow to it even though the sky was dull.

'It's...well I can see why the Veela would miss it,' she said. Yasen's fingers tightened around his wand, Lyrisadora notice the movement as she tightened her hold on her wand, eyes narrowing slightly as they stood in a tense silence. 'A deal is a deal Yasen,' she reminded him, her tone stern. His palm shook, seeing him nod stiffly a moment later.

'You're correct,' he responded lightly, shrinking the Cornucopia down and placing it in his rope pocket, she watched him, her eyes widening as an idea struck her. He hastily closing the casket and dumping a large amount of the soil back on top. 'We must hurry,' he began, allowing Lyrisadora to help him place the soil back in place, filing the grave up again. Yasen holding his arm out for her to take as the grass on the grave began to grown over the relaid soil. 'We have half an hour to change and get there,' he said firmly.

Lyrisadora's eyes flickering to the bulk in his robe pocket. 'Not yet,' she said, causing Yasen to look at her in confusion. 'I need to get a potion if I'm going to steal this thing,' she explained, fixing Yasen with a stern look. 'So I need you to take me to the nearest potion shop, quickly if you don't mind.'

'We're running out of-'

'Which is why I said quickly,' she interrupted. 'So unless you want to be late, I suggest you accelerate,' she informed firmly.

Yasen's sighed in irritation.'Alright,' he agreed.

Lyrisadora grabbed his arm.'Perfect, lead the way Professor,' she exclaimed, earning a low sigh as the world apperated away.

* * *

><p>Back at Hogwarts in Gryffindor tower, Fred was strolling over to the couch where George was sitting, the fire lit as a number of students chatted away. "So I'm guessing your date with Katie didn't go well," he said, stopping in front of him, smirking. "Did you tell that joke about the Gnomes that ended up in a German pond? That one tends to kill conversation," he inquired brightly.<p>

George gave him an outlandish look. "Says the guy who thought the way to a girl's heart was an exploding pixie, animal abuse much," he countered.

"Touché," Fred commented, plopping down next to him.

"And it actually went alright, she's good company," George said. " Still preoccupied with the whole Lyrisadora's gone missing thing, but besides that I was totally committed," he added sarcastically.

Fred remained silent for a moment as he tried to push his worry aside, worrying was the least affective thing in his mind. They had no idea where she was or if she was even alive. And it scared him, especially since they were more or less useless in the situation. the whole school knew about Lyrisadora's and Adrian's disappearance, a majority more concerned on the rumours than the said missing's lives.

"Do you think she's off battling a troll in America?" Fred questioned.

George paused before answering. "If she was was then I think she'd take to bore it to death," he answered. "Why a troll though?" He inquired.

"They're messy, repulsive and savage. Lyra's worst nightmare," Fred explained a ghost of a smile on his face as he imagined Lyrisadora with a disgusted expression that embodied Malfoy snobbery.

"True, I swear she has cleanliness issues," George concurred, swallowing and unpleasant feeling in his stomach, trying to stay positive.

There was a thoughtful silence between the two before Fred broke it. "Were you telling the truth?" He started, drawing in George's attention. "When you said to Lyra you were over her, you're pretty committed to moving on, but it isn't that simple is it?" Fred reasoned.

George was quiet for a moment before replying. "You remember that time we tried to get Ron to do the unbreakable vow, when we were kids?"

"Since my rear has never felt the same since, I'd say it's got a special place in my heart," Fred replied, resisting the urge to rub his bum.

"Well it's kind of like that," George continued.

Fred arched an eyebrow. "An abusive relationship?"

"No, it's something that leaves a mark on you for life," George explained.

Fred was silent for a moment before a commenting. "So she's basically scarred your rear," he said dryly.

" In the simplest terms, yes," answered George, slouching down in his seat. "I'm basically condemned to the friendship zone," he added. "And now she's missing, I can't get her out of my mind,so it's basically like trying to repair the damage done to my backside," he summed up.

"That's deep buddy," Fred commented, patting his brother on the back."If it's any consolation, she's a messed up person."

George have him an inquisitive look. "How is that meant to be comforting?" He questioned incredulously.

"It was more of a statement, but take it how as you please," Fred responded lightly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I like her and all, but she isn't the most stable right now for a relationship with anyone," he pointed out.

George was silent for a moment before replying with a wary shrug. "S'pose you're right," he replied unsurely.

"Of course I am. It's one one the many reasons why I'm the genius in the family," Fred commented, grinning.

George flicked him on the head. "I think the biggest joke in the family fits better," he retorted

* * *

><p>The air in the potions shop was stale and seemed to have a damp feel to it. Yasen and Lyrisadora landed head on, feeling like they had ripped themselves free. Lyrisadora stumbled to her feet. "<em>Lumos,<em>" she uttered, wondering around the the shop to find the correct potions. 'The wards on this place aren't that strong are they, I've noticed that around this part of town,' she commented.

'That's because we're in the poorer region, the wealthier area has older enchantments and extra protection than this area,' Yasen replied, keeping his guard up as he looked behind the counter, before glancing back at her.

Lyrisadora's eyes scanned for the shrinking potion, looking for a bright light green colouring. "Some things never change I suppose," she murmured, spotting the potion at the back of the shelf, grabbing it as she smirked, her mind recalling the many pranks she had witnessed at Fred and George's hand, a specific one coming to mind. 'Let's go,' she said, pocketing the potion and pulling out some money before looking at the price. "Well that's my money drained," she commented.

'Hurry up,' Yasen ordered hastily, looking around the room as he heard a flutter of wings.

Lyrisadora plopped the money on the counter, a load sound causing her to whip around, drawing out her wand.

'Intruders!Intruders!' squawked the voice, she Yasen pointed their wands around the room.

'Is that...a_ parrot_?' Lyrisadora questioned uncertainly. Yasen didn't get a chance to answer as a parrot came swooping down towards them, pecking at their faces.

'Intruders!Intruders!' it yelled.

Lyrisadora smacked it away, trying to aim a spell at it as it flew around the room. Parrots were now her most hated bird. "_Stupefy!_" she hissed, the spell just missing it as it aimed for her again.

_'Silencio_,' Yasen spat, the spell hitting the parrot dead on, its squawks silencing, but still attacking.

"_Protego_," she said sharply, bouncing the bird away as the shield deflected it. "Stupefy." This time the spell hitting the bird dead on.

_'Protego Maximus_!' yelled Yasen, sending Lyrisadora across the room.

Lyrisadora glared at him.'What the hell is wron-oh," she stopped in her rant once she saw an unconscious pyjama dressed man behind her, most likely the owner of the establishment. She looked up to see Yasen holding out his hand to her, she cautiously took it and got to her feet. 'Thanks,' she said uncomfortably, absently checking that the potion was intact.

'An agreement is an agreement,' he said simply, looking uncertain.

'Yes it is,' she concurred curtly, the two pausing for a moment as they surveyed the scene. 'We're running out of time,' Lyrisadora pointed out firmly.

He nodded, holding out his arm for her, her stomach filled with apprehension as they apparrated away.

* * *

><p>Adrian remembered the first time he had burnt himself, he had been five and had taken him father's wand, he couldn't really remember what he had been thinking, but he remembered he had been bored and wanted to play with something. He remembered sneaking into his father's room that night, seeing his father sleeping and grabbing the wand by the said man's bedside, only stopping to notice the woman in his father's bed was not Adrian's mother. Adrian could never explain what had been going on in his head once he came to the realisation before him, anger definitely played some part in it, but all he really remembered was that in a few movements and a slight wave of the wand, the woman who was not his mother's hair was on fire and he became scared.<p>

Things only got worse when he tried to stop it by waving the wand around more, his father panicking, the woman screaming and his pyjama robes catching on fire. The rest was a blur, just the sensation of pain, a pain which he remembered more than his punishment for taking his father's wand, maiming the whore who was in his father's bed and more than the discovery that he was a wizard. Fire was horrible and it hurt like hell and burnt with no control. He assumed Marvolo had seen his memory from childhood, how else would the man pick a most perfect method of torture, or maybe Fate was a sadistic bitch, he couldn't decide which was most likely, or maybe both, either way it didn't really matter because he was in excruciating pain.

When Marvolo removed the spell, Adrian's skin was still sore, showing no sign of burns or sores, it was like the pain was confined to under his skin, the burns trapped underneath where it was more difficult to heal. "I've sent the elf to the hotel," Marvolo said silkily. "He'll greet her, the portkey will be waiting for her," he added.

Adrian spat on the floor, having a bad taste in his mouth. "So when she comes, are you going to kill her slowly or quickly?" Adrian questioned dully, trying to keep his composer up.

The man just smiled coldly. "Depends if I'm bored, you've been fun, but I haven't tortured in so long, and I like to multiple reactions," Marvolo replied remained silent. "Malfoy is her last name, isn't it?" he questioned, causing Adrian to become more attentive. "The hair gives it away...shame...then again they always were a useful family," he continued, causing Adrian to become more confused. "So perhaps I'll simply punish her for her father's mistake...leave her alive and then give what's left of her back to him," Marvolo mused, a icy smile forming on his lips. "You however," he added, eyes locking back onto Adrian. "Have a much bigger purpose," he elaborated.

Adrian didn't know how to respond to this, possessed or not the man was insane and he predicted that this would only continue to get grimmer. Marvolo's smile falter as he moaned slightly in pain. Adrian watched him intently, it appeared Marvolo was feeling the strain of possessing Balik. "And you're clearly losing control," Adrian commented , earning a firm Crucio, he was lucky Marvolo was becoming too strained to keep it on him for long. Adrian was gratefl that unlike the fire curse, the pain from the Crucio subsided once over.

Marvolo sneered. "It won't matter after this," he growled, smiling cruelly. "Just a few more hours now," he added before crying out in pain as he retreated back into Balik's mind. The real Balik slowly stumbled back to his feet, holding his head in pain. Adrian watched him in curiosity as Balik stiffened, appearing to be communicating with his master, before then wondering off into the kitchen, searching the cupboard.

Adrian couldn't help himself. "You are aware your master is probably going to kill you after this, most likely he's going to possess your body fully," he argued. Balik didn't reply, instead simply bringing out some chalk and half melted candles. "Don't you care?" Adrian questioned, watching him closely.

Balik looked at him for a moment, his eyes downcast before fixating on Adrian, a slight contentment in them, he shook his head. "No, there's no point," he answered, getting on his knees in the middle of the room.

"Why though? Don't you want to live?" Adrian rethought what he had just said, finding the question redundant once he realised what Balik meant.

Balik started drawing on the floor, causing Adrian's brow to furrow, his stomach sinking. "Death is better than living with the voices," Balik replied dully.

Adrian was silent for a moment, he felt helpless, a feeling he hated, he wondered how he would be murdered, he had never really given death much of thought, he supposed if he had a choice he's rather die quickly, but then again so would a lot of people. He supposed only so many people could be given their wish. He watched Balik, his anxiety growing as the man started to place the candles out, beginning to draw a strange symbol on the floor. Adrian felt like he was going to be sick as the bad taste in his mad returned as he started to piece things together, drawings on the floor, symbols, candles and souls...he swore repeatedly in his head. Of all the deaths to choose from, it seemed Marvolo and fate were cahoots as Adrian had drawn the short straw.

* * *

><p>The potion was safely strapped onto Lyrisadora's thy, modifications made as she stayed in the shadows of the ballroom. Her hair quickly charmed a dark brown, tied in a chignon and eyes changed to an icy blue as a quick disguise, Yasen had found a dress for her to wear, apparently corset's had gone out of tradition in Bulgarian, which would help her in the long run seeing how she would most likely have to run for her life; though the heels were still an issue. The room had wards guarding it, so no one from the outside could sneak in, all guest that came in were searched thoroughly. Yasen was the reason the potion hadn't been discovered, they had all been told she was his escort, which had earned a few raised eyebrows and confused looks; it appeared Yasen was unaware of how may people knew of his personal life. Still nothing was said after after some socialising she had managed to slip away to exact her plan, pretending to admire the museums many paintings.<p>

Her mind turned to her, placing a shrunk down circular shrinking bomb discretely behind a painting, her mind turned to a specific prank the Weasley twins had played in her fourth year. She remembered stopping them from planting stink bombs outside the girls bathroom, curiosity getting the better of her, she had asked how they actually were meant to work, receiving a smug explanation. The mixture that was inside the stink bomb had been encased in a rubber balloon, they had used a spell called _Pila Eximo_ which caused the liquid to become steam and expand, building up pressure until it exploded, the bombs were all linked to the caster. The amount of liquid placed in the bombs determined the amount of time it would take to explode. She had been impressed by the sheer brilliance of it all, up until she had realised they hadn't removed the incantation and the bombs exploded, the aftermath of this being a story for another time.

So to time the bombs correctly, the shrinking solution had to be measured correctly so the bombs would go off at the same time was the spell was applied. She now had finished placing the spell on the last bomb, estimating that she had ten minuted, the unveiling would happen in five. 'Enjoying yourself?' questioned Yasen, coming to stand next to her.

'As much as anyone who has a death wish hanging over their head,' she replied dryly, before glancing at him. 'When I give the Veela the Cornucopia back, will you try and steal it back?' she questioned.

There was a hesitation before he answered. 'Yes,' he replied curtly.

Lyrisadora sighed. 'That's suicide and it's foolish,' she said coldly.

'A tad hypercritical, isn't what you're doing a suicide mission?' Yasen countered.

Touché, she thought. 'I haven't got much choice in the matter, you however do,' she pointed out, she paused for a moment. 'If it's any consolation, I'm sorry,'she apologised.

Yasen arched an eyebrow at her. 'An appreciated sentiment, but not very affective,' he replied evenly.

'I'm aware,' she sighed, she turned to him, he stiffened slightly as she got close, moving her hand towards his black outer robe pocket. 'I suppose that's why actions speak louder than words,' she said into his ear, slipping the bomb into his pocket as she kissed him on the cheek before drawing back. "It's like _Pila Exima_, a poem I read when I was a child," she added deliberately in english, her hand resting on her wand which was hidden underneath her dress, it fizzed. She smirked at his dumbfounded expression. 'Well let's go, the unveiling awaits,' she said, holding her arm out, he was confused for a moment before shaking his head and taking her arm as they headed to where the cornucopia was, protected by a glass box which was covered by a velvet purple cloth.

The room started to silence, Lyrisadora's heartbeat quickened at she eyed the guards near the walls, he lied about there being four, there were six; expected. The shrinking bombs position near them so they would be hit directly. 'Remember the deal,' Yasen reminded, appearing as though he was kissing her neck.

'I will, but to do that, you have to remember your part,' she said softly into his ear as they stood at the front, all eye son them.

Yasen gave her look before smiling at the crowd. 'Ladies and Gentleman, it is my honour and pride to be here, to share my life's dream with you all,' he continued. Lyrisadora's eyes pierces his head, wanting him to hurry up. 'Tonight the legend is made true, a legend many thought dead-' Lyrisaodora coughed, causing him to falter slightly.' The legend that many doubted, my mother's pride and joy, the Cornucopia!' he finally announced. The cloth was removed, the guest gasped in awe as the Cornucopia shone brightly, illuminating the room. Lyrisadora took a step back from him, hand resting on her wand, Yasen gauged their reactions, a flicker of happiness shining through.

Then the bombs exploded, a sharp ripping and echoing thud that rang around the room, Lyrisadora whipped out her wand in lightning speed and summoned a bubble charm around her, in second the room was engulfed in steam, coughing and spluttering resounding. the bubble protected her from the infected air as she rushed towards the Cornucopia, before something grabbed her leg which caused her to fall to the ground, she looked behind her to find Yasen on the floor coughing and spluttering as he held onto her leg, his body changing as his face consorted. His efforts were redundant as his hand burned in reminder of their agreement, himself howling in pain as he was forced to let her go.

She struggled to her feet and ran to the case containing the Cornucopia, the wards surrounding it weakened as the casters started to revert into their younger forms, their magic weakening. "_Bombarda,_" she said clearly, the glass shattering before her eyes, yells and screams becoming more gurgled and more like cries from a baby. She hastily grabbed the Cornucopia, shrinking it down and heading to the door, throwing her heels away as she ran through the door.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys like this one! Only two chapters left in Bulgaria, dumbles is on his way! And a happy ending is not guaranteed.<strong>

**So watcha think? :D**


	46. Sinner or a Saint?

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Warning: I suck and trying to right a Bulgarian accent so I apologies beforehand for his.**

**Quote**** origin:Mark Twain**

* * *

><p><strong>Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.<strong>

**Chapter: Sinner or a Saint? **

* * *

><p>Her hands were shaking when she got back to the hotel, feet wet and muddy from running through the street. Her hair messy and the glamour charm on it gradually fading as it started to become its original light blonde. Her bare feet were numb as she stepped onto the old room's carpet, closing the door behind her, feeling the shrunk down Cornucopia bulge underneath her dishevelled dress robes.<p>

It was a small thud that caused her to draw out her wand, pointing it at the darkness, able to make out a faded shadow on the bed. With a flick of her wand the candles lit up as the room became enlightened. The small shape squeaked as it jumped of the bed and backed away. It was the house elf Conks, though this did not settle her nerves, as she snapped at him. "What do you want!" she snarled.

Conks gulped, his sunken eyes appearing fearful, twisting a mouldy old rag in his hands. "M-master has sent Conks, to make sure the witch completes the deal," he explained meekly.

There was a pause, her eyes focusing on the rag, realisation dawning, adrenaline starting to pump through her veins. "The rags, the portkey is in it, isn't it?" she inquired, an edge to her tone. The elf nodded, unfolding the rags and presenting the portkey, Lyrisadora examined it, the portkey appearing to be a an old teaspoon, looking faded. Her brow furrowed as they stood in silence for a moment, a plan forming in her mind as she tried to find the loophole. "One touch and I'm there, but it's a one way trip, isn't it?" she questioned quietly. Conks just nodded. "I see...then I'll need your help Conks," she said firmly, causing the elf to splutter in confusion. "Don't worry, I assure you I will complete the deal, but we need to work together for this part, or I wont be able to assist your master," she reassured, the elf's lips thinned, his eyes wide as he remained attentive.

"Conks is not understanding," he said weakly.

Lyrisadora ignored him and started to get changed, carefully wrapping the Cornucopia in her dress robes. "The Hogwarts cup was stolen from me, by Veela, the only way to get it back is to do an exchange," she elaborated, causing Conks to stiffen. She quickly shoved some trousers on, slipping the nearest jumper on. "There is a slight problem though, which means I need your help," she continued, attempting to appear calm, but faltering as she struggled to put her arm through the v-neck jumper's long sleeve.

Conks twitched, struggling with the thought of if he was betraying his master by helping her. "What type of help, is the witch needing. Conks cannot betray his master."

"You won't be, you'll be helping him," she reassured, pulling the jumper down and walking over to the elf. "Tell me, do you know of a Nayden Yasen?" The elf froze, her eyes narrowed slightly. "I need him, but he won't help me...not without some, force," she said carefully, her palm stinging slightly as her wording trod dangerously on treachery. "And _I_ can't force him," she added, eyes piercing the elf's doe ones.

"So...witch is wanting Conks to kidnap, the Mr Nayden Yasen?" Conks questioned slowly.

Her eye twitched, ignoring the irritation of her hand. "I'm not your master, you don't have to obey me, but the plan won't work without Yasen," she said icily, carefully prying the Portkey from Conks hands, careful not to touch the cool metal, wrapping it up securely in the cloth and placing it in her trouser pocket. "I will be outside the entrance to the forest in half an hour," she said, her stomach churning as she sat on the bed and put her socks on, then boots. "No doubt he would not come with me willingly, more so he'd cry out and protest, struggling and fighting..." she continued smoothly, getting up of the bed, and grabbing a dark frumpy bag, shrinking some items down and placing them in it.

Conks was silent for a while, as she wondered round the room, disintegrating the newspaper articles of their research. "Conks understands," said the elf finally, his tone wary.

"Good, then you best be quick about it," she said, tightening the sash of her thick outer robe coat. She glanced at Conks, her eyes softening just a little as she looked at his defeated form, it wasn't his fault his master was insane. "Thank you," she added, slinging the bag over her shoulder, the act of kindness took the elf by surprise, Conks looked like he wanted to say something, his lip quivering, before they drooped and then elf disappeared with a crack, leaving her alone again. She glanced over at the wrapped up Cornucopia, pausing before taking the Portkey out of her pocket and placing it with the wrapped up Cornucopia, unwrapping the fabric, revealing the shining Cornucopia inside and placing the still wrapped portkey with it, before wrapping it all back up.

Lyrisadora adjusted the bag on her shoulder again. making sure the Cornucopia was wrapped up inside, feeling uneasy in the silence, she looked around the dim room, searching for anything amiss of an item she may have left on the floor. But there was nothing and the silence was becoming unbearable, her fingers tightened around the strap of the bag, her jaw stiffening as she turned her head back to the door and hurried out, refusing to look back as she walked down the spiralling stairs.

She dumped the keys on the front desk, a sack of money on the counter cover the days spent. Before she quickly made her way to the door. "Where is your beloved?" questioned a familiar voice.

She swung around to face the man, Mr Ivo stood behind the counter, looking as though he was preparing for bed with his lax appearance. She hesitated for a brief second before saying the first thing that came to her head. "I'm leaving him,," she said, forcing her voice to choke, her will to keep up the charade failing against her nerves to hurry up and get to the forest on time to meet Conks. "I was a fool," she added. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I have to go, I can't stay here a second longer," she continued weakly.

Mr Ivo looked at her in pity, coming from behind the counter towards her. "Now Vait, why don't you sit down," he suggested.

She backed away, eyes flickering to the clock. "No I can't, I have to go," she pleaded.

"But vis is a big decision. You are young, I thought you loved him?" he reasoned, walking closer to her.

Lyrisadora's heart started thumping louder, she didn't have time for this, she needed to leave now and no doubt Mr Ivo was going to try and convince her to stay. "I can't stay, I have leave now, before-he comes back!" she argued frantically, her mind racing.

"I think-"

"He hits me!" she snapped, the lie coming out faster before she could stop it, leaving the desired affect as Mr Ivo turned a stark white.,

"He, hits you?" he questioned quietly, his tone having an energy to it, a growing anger and shock.

"Y-yes," she confirmed hesitantly, a sickly feeling forming in her stomach as she saw how her lies affected the caring man. "So I have to leave, now and not a moment later, please just let me leave," she said backing away a as her hand rested on the doorknob.

Mr Ivo looked ill as he stared at her, guilt in his eyes. "Vhy didn't I see it?" he muttered, his mind rationalising and seeming to link the twos strange behaviour to that of her lie.

Lyrisadora couldn't bring herself to look at him. "I need to leave, please just tell me where the exit to the surface is," she said anxiously, her tone hollow as her stomach twisted, feeling disgusted in herself.

There was a hesitation before Mr Ivo spoke. "Ve fountain in ve town square, twist ve pointed top clockwise and it'll take you to ve surface," he answered, a stumble in his tone. "But let me help-"

"No, just don't," she said, her voice feeling empty, refusing to look at him as she opened the door. "You've done enough," she added, before hurrying out the door, the feeling in her stomach grew, the guilt refusing to subside no matter how much she told herself it was foolish to feel guilty of a necessary lie. But the guilt and the shame stayed, Mr Ivo cared too much, he would have made a wonderful Hufflepuff, something to be proud of.

She quickened her pace, maybe Adrian was right about her, lying was second nature in her life. She groaned and tried to stop obsessing over her guilt. "You have bigger things to worry about then some old man's feelings," she muttered, the words providing comfort, Adrian would tell her something like that. She turned a sharp corner round the street, eyes locking onto the fountain in the centre, before freezing when she saw people around the museum. _It just had to be here of all places,_ she thought bitterly. She gritted her teeth as she casually walked towards the fountain, her heart pounding as she tried to appear nonchalant in front of the Aurors that stood in front of the museum, all questioning the, now returned to normal, guests on what had transpired.

She swallowed a lump in her throat as she drew closer to the fountain, a few feet away in the distance a crack issued as an old bearded man appeared, slight disorientated from the sudden entrance from above, his eyes locking on the scene in front of him. The museum lit up and the sound of the many voices echoing down the street. Dumbledore frowned at the sight, wondering what was going on, his eyes following the girl walking towards the fountain, unable to see her properly.

Lyrisadora stood in front of the fountain, palms sweaty, the sweat stinging her scarred palm. 'That's her!' shrieked a voice from the crowd. She didn't waste a second to turn round and face her accuser, but simply flung forwards and grabbed the top of the fountain, hoping to God that this worked, her heart pounding so hard she felt like she was about to vomit, the old man's eyes pierced hers as her sweaty palm turned the pointed swirl carved top of the fountain clockwise, a loud snap issuing and a brief flicker of relief in her gut as she felt the world disappear.

Dumbledore stumbled back as a large number of Aurors shot stunning curses at her, the curses flying through as she disappeared, hitting the cobbled street with a piercing smash.

* * *

><p>It was strange when she felt the cool air of the outside world again, the sky looking grey and the air moist, she blinked as she adjusted her eyes to the dark, the moon providing a dim light, appearing smaller than the artificial one, but more familiar and comforting. The sensation was strange, musing on this as she walked along the pathway, her boots becoming dirty, feeling like she had left a bubble.<p>

The road towards the forest was more frightening this time around, the previous rain absent, leaving an eerie silence, Adrian's company absent. Her stomach churned as she thought of him, never feeling so much worry for him before, remembering how much had changed over the passing weeks. He was relying on her, his life in her hands, that amount of pressure was shattering, like a painful cramp in her shoulder. Her mind began to wonder on what she would do when she approached the Veela, a plan was forming in her mind, but still it was scattered. The Veela did not know of the Portkey, an advantage she was grateful for, one false move and an arrow would be lodged in her heart, perhaps her back to, a number of unpleasant image sand feelings formed. Her knees feeling weak, herself becoming warmer, feeling sicker. Feeling like she would lose her nerve any moment and collapse in a ball and weep. Being a Slytherin did little for her bravery, she tried to think how Fred and George would handle the situation, but she doubted they'd take much care with it, but at least they would remain strong, they wouldn't cry.

She forced her legs to keep on moving a she wrapped her arms around herself, a childish thought entering her mind, she wanted to go home, she wanted her mother and father. She wondered if her father would be disappointed in her weakness and reprimand her, her eyes started to water as her fear started to overtake her. If the Veela didn't kill her, Marvolo would, she didn't know how the Gryffindors did this, rushing into danger not knowing if they'd come back alive, the dread was nearly unbearable, a painful ball in her stomach, extending more each second like a balloon. "_The truth is you're weak Lyrisadora,_" her father's voice rang in her head, remembering the hint of disappointment in his tone, the dread stared to subside as she felt a strange feeling enter her, it wasn't shame, more embarrassment, wondering if her father would think her weak if he saw her face a troll, organise a kidnapping and risk everything to save a friend. "He'd think me foolish," she answered, her voice lower then a mutter, her thoughts turned to this, she had kept herself going this long without breaking down, Draco would have properly cracked by now, but _she_ hadn't , she had remained strong, focussed and composed. The dampness in her eyes started to lessen as she began to realise something.

Crying for her mother wouldn't save Adrian, he was relying on _her_, she was Slytherin which meant that had to mean something. The Sorting hat had once said, "_You hold courage, a bravery to be revered." _It had thought she was brave, at the time she hadn't realised what it had meant at first.

She could see the edge of the forest now, it becoming closer. Adrian knew her better than she knew herself, it was a frightening revelation but it provided comfort for her, somebody understood and it made her feel less confused. Conks came into sight, is small lanky form standing against the intimidating forest entrance, a larger shape next to him, the body laid on the ground.

If Adrian had faith in her, then she owed it to him to have faith in herself. Maybe she was brave, she didn't feel weak right now, deathly afraid yes, but she still didn't want to give up, she was going to this. Her shoulders rose slightly as she looked back at the forest, her heart still pounding, sweat still evident, but a strange feeling still evident inside of her. She recalled the definition of courage and felt something like energy form in her stomach, a peculiar sensation.

The definition of courage: the ability and willingness to confront fear.

She came to a halt in front of Yasen and Conks, she looked down at Yasen, who was still very much concious, his eyes glaring at her hatefully; she didn't blame him. Conks appeared to have retrained him with invisible bonds and gag, keeping the man docile. "Thank you Conks, you can leave now, return to your master and tell him I'll be there shortly," Lyrisadora said quietly to the elf, her face passive as everything finally soaked in. Conks looked apprehensive, she sighed. "The plan is ruined if you stay, go now, I will complete my end of the deal," she reassured firmly.

For a moment Conks didn't move as a cold silence engulfed them, but after faltering the elf obeyed and was gone in a crack. Once his presence was absent the binding around Yasen disappeared, but before he could so much as swear, Lyrisadora stunned him, picking up the man's wand left by the elf on the cold ground. Yasen lay unconscious. She looked at his sleeping form for a moment before levitating him up, placing a shield charm around him for protection, less the Veela become too impatient for their blood.

Thus the walk through the forest was silent, her mind focusing on a plan to escape, herself absently touching the bag that held the wrapped up Portkey and Cornucopia, she would barely get a chance to breath a sigh of relief once she exited one nightmare and entered another.

But this nightmare at least had a way out. She stopped in front of the Fairy ring that had sealed her fate, she'd never thought she would hold so much hate for a circle in the dirt. She stepped onto the grass and entered the moonlit area, Yasen close beside her as her hairs stood on ends, her hands clamming up more.

'Well, it seems a witch can be held to her word,' spoke a smooth angelic voice, Lyrisadora's fists clenched, recognising the Veela High priestess Forsythia, the Veela's form emerging from the shadows.

A derisive snort was heard soon after. 'Barely,' said the disgruntled voice of Veela Meliai, as the final six Veela enclosed around her in a perfect circle, all seven eyeing Lyrisadora intently, eyes gleaming at Yasen's limp body.

There was a tense silence as Lyrisadora eyes them coldly, her eyes piercing Forsythia's, the beautiful high priestess eyed Yasen icily, a strange mad gleam in her eyes as an unpleasant smile crept on her lips. 'This is him," she confirmed, an excitement seemed to creep over the six Veela as they stared at Yasen greedily, as if all hoping to see who would get to make the first cut.

"I've completed my end of the deal," declared Lyrisadore stiffly, her fingers tightening around her wand. "I have the Cornucopia," she added.

Forsythia's cold green eyes landed on her. "As ve have vour cup."

Lyrisadora slowly reached into her bag, her heart pounding as the Veela pointed their arrows at her, ready for any sign of treachery. She removed the cloth from the bag, carefully unwrapping it, making sure to gather the fabric around the hidden portkey as the Cornucopia was revealed, un-shrunken and shining in the night.

The Veela all stared at it, eyes gleaming, their eyes holding some surprise with slight disbelief. "I see," Forsythia said quietly, eyes moving from Yasen to the Cornucopia, before signalling to Meliai to present the Hogwarts cup.

Maliai stepped forward, taking a white clothed bundle from under her nature flowered toga dress, unwrapping it and revealing the Hogwarts house cup beneath. Lyrisadora felt the air become more thicker as she looked at the cup, being so close yet so far. "A deal is a deal," said Lyrisadora firmly, forcing the shakiness from her voice, no slip ups could be afforded at this stage.

"Yes," replied Forsythia warily, eyeing her shrewdly. "But I can vot help but notice vat, the arrogant baboon of accomplice is absent, so tell me, vey is this?" she questioned coolly.

Lyrisadora didn't hesitate. "He was captured by aurors when we went to kidnap the thief," she replied, stiffly flicking her wand over in Yasen's direction. "I'll rescue him when this is all over," she added.

There was a tense silence as Forsythia analysed Yasen. "I see...hm, well an agreement is an agreement," she muttered, eyes flickering to Lyrisadora in suspicion, eyes piercing her as if attempting to read her soul. But nevertheless she signalled Meliai to do the exchange, with arrows trained on her head, Lyrisadora carefully handed the Cornucopia over, receiving the House cup. Meliai's eyes only held distrust in them as she eyed her, in them there was a glimmer of surprise, something that made her doubt. It made Lyrisadora feel a little sting in her stomach when she saw this. She resisted the urge to clench her fingers round the cup protectively once it landed in her hands, instead taking to place it in the cloth, carefully placing her hand in on the wrapped up portkey, slowly easing the fabric away.

The seven Veela's eyes flickered to the Cornucopia, Lyrisadora took this opportunity to edge closer to Yasen. 'I can't believe they actually did it...' one of the Veela muttered lowly.

Forsythia looked at the Cornucopia cautiously, as Meliai wrapped her arms around it protectively and stood next to the high priestess. Now Forsythia's attention was on Yasen. "Now, for the v'ief," she spoke coldly. The silence that issued was unbearable, the only sound being that of arrows being loaded, the sound of the bow being stretched.

Lyrisadora's pinky finger wrapped around the hands of the cup in an iron grip, the dull glimmer of the small spoon evident. "Yes," she said quietly. Keeping her hand steady as she shoved Yasen forward, him landing on the ground halfway between them. "Take him," she said frigidly,_ they don't kill on sacred ground,_ she reminded herself fervently.

There was a hesitance in her step as Forsythia walked over to him, eyes narrowing at Lyrisadora. "Lower the shield," she commanded sternly. Lyrisadora noted the number of arrows pointed at her and obeyed the high priestesses command. As soon as it was done, Yasen was kicked hard in the face by the graceful Veela, dislodging his jaw, she was thankful he was unconscious. Forsythia sneered at him as blood started to drip from his mouth. '_Disgusting_,' she spat.

"The deal is complete," stated Lyrisadora smoothly.

Forsythia glanced at her, then at Yasen, before nodding, an electric energy sizzling. "Yes the deal is complete-"

The high priestess was knocked away by the silent stunning stupefy spell sent by Lyrisadora. "_Protego Totalum!_" Lyrisadora yelled, shielding herself from the incoming arrows, they bounced off the invisible force as she dived for Yasen.

'Traitorous Witch _scum_," snarled Meliai, her eyes ablaze and appearance changing to that of a wretched bird as she fired fireballs at Lyrisadora, straining the shield.

Lyrisadora didn't wait to see if she would die by fire or arrow as she sunk her fingers into Yasen's shoulder and let the spoon fall from the fabric, drowning out the screams of the Veela as the shield weakened and started to collapse as she grabbed the portkey, the world swirling away like she was drowning in a lake.

* * *

><p>The first words that escaped Adrian's mouth when Lyrisadora landed flat out on the dingy cottage living room floor in front of him , with no warning and unconscious Yasen by her side, were expected as the candles were lit and he was about to be sacrificed and his soul ripped out. "Well this looks promising," he spat as Balik's wand pointed at her head.<p>

He couldn't help but hope his funeral casket was better than hers.

* * *

><p><strong>HI! I got into UNIVERSITY! Leaving in four days! Awesome!<strong>

**(Clears throat) But besides that, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, next one will be the climax, so am gonna really try to not disappoint you guys with that one. And after this story arc we'll be entering a new one, because the feces will be hitting the fan shortly in less than four chapters. Also things are not looking bright for Lucius and Lyrisadora's relationship...**

**But anyway before that I have the Family reunion chapter, which is gonna be kinda funny since Lyra's gonna have some bad blood with the Veela and her relative is marrying a half-one. Funs to be had. **

**Well that's it folks, til next time, might be busy with uni work for a while, so updates probs gonna slow down.**

**REVIEW!**


	47. Inferno

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**'...'-Bulgarian**

**Quote origin: Florence and the Machine **

* * *

><p><strong>You made a deal, and now it seems you have to offer up<br>But will it ever be enough?**

**Chapter: Inferno **

* * *

><p>"Well this looks promising." Spoke a familiar voice, Lyrisadora opened her eyes, her focus landing on Adrian and a brief second of relief running through her, before reality set in.<p>

"Get up, hands behind head," ordered a shaky voice, her eyes locking onto the figure above her, a wand currently pointed to her head.

She shared a look with Adrian before complying with the armed man's demands and placing her hands behind her head, struggling to her feet, keeping her eyes locked on the man. "Marvolo I presume?" she inquired, keeping her voice level as she scrutinised the man, the man's grip tightened on his wand.

"No that's Balik, Marvolo and him are the same person," Adrian cut in, Lyrisadora's eyes turned to him, her brow furrowing.

"What?" she questioned in befuddlement.

Adrian remained calm as ever as he shrugged a thin smirk forming on his gaunt face. "Think of it as a multi personality disorder, but this being 'Marvolo' is possessing Balik, but there's a bit of a power struggle-"

"Shut it," growled Balik in desperation, his eyes focusing on Lyrisadora. "J-just place your wand on the ground, no funny business," he ordered. Lyrisadora's jaw tightened as she cooperated, carefully drawing her wand out and placing it on the floor. "Conks!" Balik snapped, the elf scurried out of the shadows, eyes downcast as he hastily picked up the wand, she watched him retreat before her eyes turned back to Balik. "Who's he?" he questioned warily, eyes flickering to Yasen's unconscious form, she wished his eyes had lingered longer on the man's body, Yasen's wand safely tucked away in her robes.

"Just an extra, he got pulled along," she explained. "Just let him go," she added, her lips feeling dry as she tried to tread carefully.

There was an agonising pause before Balik replied. "Master says no," he replied quietly.

Her eyes widened as she edges closer to Yasen. "No, just stop," she pleaded. "Just let him go, he doesn't matter," she argued desperately, her heart racing.

"Lyra," Adrian tried to intervene.

"No," she snapped fiercely. "His life is _my_ responsibility, I can't let him die, and if you want the cup, you'll let him live," she threatened warningly.

This caused Balik to hesitate, she breathed heavily as her eyes flickered to Conks who held her wand in his small hands, before returning to Balik, who looked more hesitant as his brow furrowed, eye twitching in pain as a vein in his head throbbed visibly. "Master says-master says no and master wants to speak-"he was cut off as he hissed in pain, clutching his head as his master started to take control of him. Conks looked at Balik in concern, Lyrisadora swallowed a dry lump in her throat, aware that it was now or never, whipping the wand out of her robes and casting the jinx.

_"Ventus_!" as a whirl of wind blew house elf and master back, causing them to hit the wall with a hard thud. Aiming a stunning spell at Conks, knocking the elf out, her wand rolling underneath the kitchen table. She whipped her wand back and aimed at Balik, the man hissing violently in pain as he brandished his wand. "_Stupefy!"_ she snarled.

"_Protego_," he hissed back, the curse bouncing off, a dangerous glint in his eye, causing her to double take, this wasn't the same Balik.

She had barely time to think on this as he shot a curse at her, the harsh red light skimming past her as she dived out of the way. "Everte-"

"Aguamenti relashio," he spat, a wave of hot water knocking her back against the wall, her bag falling near Yasen.

She coughed and spluttered as the water burned her skin, causing her to hiss in pain as her skin burned, a vindictive smile formed on Balik, or to correctly put, 'Marvolo's' lips as he opened them to curse her again, Adrian watching helplessly by the side-lines. "Crucio," Marvolo uttered smoothly.

The water on her skin boiled, salt in her wounds as she writhed, short gasps emitting from her mouth as she struggled not to scream. A sharp pain in her ribs formed as a knife was stuck in, twisted maliciously round and deeper into her ribs, her stomach churning as she clawed at the floorboards.

"Oh god, fucking-ah-_ah_-shit-no-ah-ahh-ahh-AHHHHH!" her voice broke, her resolution shattered as she kicked and screamed, her entire body shaking as her screams reverberated around the cabin. Marvolo's eyes glinted as Adrian became paler, his eyes more sunken as he watched her writhe in agony. Yasen stirred, his groans buried under her screaming.

"Just stop!" yelled Adrian, struggling with his binds. "She has what you want, just let her give it to you!" he shouted, his voice desperate.

Her screaming intensified to ear splitting levels, before gradually turning into rasped chokes as the curse was slowly lifted. Yasen's wand summoned by Marvolo, who caught it in his free hand and placed in his tattered outer robe pocket. "I suppose you have a point," said Marvolo coolly. "But really Miss Malfoy, that escape plan was sloppy," he added patronisingly, smiling at her venomously.

She breathed heavily as she tried to calm her body down and focus as he mind was in disarray, a sharp voice causing her to shoot to attention. "The cup, Miss Malfoy," he repeated acidly. Her eyes widened as she dragged herself up to her knee, her mouth dripping with saliva as her stomach churned, only to be relieved once she upchucked on the floor, coughing and spitting as the vomit landed on the floor. Marvolo sneered in disgust, before walking over to her and grabbing her by her hair, forcing her head up to face him. "Miss Malfoy, my patience is all but near lost," he said tightly, her eyes filled with fear, apprehensively tightening her fist as she reached into her robes and pulled out the wrapped up House cup, shakily placing it in his presented free hand. His hands wrapped around it protectively, before letting go of her hair, wand still trained on her as he moved away and unwrapped the fabric. Her head nearly landed in the vomit below her as her arms shook, her sunken eyes meeting Adrian's, the mutual feeling of dread filling both of them. The sound of Yasen waking up drew in everyone's attention, Marvolo's face holding irritation, before flickering to Lyrisadora and Adrian, a calculating smile forming on his lips. "Oh, but isn't this perfect," he said smoothly, binding Yasen in place, before the man could properly open his eyes, Lyrisadora was shoved against the wall as the wand was trained back on her, feeling her feet lock together as Marvolo eyed them all with a sick excitement. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time," he continued.

Lyrisadora felt her palms begin to sweat as Marvolo moved the wand back and forth between them all, before landing on her. "So you say this man's life is your responsability," he began, nudging towards Yasen, who eyed them all with confusion and dread, his face petrified in fear. "You don't want him to die, yet his death would simply be a consequence of your effort to save you dearest friend over here," he continued, his tone holding excitement as he started to get into his element. "So the fact of the matter is, who shall live and who shall die."

Her eyes widened in realisation as she shook her head violently. "No, I can't," she pleaded.

"Well I suppose I could kill them both right now-"

"NO!" she screeched, panicking as she saw his wand aim at Adrian.

"No? Well you're not giving me many options dear," Marvolo sighed, a smirk playing on his lips. "Very well then, hurry up an choose, because at the end of the day the only reason I haven't killed you in particular is because your name carries some weight, but even that can only amuse me for so long," he drawled. "Mr Pucey or-Yasen was it? Yes him-or Yasen?" he continued.

Lyrisadora felt her mouth go dry as her nerves started to get out of control, her fists clenching as she shook her head desperately. "I-I-"

"Can't?" Marvolo finished mockingly. "Oh but you must, in fact it's more of a survival necessity right now," he taunted, before glancing at the other two occupants. Her eyes turned to Marvlo, almost pleading, before looking away as he mind became heated, feeling like a rat looking for an escape route, her magic frazzling. "You two have been awfully quiet," he said absently.

Adrian's jaw tightened as he glared loathingly at the man, his arms stiff as h tried to break the binds, Yasen curled up, eyeing the seen with anxious sunken eyes. "Just hurry up and get it over with," Adrian growled out. "There's no way you're going to let us live after this anyway.

Marvolo looked at him for a moment, his eyes piercing Adrian, as an amused smirked played itself onto his lips. "Now that's awfully pessimistic, I am a man of mercy after all, would you like Yasen to swap places with you, hm?" he inquired.

Adrian's eyes locked with Yasen's for the briefest moment, before he turned away, tightening his mouth shut. Yasen seemed to hold his breath as his eyes darted around the room. "Oh not you too, what kind of Slytherin's are you?" Marvolo, question in frustration. "We both know what you want to choose, now don't we," he continued. "You want him to die, and Mr No-One –Cares-About Yasen over there secretly wants you to die and Miss Malfoy over here is afraid to even consider which one she would rather see die. And why?" he questioned in exasperation, eyeing the silent terrified occupants. "Because it doesn't _feel _right, fear of admitting the truth out of petty social morals, if you really didn't want another to die you would have each offered your own lives up, I only need one sacrifice," he elaborated.

Lyrisadora clenched her fists as his words stung, the room becoming stuffier, her eyes absently turned to Adrian, before quickly looking down as a bad taste entered her mouth, and then looked at Yasen, his eyes locked with hers as if desperately trying to convey a message to her. Her eyes lingered, before it dawned."Okay," she said quietly, drawing in Marvolo's attention. Yasen's hand twitched as his teeth clenched. "You're right. But I cant, because you're asking me to choose who dies, once I make that choice I'm damaged," she continued, her eyes becoming unfocused as she continued to ramble, her desperation growing. "I can't be fixed. If by some miracle I survive this I have to live with the choice I made, in which I may not want to live at all because of it." Her eyes shifted to Marvolo, a sick amusement sewn in his eyes. Yasen flicked his eyes from Adrian to Marvolo. "And if I don't choose I'll most likely die, or in the end everybody dies and I still have to live with the choice of not acting or choosing…so I guess, I'm doomed either way," she finished meekly.

There was a brief silence as Marvolo looked down at her, his lip tugging upwards in amusement, eyes staying focused on hers. "Poeti-"

He was halted as Adrian flew into him, chair ripped from the ground, with him in toe as he was flung into Marvolo, both flying across the room into the old cracked kitchen sink. It was fast like a blur, Adrian used as a battering ram as he was flung back across the room to the opposite wall, Marvolo wincing in the kitchen as the chair that bound Adrian was smashed against the opposite living room wall.

The spell that bound them was disrupted as Yasen rushed to his feet. 'Accio wand!' he screamed, his muscles twitching as his wand zoomed into his hand, himself just barely catching it as he stumbled back, breathing heavily, gathering his strengh as he shot a sharp curse at Marvolo. Lyrisadora ran over to Adrian, a brief moment of relief rushing through her. Adrian groaned as he cracked his bones, struggling to his feet as Lyrisadora tried to pull him out of harm's way. In the Kitchen a wand battle issued, Yasen struggling to hold his own against Marvolo, lights and sparks flashed as deadly spells were issued. Her eyes locked on her wand underneath the kitchen table, the one the two wizards were currently battling round, she winced, before rushing into another room through the first door, dragging Adrian in toe.

She slammed the door shut behind them, panting as she tried to think of a plan to escape. Adrian struggled to walk properly as he stretched his muscles. "Well," he managed to grind out. "Could be worse," he finished faintly, his eyes scanning the room desperately. Only to be met with a dingy rotten bed, a bricked up window, scratched wooden floor and some old wooden chester draws. "How longs do you think he'll last?" he questioned uncertainly.

Lyrisadora refused to look at him as she went to search the draws, the fight from outside growing louder. "Not long," she answered, frantically searching through the old clothes. Thinking there had to something of use. She was thrown off her focus as a jet of lightening ripped through the door, tearing a burning hole in it, the sparks started to set alight small flames in the room , Yasen and Marvolo's fight arriving in the living room.

Adrian and Lyrisadora shared an alarm look before she started to rip the draws out, throwing one to Adrian. "Use it as a shield, we need to get my wand," she said urgently, rushing over to the wall next to the door.

Adrian eyed the piece of wood incredulously. "How high is our near death experience meter?" he question anxiously.

"On a guess?" she squeaked, shrugging weakly as she watched the fire spread. "The ;funeral preparations have been made' high," she answered meekly, before taking a deep breath and rushing out, missing a whip of fire aimed her way, Adrian dived after her as they tried to avoid the upcoming spells. Yasen stumbled as he cast a foreign hex at Marvolo, which seemed to throw the man off as his shield charm failed. Marvolo grunted, shooting a curse at his opponent, slicing Yasen's shoulder, causing his to cry out in pain and dive for cover.

Lyrisadora made a mad dash for the Kitchen table, diving down as a purple jet of light flew over her head. Adrian stumbled to get out of the way, stopping to snatch up the Hogwarts house cup up from the floor, dodging the second curse was shot his way, the curse hitting the wooden draw, causing it to explode, knocking him back. She grabbed her wand, a warmth entering her as she was reunited with it, sending a curse Marvolo's way, knocking him back as Yasen's curse hit him from behind. Marvolo struggled to his feet, a vein in his forehead twitching as he appeared unfocused. He cast a shield charm, elevating it and releasing it upon them as Lyrisadora and Yasen advanced, the three were blasted back, the flames coming into the living room as they started to grow, Marvolo advancing on Yasen.

Fear passed on Yasen's face as his wand arm limped slightly, as he tried to defend himself.

However with a direct hit from behind, Marvolo fell, his knee hitting the floor as a wooden draw hit him dead on. The curse that followed from Yasen caused him to growl as he was struck.

"Good aim," Lyrisadora praised, nodding at Adrian.

Marvolo bit back a wince, hand tightening round his wand, whipping his wand as he struggled to remain focused, a whip of fire released. Yasen stumbled and yelled as the fire burnt him, whipping across his chest, scarring his chin and ripping his clothes as he was knocked back against the wall, clutching his wounds. Adrian dived towards the kitchen table, pushing Lyrisadora with him as the flames scorched their backs and necks, escaping under the table as the flames set it alight.

"Fiendfyre? Yeah, fate's a bitch, no doubt about it," Adrian choked, coughing as smoke started to engulf the room, scrambling away from the burning table as the flames devoured it.

Lyrisadora put her hand over her mouth, "I figured,," she responded dryly, shooting a curse at Marvolo. "Go get Yasen and get out," she ordered sharply, casting a quick shield charm as a curse was shot her way.

Adrian covered his mouth as the smoke grew, the house burning rapidly, Yasen injured in a corner behind Marvolo. "Easier said then done," he muttered, jumping out of the way as a spell was aimed their way, in the corner Conks stirred, starting to wake as the flames and heat spread higher.

"Just get on with it-_Mutatio Skullus!" _she yelled, allowing a slight smirk as the hex hit Marvolo, the said man flinching as his wand arm was mutated, causing the wand to drop from his grasp, Adrian took his chnace and made a lunge towards Yasen, sliding across the floor.

Marvolo's eyes narrowed , eyes glinting like a viper as he lifted his hand, the burning table flying forward towards her, she jumped off the way, slipping on the floor as table smashing down next to her. Lyrisadora felt her eyes water painfully as the heat and smoke stung her eyes, her ankle twisted painfully.

"Come on," hissed Adrian, heaving Yasen up.

Yasen met his eye, his eyes narrowing in anger. "God you kids are little shits," he spat, holding his burnt arm close against his scarred chest.

Adrian snatched Yasen's wand. "Yeah I know," he sighed irritable. Aiming a stupefy at Marvolo's back, while the said man was clutching his head in pain, his body stumbling.

His stumbling body fell to the floor as the spell hit him. Adrian choked on his cough, lurching as the flames became unbearable, the ceiling starting to cave in as the light burned his eyes, watering them, his vision becoming blurry. Yasen's uninjured hand held Adrian's arm tightly, pushing forwards. Adrian made his way to the door, aiming his wand. "_Confringo_!" he he snapped, the door was flung off its hinges, the outside ir momently cooling his skin. He shoved Yasen outside before making his way over to Lyrisadora, Yasen falling down the small steps onto the cool grass, moaning in pain.

Lyrisadora grit her teeth as she tried to stand and limp over to the door, her knuckles turning white as she pushed herself up. Adrian voided the flames as they seared his feet, hopping to find stable ground. The room was red with fire, bright oranges draining all the colour, as the scarce furniture was burnt black and crisp, air nearly non-existent. She panted, he hair falling over her dirt ridden face as she lunged towards Adrian, trying to avoid the fire as her robes singed and burnt. "You know what," Adrian coughed, struggling to make his way over to her. "You are the worst rescuer ever," he rasped sarcastically, jumping over Balik's unconscious form.

His familiar sarcastic tone irked her. "Don't you ever shut up?" she choked, her vision blurred and unfocussed as she tried to make her way over to him, her body weak, a hollow ill feeling in her stomach as the flames destroyed everything. "You idiot, you stupid-" she lurched and spat as the smoke started to fill her lungs. She watched found her path blocked as the fire surrounded her. "And for the record, your rescue-rescuing sucks to!" she retorted, wiping her eyes.

He backed away slightly as the flames danced around them, he smiled weakly, stopping in front of her. "Shut up and jump princess," he called.

Her head snapped up, biting down on her tongue, the ceiling above the kitchen gave way as the cursed fire danced and grew. "If we end up in hell, I wont let you forget it," she lurched, hesitating as her heart pounded, before squeezing her eyes shut and jumping.

He nearly fell over when she jumped onto him, struggling to regain balance as he pulled her away from flames. She looked up, her lip twitching upwards in relief, before falling when she noticed he robes were on fire, quickly shedding her out robes, tossing them into the flames before Adrian dragged her off. "You can be such a drama queen sometimes," muttered Adrian as they made their way to the exit, her retort came in a scream as she was dragged back, he whipped around, seeing Balik clutching her ankle desperately, his face holding absolute terror. Adrian growled, wrapping his arms under hers, attempting to break her free.

Lyrisadora kicked, herself writhing as Balik clutched her sprained ankle, she tried to kick him, her eyes locking with his. His eyes holding desperation and horror, tears forming in them. "Please_-don't let go,_" he whispered, pleading as his voice rang in her flinched and choked on her breath, Adrian furiously trying to break her free by dragging her to the door. The pain from her ankle caused her to let out a piercing scream as it was pulled, her eye contact with Balik broken. She heard him scream as the fire started to burn him, spreading from his feet, his grip fading. Biting down on her tongue she shut her eyes, refusing to look him in the eye as she delivered a swift powerful kick to his face, knocking him back. His hand jerked back, allowing Adrian to break her free and dragged her back, lunging them both outside, falling out of the doorway as the house fell apart around them as Balik burned and Conks screamed, finally awake.

The grass soothed her skin as they sat huddled together, the house burning before their eyes, before a piercing hollow scream rang all around, like a ripping screech. A blackness burst through the roof, ripping it open, the ghost like ball barely visible in the night, their eyes widened as the snake like ghost screamed, their ears ringing as it flew away into the night, the darkness engulfing it. Leaving them in silence.

* * *

><p><strong>Only two months late. Blame uni, the work's a killer. And since I have my assessments in late November early December, it's safe to say I wont be updating for a while after this. <strong>

**So one more chapter to resolve a few things and then they're off home! Yay! Really was debating whether to or not kill Yasen, but couldn't bring myself to do it, he might have some potential after all. **

**Also not so happy with how the climax turned out, I thought it was good, but I think it's missing something. But meh, it's fanfiction. **

**Hope you guys liked it. I have done a character study of Adrian, also done a youtube trailer, which contents are mostly orientated to future chapters. **


	48. Scars

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**'...'-Bulgarian**

**Quote origin: Izaya, Durarara**

* * *

><p><strong>There's no one who can live their whole life being completely uncorrupted<strong>

**Chapter: Scars**

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for the entire cottage to be engulfed by the flames and turned into ash, leaving a thick trail of black smoke that disappeared into the night sky. She watched as the last spark was extinguished, snapping out of her dazed state as a sharp pain registered in her ankle. She looked around, Yasen and Adrian close to her as they stared at the ash in front of them, the light that shined their ash faces, dimming. "Are you ok?" she asked quietly, her throat dry.<p>

Adrian jumped slightly, forgetting where he was, he blinked rapidly before nodding to her. "Could be worse," he said, before he turned to Yasen who was moaning in pain. "Can't say the same for him though. How's your first aid?" he asked.

Lyrisadora pulled out her wand, wincing as she flexed her fingers the burns from her injury's feeling the sensitive cold air. "Basics," she muttered, before crawling over to Yasen. "Give me some light," she instructed. Yasen winced and hissed as she removed his arm from his chest, Adrian hovering some light next to her, illuminating the injuries. Lyrisadora breathed through her mouth as the stench of burnt flesh blocked her nose. "The wound looks to be cursed, so I won't be able to remove the scarring," she explained looking at the injured man, Yasen just grunted, his fingers clenching in pain. Taking this as a signal to just hurry up and heal it, she began to work.

The three were silent for a while, the silence only breaking from the odd winces and grunts of pain from Yasen. Adrian kept shooting concerned glances at Lyrisadora, ones she ignored, up until her annoyance was peaked. "What?" she questioned stiffly.

Adrian struggled to find the right words. "What did…the curse feel like?" he questioned hesitantly.

Her hand shook slightly before she steadied it. "Like somebody was trying to rip my stomach out," she replied softly.

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Adrian frowned. "Sorry," he said, the word sounding foreign to him.

Lyrisadora furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why are you sorry?" she questioned.

"You know why," he said gruffly. "Sides, if I had just listened to you, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

She didn't respond for some time, her eyes looking lifeless. "He would have found us eventually, probably would have capture both of us and that would have been worse."

"Yeah, probably," he replied tonelessly.

Lyrisadora stared at the burnt flesh, her eyes transfixed. "I looked him in the eye before he died, he was begging me not to let go," she murmured.

Adrian paused, glancing at her before looking at Yasen's injuries. "Don't make yourself feel guilty, he isn't worth it, trust me."

Her hand tightened around her wand as her magic sparked slightly. "I watched him…burn," she exclaimed quietly, her jaw feeling stiff as she moved it. "You said he was possessed. If that's true then he didn't deserve-"

"He didn't care," Adrian cut in. "When I told him, helping his master would kill him, he just shrugged it off, he was pathetic," he continued, a sharp edge to his tone. "Let it go, forget it if you have to," he said flatly.

"I can't forget, I owe it to him not to," she replied, meeting Adrian's eye. "I let go, I let him burn, I was the last person to see him alive, he knows I killed him, I know I killed him, if I don't face what I've done, then I'm a coward," she finished, holding his stare for a moment before returning to her work.

A thick silence settled, the smoke gradually fading as everything sunk in. "Everything's different now….isn't it? She reasoned faintly, eyes never leaving Yasen's scarred chest.

Adrian glanced at her, but didn't reply.

* * *

><p>They hadn't realized they had fallen asleep until the light stirred them awake, the sun rising. Yasen was the first to wake as they found him sat up, hugging his knees as his eyes stared at the ash remains of the cottage, eyes glazed over. Lyrisadora looked at him in concern, before turning away to look at Adrian, seeing him stretch his muscles and yawn. She examined his ash ridden face and burnt clothing, her lip twitching as she imagined the state she looked as well, running a hand through her greasy hair, grimacing as the texture and eyeing the crisp burnt ends.<p>

Adrian's stomach rumbled loudly. "Urk…hm, well now that's over, what are we going to do now?" he questioned.

Lyrisadora faltered. "I have no idea," she answered bluntly. "Never really gave it any thought, to busy trying not to get killed," she added, moving her newly healed ankle around before she got to her feet and stretched.

"Well we'll just have to contact home, though that could take some time," Adrian suggested, before glancing at Yasen, getting to his feet and leaning in to speak so they weren't overheard. "We'll have to ditch Mr Explorer over there though."

"Yes but first we need to find out where we are," she replied sarcastically.

"Good point, but I don't exactly want to go wandering with him around," he continued, lowering his voice. "I don't exactly trust him, if we don't ditch him soon, things could get messy," he reasoned.

Lyrisadora glanced warily at Yasen, agreeing with Adrian. "He's still recovering from his injury's though…I mean we can't just leave him, you have his wand remember, we've already pretty much ruined his life," she muttered to Adrian.

Adrian frowned as he tried to think. "We'll have to get him to take us back to Bulgaria then."

Lyrisadora visibly stiffened. "Ah yes, that's going to be a problem," she said apprehensively, Adrian arched an eyebrow at her.

"What did you do?" he questioned in exasperation.

She paused, wriggling her hands. "Well, I sort of outwardly robbed the Cornucopia in front of hundreds of people…"

"What the hell Lyra!"

"It was the only way I could get Yasen to agree to help me! I didn't do it on purpose," she snapped. "And…well," she continued, sighing as she sensed his frustration grow. "I also told the hotel owner that you abuse me…and stole a few potions." Adrian looked at her incredulously. "Dug up a grave…oh and kidnapped Yasen, well kind of, I more or less just took him while he was unconscious. Oh and the Veela want to kill us, so I wouldn't venture in any forests anytime soon," she explained, leaving Adrian befuddled. "Don't give me that look! You were kidnapped, what else was I meant to do?"

Adrian's palm met his face as he groaned. "You really are the worst rescuer ever," he sighed. "Next time I'll take my chances and rescue myself," he added.

"I should have just left you to die," Lyrisadora growled.

"I would have loved to see how you coped getting home, princess, no wait I can see it now, you probably would have gotten involved in a drug smuggling job to sneak across the border," he retorted dryly, shaking his head.

Meanwhile Yasen's eyes watered slightly, swallowing a lump in his throat as he lamented on his failure to keep the cornucopia safe, his ears perked as the yelling from the two teens registered to his ears. His eyes turned to them as they argued with one another. Once his eyes registered them they went cold, the pain from his injury's still lingering as he felt anger swirl inside of him. His hand reaching inside his tattered robes to bring out the stolen wand from his pocket.

"God you're full of it, do you really think you would have been a better rescuer!" she snapped.

"Well I wouldn't get myself marked down as a criminal in Bulgaria, that's for sure," he argued dryly.

Yasen's hand tightened around the wand, a surge hatred filling him, seeing them behave so immaturely and carelessly, he hated them, he loathed them.

"You never listen," she spat.

Adrian scoffed. "Oh you are such a hypercrit-" he stopped midway as his eyes registered the curse aimed their way, pushing himself and Lyrisadora out of the way as he pulled out Yasen't wand. "Watch it mommy's boy," he warned icily.

Yasen screamed in anger. "Shut up, just shut up both of you!" he yelled, Lyrisadora stood in the middle, away from fire, her eyes switching back to forth between them, swearing under her breath once she realized Yasen was holding her wand, feeling the empty lump in her robes. "Vue, you ruined ever'thing," he ground out, his breathing irregular. "Vou're the reason I went through vis _hell_," he spat, his face consorting painfully. "And vot for? I've got nothing!" he rasped.

"I'm sorry," Lyrisadora apologized, meeting his eye, her lips drooping. "I never meant this to happen."

His gaze turned to her, his teeth gritted. "Vue were going to hand me over to vem," he growled.

"No, no I had a plan," she argued, her voice faltering slightly, she struggled to find the words to calm him down. "I rescued you-"

"And shoved me into vat hellhole!"

"There was no other way," she argued desperately, her body shaking. "I made my mistakes, but don't tell me you didn't either," she added, her eyes unwavering. "The Cornucopia didn't belong to you, if you hadn't stolen it, they wouldn't have wanted your blood."

"I needed the Cornucopia, I will get it back," he snarled, his breathing frantic as his hand shook.

"Then you'll be killed before you can even lay eyes on it," Adrian sneered. "Give it up, it's over, in the need we all lost," he added. Yasen panted heavily, shaking his head desperately.

"No, no, no Mlukvai!"

"Let it go, let her go-" Adrian continued over his yelling.

"My mother's legacy!-" he began to shout hysterically, his face blotchy.

"Just stop it," snapped Lyrisadora, a slight snarl forming on her lips. "Listen to yourself, this has become an obsession," she continued, causing Yasen to falter. "I understand that you were only trying to make your mother proud, but you can't live your life through her dreams," she reasoned, her tone pleading.

Yasen clenched his fist. "My mother-"

"Wouldn't want you wasting your life to please her," Lyrisadora argued, Adrian turned to her giving her a pointed look. "Your life is your own, you shouldn't spend it trying to please..." she faltered, realizing what she was saying, noticing the raised eyebrow Adrian was giving her. Her fists tightened as she shot him a glare. "Don't say it," she spat, shooting him a challenging look.

Adrian just shook his head. "You really are unbelievable," he muttered, the two oblivious to the confused looks Yasen was giving them. "Listen mate," Adrian began, picking up from where she left off. "What princess is trying to say, is that this isn't healthy, your mother wouldn't have wanted you to become obsessed over this, because it's not healthy," he drawled. "You can't spend your life chasing something, obsessing over it..._bollocks,_" Adrian stopped, swearing as he realised what he was saying. He ignored the pointed look from Lyrisadora and sighed, massaging the bridge between his nose. "Errr listen, we're not exactly the best people to be giving advice, in all honesty," he sighed, looking at Yasen in exasperation. "We're kind of hypocrites," he summed up, smirking as Lyrisadora sighed nonchalantly. "But what we're trying to make you realise, is that your mother would have wanted you to live your life."

"You did not v'now her, I v'now vat she v'anted me to continue her research and find ve Cornucopia," Yasen protested, his voice desperate, his face consorting painfully as though his mind was struggling to keep up with the denial, refusing to put the wand down.

"Keep telling yourself that," Adrian said dryly. "But you know that she wouldn't have wanted you to waste your life over this, you know it exists, you proved it exist, you don't have to prove anything to anyone," he continued.

Yasen swallowed, his lips appearing dry, his face looking sunken and pale. "It vwas my everything," he muttered. "I grew up believing in it, I did not just...want to prove something...I need it," he said quietly, his eyes becoming duller, bringing his hand to his scalp as his fingers dug into it. "V'ow can I stop?" he mumbled.

Adrian kept his eyes and wand steadily on Yasen, a slight smirk on his lips, Lyrisadora looked at Yasen with pity as she watched the man slowly start to fall apart. 'Just accept that you've done it,' she said softly.

"What did you say?" questioned Adrian in confusion.

But Lyrisadora and Yasen ignored him, she fixed her eyes on him, speaking in his native tongue so every word would sink in. 'You proved to those people it existed, you saw the amazement on their faces, never forget that,' she continued.

Yasen paused before he removed his hand from his scalp as the other tightened around the wand. 'They'll forget, claim it to be a legend, they won't remember.'

'But you will, those people will know, people can say that it was all a hoax in the end, but you know the truth, you proved it and that's all your mother wanted, isn't it? She wanted to know she was right, she was proud of her work, she believed in it and all she wanted was for you to believe in it as well,' Lyrisadora reassured.

Yasen faltered as he processed her words. 'But...her memory deserved more,' he argued.

"You now this is really rude." Adrian watching as the two continued to talk over him.

'Yasen, she's survived by you, you carry her memory, live your life, let that memory become a legacy,' Lyrisadora continued, ignoring Adrian's outburst of indigence.

There was a long pause, Adrian looking between the two in both confusion and frustration as he wondered what they were saying , Yasen took a deep breath, his shoulders slumping. 'It still would have been better off if you two hadn't shown up,' he said, but this time there was no venom or anger behind his words, as he lowered the wand. 'So what now?'

"Will you two talk in bloody English already," snapped Adrian.

Lyrisadora shot him an irritated look. "Adrian calm down, it's all sorted out now. Right?" she inquired.

Yasen gave reluctant nod. "Yes," he answered hesitantly.

"Good, now give me back my wand," she said dryly, holding her hand out expectantly.

Yasen looked at Adrian. "Virst, a trade," he said.

"But I haven't got a wand," Adrian responded childishly.

Lyrisadora smirked. "Don't worry darling, I'll protect you," she said sweetly.

Adrian rolled his eyes, lowering the wand. "Please, if I've learned anything from tis experience, it's that you suck at rescuing people," he replied dryly, walking towards Yasen and handing him his wand. Lyrisadora quickly grabbed hers, smiling faintly as a familiar rush filled her, then backed away slightly, Yasen held his for a moment and eyed the two blankly, before pocketing his wand.

The three stood in silence for a while, eyes switching to one another, before a loud rumble from Lyrisadora's stomach broke it. "Anyone know a cavitation location spell?" Adrian questioned.

* * *

><p><strong>Quick update, had some spare time after finishing an assignment!<strong>

**Mlukvai!-mean shut up **


	49. Eight days of Aquarius, one day of Aries

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Dauntless14 : your reviews are fun, but kinda scary, still love them. **

**'...'-Bulgarian**

**Quote origin:Shigeyoshi Takagi, _Flower in a Storm_**

* * *

><p><strong>They say that the storm awaits the opening blossoms<strong>

**Chapter: Eight days of Aquarius, one day of Aries**

* * *

><p>20th February<p>

_Dear mother, father and so fourth_

_It's Lyrisadora, words cannot describe how sorry I am that-_

"I don't even know how to start this," Lyrisadora groaned, crumbling the half started letter and throwing it in the bin. Adrian smirked and made his seat on top of the desk. Himself , Lyrisadora and Yasen cramped together in a bed and breakfast hotel, all waiting for Yasen's associate at the Bulgarian university to get them across the border of Romania back to their home countries.

With no one chasing after them wanting to kill them, a calm solace eloped the three, now leaving the simple aftermath to deal with, the main one being finally sending a letter to the two teen's parents, attempting to explain their situation. "Just keep it short," Adrian said simply.

"But I don't want to seem sarcastic, they've probably been pulling their hair out while we've been gone," Lyrisadora protested, ignoring the guilt nestled in her stomach.

"Then stop whining and let me write it," sighed Adrian, growing frustrated with her.

"You lack the sensitivity," she retorted dryly.

Yasen rolled his eyes as they bickered. "Just hurry up and vrite something," he groaned, resting his head on the bedpost as he tried to drown their bickering out.

Lyrisadora shot him an irritated look before sighing. "Fine."

_To mother, father and Mr Pucey_

_It's Lyrisadora, Adrian and I are safe, we got kidnapped by a house elf who's master wanted to rip out Adrian's soul so he could restore his own. We lost the house cup and had to make a deal with some wild Veela. Adrian got captured, I found the house cup again and escaped the Veela, but I ended up in Romania, then rescued Adrian and now the psycho who wanted him dead, died in a fire. _

_Currently in Romania, perfectly safe. Sorry for worrying you._

_Love Lyrisadora and Adrian_

Adrian read the letter over her shoulder and laughed. "Oh that's perfect."

* * *

><p>21st February<p>

"So….thanks, for you know, not killing us," Adrian said cautiously, the three companions waiting outside the international Floo station, brand new travel documents safely tucked away in their clean robes.

Yasen's lip twitched slightly. "Trust me, it vos difficult, vue two bicker like dog and dog."

"Don't you mean cat and dog?" Lyrisadora inquired curiously.

"No, Cat and dog at least don't understand each other, vue two understand each other, vue just flirt," he replied nonchalantly.

Lyrisadora spluttered for a reply as Adrian just laughed. "Aw, am gonna miss you Nay Yasey," Adrian chuckled, patting the said man on the back.

Yasen gave him an annoyed look. "It's Nayden Yasen," he muttered, before shaking his head and sighed. "Never mind, just promise me vue von't enter Bulgaria ever again, period. Or I may press charges, too many to count," he warned.

"Yeah…sorry about that, but let bygones be bygones?" Lyrisadora suggested brightly. Yasen arched an eyebrow at her, she forced a smile. "Great, wonderful. Well best of luck," she said quickly.

Yasen glanced at his watch and then at the Floo platform, before looking back at the two. "Yes I suppose, still…" he trailed off, sighing in exasperation as he ran a hand through his hair. "Ve future is unknown, it's terrifying really, but still," he continued, a small smile forming on his lips. "It's better to be alive." Before giving a curt nod to them and walking away.

Lyrisadora and Adrian were silent for a moment before Adrian said. "That guy takes himself too seriously."

* * *

><p>22nd February<p>

"You sure it doesn't say who's meeting us?" Lyrisadora questioned anxiously, as the two companions sat waiting outside the Floo station once more. "And are you sure you have the House cup?"

"Stop stressing, the cup is safe and the letter says someone will meet us here and collect us, so relax."

"And you're sure it's your father's handwriting?" she questioned firmly, folding her arms as she glanced around the station.

Adrian snorted. "I'm pretty sure I forged my father's signature enough times to recognize his handwriting, it's legit, the 'S' is swirled and everything."

"It better be, I've had enough trouble to last me a lifetime," she muttered. There was a long pause. "What do we say?" she questioned quietly, her eyes narrowed at the floor as a hollow feeling formed in her gut.

"We keep it short, leave out the incriminating sections and move on with our lives," he replied evenly.

"That's easier said than done," she mumbled.

"It always is," came a vaguely familiar voice, they boy jumped slightly, almost near forgotten what the headmaster sounded like in their absence. Professor Dumbledore came further towards them, an amused smile and twinkle in his eye.

Lyrisadora blinked rapidly for a moment, trying to let the reality settle in, realizing they could finally go home.

* * *

><p>23rd February<p>

The hard slap across her face was like a snap back into reality as her mother cried as she hugged her tightly, telling her never to worry her so much ever again.

Her body remained stiff as her mother continued to hug her, crying into her robes, Lyrisadora glanced at her father as he walked over to them, he smiled reassuringly at her, a fixed awkward smile which had some difficulty staying on, when she looked into his cold eyes, she couldn't tell is he was overcome with relief, anger, confusion or a mixture of all three, he placed his hand on her shoulder,giving it a gentle squeeze. She decided on relief.

Adrian meanwhile simply strode over to the headmaster's desk and plopped the Hogwarts house cup down. "Oh yeah, nearly forgot about this."

* * *

><p>24th February<p>

Cedric continued to make confetti from the napkin in front of him as he and Lyrisadora sat in the Hogshead. She tapped the glass of her Butterbeer, swallowing a lump in her throat very few seconds. "So," Cedric began, looking up, struggling to find the right words. "Bulgaria? Must have been…" he trailed off when she met his eye, the words becoming jumbled. "Well…not very fun," he said, leaving the subject at that.

"Yeah, pretty much," she responded cautiously, looking down as she hastily took a gulp of Butterbeer. "But it gave me some time to think."

"Really?" Cedric exclaimed in surprise.

"Well no….I mean briefly I thought about it," she added, causing him to fiddle with the bits of screwed up paper. "But I thought about it more when I got back, more time to think."

"Yeah, makes sense," he agreed, a slight frown on his face.

She licked her lips and swallowed another dry lump in her throat. "You know, I still need help with my Herbology homework," she said carefully. "I mean Adrian's pretty much losing his mind over catching up with the work he's missed, so, you want to help me out?"

Cedric's lip twitched. "Help me with my potions essay in exchange?" he suggested playfully.

She tried to hide a smirk. "Looks like I rubbed off on you," she said amusingly, taking a sip of her drink as she hid a nostalgic smile behind her glass.

* * *

><p>25th February<p>

"I kind of wish I had died back there, at least then I wouldn't have to deal with _this_," Adrian exclaimed in exasperation, gesturing to his pile of homework and class work they were now having to catch up on, currently laying piled up on the library room table.

Lyrisadora smirked at his exasperation. "And you call me the drama queen," she muttered.

Adrian ignore her and sighed loudly, leaning back in his chair. "It's strange going back to normal," he drawled.

"I'm just glad I don't have people trying to kill me," Lyrisadora said lowly, re-checking her Charms essay and scribbling out a mistake.

"Yes that change has been quite relaxing," Adrian concurred.

She murmured in agreement, leaning on her hands as she kept her eyes focused on her essay. Adrian watched her for a moment, resting his chin on his fist. Her quill scratched the paper as she stopped writing. "Yes?" Looking up at him. Adrian smirked, irritating her. "Out with it," she ordered.

"You don't hate me anymore do you?" he inquired smugly, his smirk growing.

Lyrisadora bit her bottom lip as she glared at him, she hated it when he did this. "Well what do you think idiot?" He didn't reply, just plastered a grin on his face and returned to his work, she nearly snapped the quill in half.

* * *

><p>26th February<p>

"So where has this new found rebellion emerged Lyra? Have we finally rubbed off on you?" Fred questioned playfully, tossing a spark through his wand towards George who caught it with his own and through it back, himself, George and Lyrisadora in an abandoned hallway.

"Realized life's too short," she answered plainly, watching the two pass the spark of light back and forth. "So are you guys ok with me coming to the Weird sisters concert with you still? After everything-"

George interrupted her."Yeah sure, don't mind. Sides, what good friends would we be if we denied you this golden opportunity to blatantly disobey your dad," he cut in, smirking as the spark nearly hit Fred.

"Plus you're dad's a git," Fred added bluntly.

"Never truer words spoken," George concurred.

Lyrisadora tried to hide a smirk. "I can neither agree nor deny," she said simply. "But I will remind you to hurry up with your game," gesturing to the spark. "No magic in the corridors."

"Yes we know _Madame_," Fred said dismissively as he dived to hit the spark back at George.

Lyrisadora watched them for a moment before rolling her eyes and walking away, flicking her wand as the spark stopped in midair and exploded in a puff of smoke, sprinkling ash on the twin's faces.

* * *

><p>27th February<p>

Draco was looking at her strange, not his usual arrogant look, but that of an uneasy dislike. She glanced at him from her Transfiguration essay, as she sat in the Slytherin common room. "What's wrong?" she drawled, scribbling down some new correction on the parchment.

Draco walked nearer to her. "I heard you and Diggory were getting cosy with each other again," he replied flatly.

"If you mean by, we're actually talking to eachother again, then you're correct," she answered evenly. "Is that what's got your feathers ruffled?" she added teasingly.

Draco rolled his eyes at her. "Just checking," he retorted lightly, his tone a little too cold for her liking, before leaving her be. She watched him go, feeling slightly anxious, shaking this feeling quickly as she told herself she was worrying over nothing.

* * *

><p>28th February<p>

It was strange and amusing to see Hermione Granger having a breakdown in the middle of the library, Lyrisadora watched from a distance as the frizzy haired girl mumbled gibberish to herself, mountains worth of work covering the table she was sat at.

Lyrisadora cautiously approached her, clearing her throat, making her presence known and causing the girl to jump in surprise. "Are you okay?" she questioned cautiously.

Hermione stammered for a second before replying. "Of course I am, I-I'm just tired, you know how it is," she said hurriedly.

Lyrisadora raised an eyebrow at this, before her eyes noticed the gold chain escaping from under her collar. "That's a nice necklace," she said, watching as the girl quickly stuffed the chain under her collar. Lyrisadora forced back a smirk, eyeing the girl's tired eyes and mountains of work, sighing as she yielded to her softer side. "Hm, need any help?" she questioned.

"No I'm fine," Hermione responded quickly, refusing to look at her work.

Lyrisadora ignored her and picked up one of the books at the top of the pile, briefly examining the cover and its contents. "Third year, Arithmancy it's a killer at first, but once you get over this hurdle it get easier," she commented, before moving onto pick up the half-finished Arithmancy essay. "Hm, that's wrong, brilliant but wrong," she said, oblivious to Hermione's distress, taking up a seat next to her. "You're calculations just a bit off, which means the whole things redundant," she added, causing Hermione to groan. "Don't worry, it isn't like you're running out of time," she drawled, humming a tune as Hermione's eyes widened.

* * *

><p>3rd April<p>

"Cela semble incroyable,"exclaimed Zurie Malfoy excitedly, smiling brightly, after Lyrisadora had carefully recited her Bulgarian adventure, as she sat in the drawing room with rest of the Malfoy family. Lyrisadora sat calmly on a regal settee, a cup of mango ice tea in her hand as she surveyed her family who were eying her intently. Her mother sat next to her, looking especially pristine upon Basilia's visit, the stunningly beautiful newly wedded Zurie Malfoy sat on her other side, her skin olive and hair a copper red, her brown eyes bright with enthusiasm, looking like a ray of sunshine. Draco sat next to her mother, sitting casually and resting his arm on the armrest, his interest on the story waning after hearing it repeated. The drawing room they were in was larger than the usually preferred main one, designed especially for large gatherings, holding two long sofa's identical to one another in thin bronze stripes and pastel, along with four armchairs, the layout resembling an oval and armchair at each corner, the sofa's facing one another.

Antonella Malfoy was sat with her nieces next to Basillia, their dark hair contrasting against the room full of blondes. Her sharp faced pale nieces Clara and Arabella looking at Lyrisaodora with interest.

"I'm surprised you're not traumatised," Clara stated casually, smirking slightly. "Your skin must be thick, I don't think I could go a day in a slum like that," she said bluntly, casually bringing out a patterned fan, smoothing down her rose pattered robes, her light blue eyes looking at Lyrisadora with amusement, playing with her dark loose hair by gathering it to the side to fiddle with it.

Lyrisadora just took a sip of her drink and shrugged. "I've probably just exaggerated," she argued lightly, her lips twitching upwards slightly. "It is the art of storytelling after all," she added, keeping her face cool, determined that her relatives would find no fault with her casual mask, being labelled 'damaged' didn't sound appealing in the least.

She eyed the rest of her relatives, trying to analyse what they would be thinking, her father in the armchair near Draco, her Great Uncle Edric Malfoy and Great aunt Maryvonne Malfoy sat the sofa near him, the aging couple looking stoic, fitting their wrinkled faces, Maryvonne's skin looking a faded olive, her dark blonde air holding a number of grey streaks which gave it a lighter look, her plumb lips set in a thin line as her small chin was held high along with a smooth nose. Her husband holding the same posture, his light blonde hair cut short, especially at the sides, making the top look larger as it lay combed neatly to the side, his hair darker than his brother's, but skin just as pale and nose just as long and large, face looking arrogant, his jaw longer than Abraxas Malfoy's but eyes just as cold. Their only surviving son Damian Malfoy sitting next to his father, his hair a crisp blonde, skin tone having a slight tan to it, making his blue eyes more defining, his eyes looked tired making his jaw slacked, causing him to look weak chinned.

When Lyrisadora caught his eye she quickly looked away towards Arabella, who sat more primly than her older sister. "I'm glad to be back though, I'm also thankful that lunatic is gone, I think I can sleep safer knowing that," Lyrisadora added, forcing a pleasant smile, reminding herself to put some relief into it.

"It's fortunate you weren't alone in your endeavour," her grandmother spoke, drawing Lyrisadora's attention. "This Adrian Pucey seems like a fine young man. Come to think of it, Lucius didn't you mention being on friendly terms with his father?" Basilia questioned lightly.

"Yes, I consider Adrian is fine company, I believe he and Lyrisadora are friends," Lucius drawled.

Lyrisadora felt dread form in her stomach as she saw where the conversation was heading. Basilia smiled thinly at her. "I suspect he would make a fine husband, wouldn't you agree Lyrisadora?" Basilia questioned lightly.

Lyrisadora hesitated, swallowing a sip of tea that struggled to pass the lump in her throat. "Yes, I'm sure Adrian would make a fine husband," she responded quietly, before narrowing her eyes slightly. "For someone else," she added firmly, ignoring the affronted looks.

Her grandmother's eyes narrowed at her. "And why would you think that, he's a perfect match for you," she said stiffly.

"To you perhaps, but in my opinion I'd say no. We're friends, nothing more or less, also there is another detail that would counter your claim that we are 'the perfect match'," Lyrisadora argued smoothly, keeping her voice calm as she smiled pleasantly at her grandmother, who was looking at her with intense dislike. "I don't want to marry him," she concluded, shrugging casually while taking another sip of her drink. "Oh and Zurie, tell me again, how is the weather in France?"

Zurie tensed slightly as she was acknowledge, the tense atmosphere getting to her, Lyrisadora smiled at her politely, ignoring the tension. Zurie smiled weakly, before she forced her smile to brighten. "It's vonderful, though it can get-"

"Oh please dear, don't go frittering on about something so trivial," Basilia interrupted, her tone dripping with false sweetness. Zurie's mouth closed instantly as she swallowed. "We're in the middle of talking about something important," she added, as if talking to a small child, giving her a sour smile. Zurie's cheeks flushed at the sharp rebuke, looking away to avoid the woman's sharp gaze. Lyrisadora gave the girl a sympathetic look, herself relieved that Zurie was nothing like Forsythia and pitying the girl's lack of backbone against the rest of the family. Reminiscencememories of herself, flashing by before she shook it away. "Now as I was saying," Basilia continued pleasantly, turning her eyes to Lyrisadora. "I'm sorry dear, you mumbled, what did you say?"

Lyrisadora couldn't help but feel nervous, wondering if she should just give in, however the condescending stare and tone her grandmother was giving her made her want to scream at the old wench, just to wipe that patronising fake smile off her face. "Forgive me grandmother," she said humbly. "I forgot you were old." Her tone becoming more condescending, holding back a smile as the smirk from her grandmother slipped off, a few small hidden smirks spreading across the room. "But as I said, I don't want to marry him."

Basilia's eyes turned cold, glancing at her son in outrage. "Lucius," she said pointedly. Lucius looked at Lyrisadora with a mixture of affrontion and growing frustration at her attitude. Basilia smiled icily at her granddaughter. "I see, and since when has what you 'want' been held in high importance?" she questioned innocently, sneering slightly at her.

Lyrisadora felt her hand shake slightly as she placed her cup down on the small plate in her hand, meeting her grandmother's icy gaze. "Since I've decided I should be allowed the right to choose my own husband," she replied harshly. "It is the 20th century after all," she added.

Narcissa clenched her fists slightly and plastered on a sweet smile. "Enough of this dreary talk, Marvonne, comment est la mode en France carénage?" she questioned pleasantly, asking how the fashion in France was fairing, attempting to move the conversation along as her daughter and mother-in-law glared at each other.

But before Maryvonne could answer Basilia cut in. "It seems that traumatic experience in Bulgaria has meddled with your head my dear, you're acting foolish," she said tightly.

Lyrisadora kept her glare even with her grandmother. "Quite the opposite grandmother, I'm simply sick of you trying to sell me off to the highest bidder," she replied icily.

"Ladies," Abraxas warned. "That's quite enough, Lyrisadora I think you should mind your tongue," he pressed firmly.

Lyrisadora clenched her fists, meeting her grandfather's gaze. "Why can't I choose my own husband? Even old pureblood families have started doing it. For goodness sake Clara and Arabella are allowed to choose," she pointed out, ignoring her family's intimidating looks, looking down. "They are not constantly pushed to marry early, and they're twenty," she pointed out.

Clara and Arabella glared at her. "Do you mind not dragging us into this," hissed Clara.

Lyrisadora resisted the urge to roll her eyes at them, instead scanning the room, only to be met with disapproving faces, Draco looking at her in worry, she refused to flinch when she met her father's gaze. Zurie looked at her with sympathy, opening and closing her mouth as she looked around the room anxiously, exchanging a helpless look with her husband. "I mean no disrespect….I just want to be able to choose….after all…" she hesitated as she glanced at her great aunt and uncle. "Cousin Damon was allowed to choose his own wife," she pointed out cautiously.

Her father's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, but your cousin isn't the best example," he pointed out coldly.

"Hey!" exclaimed Damian, speaking up for the first time since his arrival.

Lucius arched an eyebrow at him."Pardonnez-moi, cousin, I just don't consider your escapades that…high in regard," he replied smoothly.

Edric Malfoy scowled, speaking before Damian's anger got the best of him. "Now Lucius, my son is simply spirited," he argued gruffly, defending his son's actions, earning a nod of agreement from his wife. He looked at Lyrisadora's earnest face. "And I believe the girl has a point, why shouldn't she be able to choose her husband? Family traditions can be so stiff at times," he added. Lucius shot him an annoyed looked, Edric saw his nephew's irritation and smirked. "And the main reason I allowed my son to choose was because I wanted him to be happy," he added.

Damian smiled coldly at his cousin. "Exactly, vey didn't want misery for me," he said lightly, giving Lyrisadora an encouraging not, earning a smile of approval from his wife. "You do want vour daughter to be happy, right cozen?"

Her father's jaw tightened, catching his uncle and cousin's slight. "But of course," he said smoothly, eyes turning to Lyrisadora, giving then an icy smile. "I only want what's best for you sweetheart," he said soothingly, condescension laced in his tone. "Having and arranged marriage means that the man won't be able to deceive you, by allowing me to choose your husband, you can be guaranteed a good man," he continued.

Lyrisadora forced herself not to narrow her eyes at her father, she didn't want to marry Adrian for the simple reason that she didn't want to, he was making it sound like she was too stupid to be a good judge of character, he made out that it was for her benefit when in reality she knew he just couldn't stand the thought of not having control over her life, meaning he wouldn't be able to plan out the family's future in the way he wanted. "I understand that father," she said, forcing her voice to be gentle as she forced a sad smile. "I would never want to upset you, you only want what's best," she continued, making her voice sound hurt as she looked down at her hands on her lap. "I just wish you'd trust me enough to allow me to make my own judgment, it's hard for me to know that you don't trust me enough to pick a husband, it's probably because I'm stupid," she continued, forcing her eyes to become watery, she looked around the room, pleased to see that her family looked perplexed.

Narcissa gave her a pitying look and held her hand, smiling warmly at her. "You're not stupid Lyrisadora."

Zurie put a comforting hand on Lyrisadora's shoulder."No, vue most certainly are-I mean aren't!" Zurie quickly corrected, withering under the disapproving looks the rest of the family were giving her. ""Je suis désolée! My English-"

"Oh be quiet girl," Basilia snapped, not looking at her as she kept her eyes narrowed at her granddaughter. Zurie was on the verge of tears as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Narcissa sighed, before continuing. "Of course your father and I trust you," she reassured, soothing her, as she stroked a hair back in place, before looking at Lucius sternly. "Isn't that right dear?" she questioned firmly, her eyes cold.

Lucius clenched his fists before sighing in frustration as he met his wife's angry glare. "Yes of course."

Narcissa nodded firmly. "You should be able to choose your own husband," she continued.

"Within reason," Lucius interjected tightly.

"Well of course. We want you to be happy Lyrisa," Narcissa said sternly.

Lyrisadora swallowed and lifted her eyes up to meet her father's. "Forgive me for my behaviour," forcing her voice to sound sincere. "I just couldn't keep it inside anymore, it was eating away at me, I just wanted you to understand," she explained.

Her mother just smiled warmly. "Well we do now, after all family reunions are meant to bring the family closer together," she reasoned, Draco barely held back a snort as he glanced at Damian and Zurie, the couple looking miserable.

Basilia snorted and narrowed her eyes at Narcissa. "Well I personally still see no reason to allow Lyrisadora to choose-"

"Mother enough, let it be," Lucius interrupted coldly.

Basilia glared at her son. "Lucius you're obviously not thinking straight if you would even think to allow this-"

"Mother, I said leave it be," he cut in, his tone holding warning in it, not liking his authority being challenged. "If choosing a husband for herself will make Lyrisadora happy, then I will allow it. Now let's end the discussion of marriage," he instructed coldly.

Abraxas nodded in agreement. "Lucius is Right Basilia, if Lyrisadora wishes to choose a husband, let her choose. As long as he is approved by Lucius and Narcissa then I see no harm," he drawled, waving a dismissive hand.

Basilia pursed her lips but said nothing as the room lapsed into a tense silence. Maryvonne Malfoy sighed quietly, weary of her extended family, focusing her attention on her withered daughter-in-law. "Zurie dear, you mentioned news you vonted to share?" she pushed, hoping the tension would lighten slightly.

Zurie looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh, yes I do. Damian?" she urged, her eyes locked onto her husband, he looked at her in confusion before realisation dawned, his wife not trusting her English skills enough to speak in front of their relatives.

"Oh yes, Vell, I and Zurie have some good news," Damian began.

Basilia arched an eyebrow, but surprisingly held back her retort out of curiosity. Damian looked at his wife encouragingly, causing her to perk up a bit and sit up straighter, forcing herself to smile. "I'm pregnant," she revealed brightly, a genuine smile forming on her lips.

Lyrisaodora didn't quite know how to respond, something shared by the rest of the family, but at least was polite enough to say something. "Congratulations," she exclaimed cheerfully, smiling brightly. This seemed to knock the rest of the family forward. Edric and Maryvonne looking surprise, it seemed the news had been kept under wraps for a big reveal at the reunion.

"Merci," Zuri thanked warmly, her face lighting up, making her look less withering, and more beautiful.

"Yes congratulations, I'm sure you'll make a wonderful mother," Narcissa spoke warmly.

"Yes we can only hope," Basilia interjected coolly, causing Zurie's smile to falter. "Congratulations, I'm sure your mother will be ecstatic," she added, taking joy in the girl's saddening look, it seemed she had found her new puppy to kick.

Zurie forced the smile back onto her face, trying to save face. "Merci, I'm sure she would be," she replied, struggling to find the right English. "Ve Veela don't settle….so s-she would be here if she could," she tried to argue, wriggling her hands.

"Yes, I got that impression," Lyrisaodora muttered, memory's relapsing as she remembered the defiant wild Veela, quickly shaking these thoughts as she turned back to Zurie. "What are you going to name the baby?"

Zurie smiled at her. "If a boy Edric," flashing a sweet smile at her father in law who chuckled. "And if Girl, Rosalie," she answered.

"Those are good names," said Arabella kindly.

"Merci," Zurie thanked profusely.

A dull silence settled as the family took to drinking their ice tea, occasionally making small conversation. The newly relaxed atmosphere seemed to suit Zurie fine as her posture relaxed, giving her husband small smiles across the room which he returned. Lyrisadora eyed her family curiously, unable to suppress a slight glee from winning the argument, followed by a tiny smidge of guilt for lying, but that had been easier to ignore. Her family were ones who had forced her to lie and pretend, so it was only just that she use it against them.

Her mother stroked her hand warmly, causing her to give her a fond smile, a small gesture that made her realise that in the end she'd always come back home, whether she wanted to or not.

* * *

><p><em>"I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the greatpuzzle!<strong>" <strong>_

_-Lewis Carroll, alice in wonderland _

* * *

><p><strong>Merci-Thank you<strong>

**Je suis désolée-I am sorry**

**Pardonnez-moi-forgive me **

**I already had the family reunion chapter written, same goes for chapter 50 and 51. **

**Hope you guys liked this one!**


	50. The Full Circle Breakdown

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Scar, Jane Eyre **

* * *

><p><strong>I am not an angel," I asserted; and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself.<br>**

**Chapter:The Full Circle Breakdown**

* * *

><p><em>1994<em>

* * *

><p><em>June<em>  
>Lyrisadora surprised Angelina when she laughed as some Knotgrass mead was splashed on her. "You really can't handle your alcohol Angie," laughed Fred in amusement, leaning back, the forest ground dry from the summer weather. The four teens relaxing after attending the Weird sisters concert an hour previous.<br>Lyrisadora felt light headed, her mind never feeling more carefree, she plopped next to George and snuggled up against him.

"Cold," she muttered, he hesitated for a moment before wrapping his jacket around her and letting her snuggle against him, ignoring Fred's arched eyebrow and Angelina's giggle.  
>For the first time, consequences didn't enter Lyrisadora's mind, or how her action would reflect to the others. Right now she didn't care about anything except getting warmer. A contemplation entered her mind briefly, as she wondered if this was what being 'free' was.<p>

The hard slap form her father afterwords, taught her otherwise.

* * *

><p><em>July<em>

"Draco hurry up or we're going to be late!" called Narcissa as she examined herself in the huge fireplace mirror, herself dressed formal along with Lyrisadora and Lucius as they waited for Draco, so they could Floo to the St Mungos fundraising concert.

"What is taking that boy so long?" grumbled Lucius, looking around the room, his eyes landing on Lyrisadora, he frowned once he noticed some ink on her cheek. "Lyrisadora you've got ink on you cheek," he commented irritably, reaching out to rub it off.

Lyrisadora flinched back away from his hand in alarm, causing Lucius to tense and Narcissa to look concerned.

"What on earth is the matter sweetheart?" Narcissa inquired worriedly. There was a pause, Lyrisadora's eyes flickering to her father who had stiffened, evident fear in her eyes, as the reminder of his reaction and actions when he discovered she had snuck out to see the Weird sisters without his permission, stayed prominent in both father and daughter's minds.

"...Nothing mother."

* * *

><p><em>August<em>  
>Her mind was racing when she caught sight of the Dark mark in the air, herself being grabbed by her mother and apperated home before she could utter a scream.<p>

Her mind still focused on the mark, it's image embedded in her mind. Only pausing from these thoughts when she heard her parents arguing and her father stumbling past, partly drunk, looking very pleased with himself. Causing her lips to absently form a sneer and eyes to narrow, feeling only disgust for her father as something inside of her started to break.

* * *

><p><em>September<em>  
>And the twin will die. The twin will die, the twin will die,<em> why are you so weak?<em>

"Shut up!" she screamed, waking up from another nightmare, breathing rapidly as her eyes watered, forcing herself to calm down as she closed her eyes and turned over in her bed, hoping that no one in her dormitory had heard her scream aloud. Lucretia rustling in her bed as the room remained silent. Lyrisadora swallowed a lump in her throat and rubbed her face into her pillow, swallowing a whimper as she tried to get back to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>October<em>  
>"The answer is still no Fred, that goes for you to George-tell Lee it goes<em> double<em> for him as well," Lyrisadora snapped, her patience far past its limit.

"Oh come on! We'll probably not even be picked, all you have to do is just slip-"Fred argued.

Her eyes narrowed. "The rules are there for a reason, the TwiWizard Tournament is dangerous, people have died in it and I won't risk your lives like that!" she argued, her tone turning frantic.

Fred and George looked taken aback. "Don't you think you're being a _tad_ overdramatic," George reasoned.

"No I'm being realistic...you have to stop trying to enter, please just stop, I can't lose you two," she pleaded, a large lump forming in her throat as she looked between them.

George still looked puzzle, but yielded nonetheless. "Alright...we promise...just relax already, you sound like an hysterical banshee."

* * *

><p><em>November<em>  
>"You know my birthday is coming up," Adrian stated, appearing from behind a bookshelf as Lyrisadora was reading 'History of Alchemy', her half finished Alchemy essay partly covered by a pile of books on the table.<p>

"Then I'll get you a new book, how does 'The art of learning how to accept the word no' sound?" she drawled, turning the page of her book.

"A bit wordy, if I say so myself. I would prefer. 'The benefits of friendship: explicit'," he countered, smirking as he came to sit next to her.

"I thought we moved past this?" she sighed, closing her book to glance up at Adrian, barely able to keep herself from frowning.

"True, but what would our friendship be without some good old banter?" he argued amusingly, leaning back in his chair.

"A healthy one."

"And why would we want that?"

* * *

><p><em>December<em>  
>"Cedric, you don't have to pretend anymore, if you want to go out with Cho, then go," Lyrisadora reassured, herself staring out unto the courtyard as the music from the inside hummed out, the Hogwarts Christmas ball still very much alive.<p>

Cedric sighed. "...Because it still feels wrong, we dated for three years, shouldn't their still be _something_?"

"Do you feel anything?" she asked softly.

"...No...but how can I be sure about it, after everything that's happened-"

Lyrisadora cut him off with a single kiss on the lips, his eyes widening in shock as she pulled away. "Feel anything?" she inquired gently, receiving a long silence. "Then go be with her, because there's nothing left to feel."

He looked at her, hesitating for a moment before walking away. Her lips felt dry as her heart stung for just a second as she watched him walk away.

* * *

><p><em>1995<em>

* * *

><p><em>January <em>  
>"Be careful!" Lyrisadora yelled, pulling George away from the icy lake edge, herself eyeing the icy lake with paranoia, before forcing George further away.<br>Fred and George looked at her with Confusion.

"What's the issue, Lyra, we were only messing around," George reasoned, getting out of her firm grip.

"Yeah you're being worse than our mother," Fred commented, rolling his eyes.

"Last time I checked we weren't made from glass, especially this one," George added, knocking on Fred's skull. "Fred's got a skull thicker than Dragon skin, no way he's breaking anytime soon."

Lyrisadora swallowed, her eyes holding concern . "I'm sorry, you know me, worrying all the time over nothing," she apologised, trying to smooth it all over."That's my problem, I worry too much."

"You don't normally worry this much," George pointed out, exchanging a look with Fred.

Lyrisadora swallowed as she chose her next words carefully. "Well ever since I went missing last year, I thought a lot about what if I never was able to see you two again, so I suppose I'm just...scared," she reasoned, earning some amused looks.

Fred ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance. "Awww, I always knew you were sentimental. We _wove_ you too _wyra_," he cooed, earning a growl and whack around the head from the said girl, a ghost of a smile etched on her lips.

* * *

><p><em>February<em>  
>"I just don't understand why you have to be so vile!" Lyrisadora spat, glaring at her brother, ignoring the stinging in her head.<p>

Draco fixed her with a fierce look. "I still don't understand why you act so weak."

"Don't you dare call me that-"

"But it's true," Draco challenged, causing his sister to falter. "I thought you had started to change and then I see you being best friends with the Weasleys again, but this time worse because you're with that Mudblood Granger," he growled.

"It wasn't intentional, we were studying together-for goodness sake Draco, I barely know her!" Lyrisadora hissed, trying to make her brother see sense.

He was silent for a moment, his fingers twitched slightly, his eyes cold and for the first time she saw something she didn't like. "I don't even know why I bother anymore," he said icily, refusing to elaborate as he left her alone, her eyes stinging slightly as she watched his retreating form.

* * *

><p><em>March<em>  
>"So think you'll end up head girl next year?" Adrian inquired nonchalantly as he and Lyrisadora patrolled the corridors while on prefect duty.<p>

"I haven't really given it much thought, lately my mind feels like bits are missing," she replied, rubbing her tired eyes.

Adrian studied her. "Not much sleep again?" he assumed.

A simple nod was her response. "How do you deal with the nightmares?" she asked, refusing to look at him,Adrian perfectly aware of what she was talking about. The corridors seemed to become darker.

He paused before answering. "I don't get them, so I don't have to," he answered plainly.

Lyrisadora felt an empty feeling in her stomach. "I dream about the fire, and Balik screaming, it's all blurry and I can't seem to stop thinking about it," she continued, her voice having an edge to it.

"You need to stop dreaming about being the victim," Adrian said coldly. "Then it won't be a nightmare anymore."  
>She turned a little pale when she realised the meaning behind his words, feeling slightly sick. After that she didn't tell him about her nightmares anymore.<p>

* * *

><p><em>April<em>  
>"I've told you, you have to mean the spell you utter," reprimanded Lucius, scowling at his daughter.<p>

Lyrisadora had her back to him, as they both stood in the duelling room of the manor, she hid a scowl as she clenched her fists. "I'm sorry father," she replied, forcing the resentment from her tone. This was not how she imagined spending her Easter break. "I am _trying_," she added tensely, turning to him.

"I'm a busy man Lyrisadora, I don't _have_ to spend my time teaching you these advanced spells," her father said icily.

"I appreciate your teachings, father. I'm sorry I am not reaching your expectations," she apologised, barely able to keep the sarcasm from her tone as she felt her frustration grow.

He appeared to have heard the hint of sarcasm as his eyes grew colder. "Do the spell again and this time do it _right_," he ordered, a sharp edge to his tone. Lyrisadora swallowed a sigh and turned back to the half destroyed target statue. "And remember, actions speak louder than words," he added lightly, the expectance in his tone clear.

"I bet they do," she murmured bitterly before drawing her wand out again.

* * *

><p><em>May<em>  
><em>"Obliviate,<em>" hissed the man who most certainly was not Mad-Eyed-moody. Lyrisadora felt her mind go fuzzy and the hand holding her wand slack, appearing dazed as the imposter grabbed his remaining potion ingredients and hurried away.

Her mind felt in jumbles when she recounted the potion ingredients in front of her, feeling a familiar sensation of deja vu. The next day Professor Snape yelled at her in frustration as she miss-marked the potion ingredients for the sixth time in a row.

* * *

><p><em>June<em>  
>Her body felt cold when she laid eyes on Cedric's still body,Potter's screams fading into the background, her breath staying stuck in her throat, unable to escape. It was becoming harder to see as the world appeared blurry and the wind became more evident on her cheeks. It took her a moment to realise she was crying.<p>

The empty feeling was back, but it hurt more, like she was starving and her body was cold against the hot tears that never seemed to stop falling. She removed the charm bracelet he had given her when they were children, she couldn't stand to look at it anymore.

* * *

><p><em>July<em>  
>She had realised what the name of the feeling in her stomach was, it was a mixture of horror and dread, stirred together to make her stomach churn and body weak, she felt like she was about to vomit. The door that she had been shoved out of, shutting behind her like a casket lid.<br>Vold-no she couldn't even think his name as he stood right in front of her, red eyes piercing hers. "You're father praises you my dear, such confidence in your abilities," the Dark lord stated smoothly, his non-existent lips forming a cold smile.

She opened her mouth to speak, to say something or to utter a reply out of a fear that he would be angered by her silence, but it was like she had forgotten how to speak. There was no way out, all previous opportunities of escape had been missed. Her head was hot and she couldn't think straight and the Dark lord wanted a reply.  
>His scarlet eyes flickered to her arm, she swallowed some vomit, her mouth glued stuck like a permanent sticking charm. They both knew there were only two ways this would end. She held out her left arm, her eyes meeting his, a mixture of panic and confusion. His smile became that of satisfaction as he took her presented arm by the wrist, drawing his wand to the pale skin. In seconds her skin was sliced through, burned and cut into. She couldn't bring herself to scream, because she understood now, in a way she had sealed her own fate. She had stayed loyal to her family and this was her reward.<p>

* * *

><p><em>"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?" <em>

_-Lewis Carroll, Alice in wonderland _

* * *

><p><strong>two updates in one day, awesome! <strong>

**Next chapter will be 'The Interlude' which wont really be a chapter, more of a short intro. Then after that it's a short time skip!**

**also I've kinda fallen in love with alice in wonderland quotes...(you were warned)**


	51. Interlude

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Lewis Carroll, Alice in wonderland**

* * *

><p><strong>I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then<strong>

**Interlude**

* * *

><p><em>"Lyrisadora it doesn't matter, all that matters is that you do as you're told and listen to your mother and I, all will become clear when you're older,"<em>

_"... I can't just stand by and watch as they fill your head, with those...ideas,"_

_ "You will eventually understand, that I am doing these actions, for your own good."_

_"Oh sorry… my bad, here let me help," the brown-haired boy apologised profusely,he held out his hand-_

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora took a deep breath when she pulled her head out of the small pensive, her mind coming back into the present as she stood in her dark room, the moonlight being the only source of light. Herself standing still for a moment and she reviewed her previous memories, before a sharp knock from the door pulled her from her thought. "I'm coming," she snapped, glancing over her shoulder at her locked bedroom door. "I'll be down in five minutes mother," she added was no response, just that of retreating footsteps.<p>

She sighed and closed her eyes as enjoyed the calm silence that eloped her room, a slight chill reaching her bare shoulders as she stood in a sleek midnight blue gown, the straps on the dress digging into her shoulder, her left arm twitching as her brow knitted, her nails digging into the wood of the vanity table where her pensive lay.

She breathed through her nose, opening her eyes and grabbing the black elegant gloves by her side, slipping them over her arms, she hesitated as the fabric of the glove partly covered the dark mark tattooed on her arm, the thick black ink cut into her skin, still fresh. She put a stop to her musing and pulled the gloves up to her elbows, before locking away the pensive and tracing the outline of her wand locked in place under her dress at her thy.

Pushing down her regrets as she forced a smile and walked out of the door.

* * *

><p><em>...<em>

_..._

_Holy water cannot help you now__  
>Thousand armies couldn't keep me out<br>I don't want __your money  
>I don't want your crown<br>See I've come to burn your kingdom down_

_Holy water cannot help you now_  
><em>See I've come to burn your kingdom down<em>  
><em>And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out<em>  
><em>I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out<em>

_Seven devils all around me!_  
><em>Seven devils in my house!<em>  
><em>See they were there when I woke up this morning<em>  
><em>I'll be dead before the day is done<em>

_..._

_..._


	52. Bitter-sweet Deceit

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Dangerous Liaison **

* * *

><p><strong> I practiced detachment, I learned how to look cheerful while under the table I stuck a fork into the back of my hand<strong>

**Chapter: ****Bitter-sweet Deceit **

* * *

><p>The party was in full swing the time she got down stairs, hesitating when she reached the bottom of the stairs, her smile slipping as the music slipped out from the open door leading to ballroom. She swallowed a dry lump in her throat as she quickly continued down the corridor to the ballroom, the music becoming louder. The hallway dim, with the odd candle here and there, the scarce light glinting on the tinsel of the Christmas decorations around the manor.<p>

When she turned the corner down the stairs, more people appeared, she was relieved that they more or less ignored her, as some ventured in an out of the ballroom, some separating towards the grounds.

Her gut twisted a little when she absently touched her concealed left arm, closing her eyes as she tried to keep her composer up, before entering the room. The ballroom was bright, the pale floor and ceiling causing the room to be engulfed in light, a large majestic Christmas tree at the centre of the room, decorated in silver and gold, lines of tables along the edges of the room in between the pillars, tables and chairs behind platters of glistening food arranged perfectly. An orchestra playing at the back of the room on a platform.

She casually made her way around the dance floor, weaving through the small circled clusters of groups, attempting to find her mother, aware that she was late as it was. No need to ruffle her mother's feathers more. "Ah there you are," called her mother. Lyrisadora snapped her head around, trying to locate her among the guests. "_Honestly_." came her mother's voice again, causing Lyrisadora to frown, nearly flinching when her mother gently touched her hand from behind.

She swivelled around, her mother now standing in front of her, giving her daughter a polite smile as she looked at her, the smile twitching as she frowned in confusion. "This isn't the dress I bought for you," she stated quietly.

Lyrisadora didn't look fazed. "I know, I bought it last week," she drawled, smiling slightly as she scanned the ballroom again. "My, father has outdone himself this year, such effort," she muttered, ignoring her mother's unamused look.

Narcissa didn't say anything, instead taking to change the subject. "Come, I and your father want you to meet someone," she said, her smile returning as she linked elbows with her.

Lyrisadora frowned slightly before realisation dawned when she caught her mother's line of sight. catching her father standing next to Sebastian Daley and the said boy's mother, Fiona Daley in tow, a woman who looked like she rarely left the house. She groaned at her mother as they made their way towards them. "For Merlin sake mother," she muttered. "You don't have to shove every boy in my face," she hissed.

Narcissa stared straight ahead as she kept her arm tightly linked around her daughter's. "If you're going to choose your husband, you'll need to look for options," she hissed back, keeping her smile in place as she lowered her voice more as they neared them. "And please, try to be…nice," she hissed back.

Lyrisadora bit back a snort and smiled dazzlingly, causing Sebastian to smirk. "Sebastian, it's been too long," she greeted cheerfully as they closed in on the group, her mother letting go of her arm, she quickly scanned his appearance to find a compliment to place. "New glasses?" she inquired lightly.

"Prior a year ago," Sebastian answered plainly, smiling indulgently. "New hairstyle? Shorter?" he guessed.

"Oh you are observant as ever," she replied playfully, her smile growing once she noticed evidence annoyance from her parents. "I hope you're enjoying the party, father went all out this year," she continued, eyes flickering to her father, giving him a dutiful smile. "Not that he needs to prove anything of course, right father?"

His smile was slightly cold, but he managed to add some warmth in it. "Of course. Besides, what would Christmas be without out some celebration, it is the season after all," he replied lightly, earning a concurring nod from Mrs Daley.

"It would be a crime not to," Mrs Daley replied amusingly.

"That it would," Lyrisadora added softly, smiling faintly. Meeting her father's warning gaze, simply smiling back in response.

"Mrs Daley wanted to discuss with you an invitation to her flower party, this Easter," Lucius said evenly, breaking his stare with her to smile at Mrs Daley.

"Which I had the pleasure of attending last year, " Narcissa said pleasantly. "The Cordeliers were magnificent, you must tell me your secret, Fiona," she added. She took Lyrisadora's hand. "Sweetheart you will love it."

Lyrisadora hid her grimace, instead smiling apologetically. "I wish I could, but mother, you do remember I'm allergic to flowers, partly the reason I fail at Herbology," she lied regrettably, giving Mrs Daley a sorrowful smile.

"No you're not," her father said coldly, giving her a sharp look.

Lyrisadora kept her composer. "Father surely you remember?" she questioned in disbelief, getting fully into the act, turning back to an affronted Mrs Daley. "I was out in the gardens and had a nasty reaction to some magnolias, my nanny Miss Brace helped fix me up afterwards, I could have sworn she had told you father," she mused, frowning at him. "Then again, you never did really liked her," she added nonchalantly.

"Yes well you could have reminded us," Lucius snapped, before quickly regaining his composer and forcing a smile as the Daley family stared at them anxiously.

"You were always so busy, I knew how important your work was," she countered evenly, enjoying their reactions. "But like I said, I'm sorry Mrs Daley, perhaps another event for another time," she added warmly. "Perhaps I could interest Sebastian in our range of foods? We have imports from France , the market is flourishing there these days," she redirected the conversation smoothly,

Sebastian took her hand. "It would be a pleasure," he replied, both ignoring their parents annoyed looks as they wondered off.

"A polite no would have sufficed," he said curtly as they walked towards the table full of an array of food.

"She deserved an excuse at the very least," Lyrisadora protested, taking a shrimp from a platter, jumping in surprise when Elizabeth came up from behind her.

"I've been wondering where you've been," Elizabeth stated brightly, dressed up in red and silver dress robes, with a diamond necklace to match. "The music is wonderful,-where did your mother hire them-"

"From a charity ball I think-shrimp?" Lyrisadora interjected, holding up the platter.

"No thanks," Elizabeth replied, pausing before adding. "You should see Lucretia, she's in a foul mood, her mother made her visit Cassondria at the start of Christmas break," she gossiped.

Lyrisadora smiled slightly. "Figures," she replied fondly.

Elizabeth hesitated before speaking again. "How have you been, it seemed you spend most of your time with Adrian these days," she spoke nonchalantly, a twinge of concern in her tone.

"Relax, our relationship's platonic, he's not even allowed to hold my hand," Lyrisadora reassured.

Elizabeth bristled slightly. "I didn't assume anything, I was just curious, that's all," she continued. "You've been so distant lately."

Lyrisadora's eyes flickered towards Sebastian, who was pretending to admire the ice sculpture centre piece of an angel. "Blame it on my parents, just because they're letting me choose my husband, doesn't mean they've lightened up on the issue," she drawled. "It's actually quite annoying," she sighed.

"I see," Elizabeth replied softly, still looking sceptical. "In that case, let's wonder off so they can't hound you further," she added teasingly, linking arms with her. " Come on, I can't wait to tell you all about Lucretia's crusade with that Poliakoff Durmstrangs student last year," she rambled, dragging her off towards the other side of the room. "All right cut the crap, why are you really behaving odd?" she muttered.

Lyrisadora sighed, knowing there was no use lying. "It's complicated, things are…delicate with my family right now," she worded carefully, her left arm itching.

Elizabeth looked around apprehensively, her hold tightening. "I've heard rumours….please tell me-I'm worried about you," she stumbled in explanation. Lyrisadora kept her face passive. "You can tell me anything, I'll understand and….I'd never judge."

Lyrisadora stopped at a pillar. "What do you want me to say? Things are delicate right now," she replied softly. "I'm alright, it's just so much has happened, with Cedric…" he voice broke as she closed her eyes and swallowed, maintaining perfect composer was vital at this stage.

Elizabeth's shoulders sunk as her eyes became more haunted. "I know," she mumbled. "I miss him too, everything feels different now, and it's all wrong and messed up."

"Enough talk, people are looking, we probably look like kicked puppies to them," Lyrisadora said in a strained voice, clearing her throat and smiling. "We have to move forward, strong and prideful," she added, bitterness seeping into her tone.

Elizabeth struggled to reply, simply nodding her head and moving away. "Right, well if you ever want to talk, I'm here, just don't push me away, it'll only make things worse," she added, before her eyes flickered past Lyrisadora. "Adrian's watching us by the way," she pointed out.

Looking behind her, Lyrisadora found Adrian a few feet away, casually leaning on a pillar. "Then I best see what he wants," she replied quietly, smiling at Elizabeth. "I'll talk to you later."

"Remember what I said," Elizabeth reminded sternly.

"I will," Lyrisadora replied lightly, shooting her and amused smiled. "I'm fine," she reassured before walking off.

Elizabeth sighed. "I just hope you're not lying to yourself," she muttered.

"Why hello there," Adrian greeted smoothly.

"You look suspicious," Lyrisadora replied blatantly.

"Or maybe you're just paranoid," he countered.

Lyrisadora shrugged it off. "Or perhaps it's both, either way, could you please tone down you're stalking, people are becoming unnerved."

"It's hardly stalking," Adrian sighed, placing his hands in his robe pockets. "More of an observation out of curiosity."

She sighed. "You can coat it with as many fancy words you like, it still is what it is; stalking," she argued in a matter of fact tone.

Adrian smirked, shrugging dismissively. "Perhaps, but who can help it when you're being so secretive lately, you've even started learning occlumency, a little peculiar."

"Hardly, my father has already mastered it after all, I'm simply following in his footsteps," she argued nonchalantly.

"Indeed you are," Adrian replied smoothly, giving her a perceptive look.

Her jaw stiffened. "You really don't know when to shut up, do you," she replied coldly, attempting to storm off.

"No need to run off," he said playfully, taking hold of her arm. "You're so uptight lately, you need to relax, come on," he added pleasantly, not waiting for an answer as he guided her towards where the band where playing, a small number of couples dancing.

"God you're annoying," she hissed, reluctantly taking her dancing position with him.

He smirked. "So who's teaching you occlumency?"

Lyrisadora hesitated before answering. "Professor Snape, Dumbledore doesn't know, well actually he probably does, he just hasn't confronted me," she answered, keeping her steps in time with his.

"He won't, but that doesn't mean he isn't watching you," Adrian replied casually.

"I gathered," she responded. "…how's your father?" Changing the subject.

"Ill, probably nearly dead," Adrian replied dryly, not looking that concerned.

She shot him a disgusted look. "You could at least pretend to care."

"What, like you?" he inquired tonelessly, her teeth gritted, he quickly twirled her around before she could reply, wincing when she stepped on his foot, grinding down maliciously.

"You really should learn when to hold your tongue," she hissed in his ear, before retracting and getting back into the rhythm of the music.

Adrian flashed her a sarcastic smile before regaining composer. "Maybe you should be less _sensitive_," he retorted. "And after all the effort I went to getting you your Christmas present," he added teasingly.

This seemed to peak her interests. "Present?" she inquired curiously, before looking at him suspiciously, wondering if this was one of his little games.

He didn't answer until the song had ended, kissing her hand and leading her out into the hallway. "You're going to love it," he said confidently.

She rolled her eyes, unable to stop herself from feeling a little excited. "I wouldn't be so confident, I may hate it," she shot back.

He simply smirked and reached into his robes, drawing out a black well-trimmed rectangular box. She eyed it curiously before opening it, her eyes widening once she realised it was a wooden crested pocket knife with gold trims around the woodwork, she switched the blade, the metal glimmering in the dark light. "Wow, thanks….I didn't expect something like this…." She muttered.

Adrian tilted his head in observation, smirking. "The blade is cursed, so be careful not to cut yourself," he said light-heartedly, gently tapping the point of the tip before she quickly retracted the blade and placed the knife back in the box.

"How thoughtful," she replied hesitantly, unsure if she should be happy or a little disturbed, deciding to settle on being grateful that he had gone to all the effort to get her something. "I didn't get you anything, sorry," she added, feeling a little guilty.

He smiled slyly. "Not a problem, I prefer the small pleasures," he said brightly, she frowned in confusion,stiffening when he suddenly wrapped his arms round her waist and pulled her closer, lips smashing down on hers, before she could react.

A rush of emotions ran through her, the first being anger with a mixture of frustration at his behaviour, instinct telling her to pull away and jinx him, then she felt something tickle her lips and she shivered, not having felt that feeling since Cedric, she frowned, the sensation becoming addictive. She found herself kissing him back, closing her eyes, the addiction growing. Herself perfectly away that she'd regret this later as she kissed him with more passion. "Don't say anything," she growled when she broke apart to breath.

"Shut up," he bit back, biting her lip and continuing the kiss. A few people were starting to stare. He drew her in closer, beginning to use his tongue as she moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

"_Lyrisadora_," came a deadly quiet voice, causing them both to freeze, eyes opening, as Adrian's tongue was stuck in her mouth, himself wincing when she quickly pulled away.

Her eyes turned cold once she realised who it was."Father," she replied coldly, levelling his glare, smoothing back her hair as she carefully wiped her lips with her hand, her mouth twitching slightly at his clear displeasure.

Adrian eyes widened, straightening himself out. "Oh, sorry...mistletoe and all," he reasoned anxiously.

Lucius clenched his fists as his jaw tightened, eyes absently flickering around to see some people staring, his eyes piercing Adrian, as if seeing him in a new light. "You're not under a _mistletoe_," he more or less growled out.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at her father. "Honestly father, there's no need to be protective," she said icily, getting his attention as he gave her a warning look. "I'm simply looking at my options," she added silkily, enjoying his clear frustration.

Her father narrowed his eyes at her. "We'll discuss this later. You're mother has been looking for you," he stated coldly, roughly grabbing her arm, earning a loathsome glare. "Now come," he ordered darkly.

His hand was tight around her upper arm, fingers digging into the skin, he pulled her in closer, a few people who were in the hallway were staring at them. She bit down on her tongue, burying her scream down her throat. "Of course," she replied tensely, her voice shaking slightly as she held back her rage.

* * *

><p>She watched from the drawing room window as the guests started to leave, herself shivering in cold room, the lights off as the moonlight shone through window. She flexed her left hand absently, feeling the dark mark's magic on her arm, it feeling like a constant unpleasant tickle.<p>

It was becoming more difficult to hide it, the glamour charms weren't sticking properly , fading quickly. She had thought about covering it with make-up and placing a permanent sticking charm in place to keep the make-up from rubbing off. That was something she needed to look into. The turning creak or a doorknob and the opening of the door brought her out of her musing, she listened at the footsteps, before frowning, sighing in irritation as she kept her focus on the outside. "Father," she greeted curtly.

He came to stand next to her. "You're behaviour tonight, was disappointing," he said evenly, his hands behind his back as he surveyed the line of guests leaving the manor before apperating at the end of the gates.

Her eyes flickered to him for second before staring straight ahead. "Oh, well I'm sorry for that," she said lightly, sarcasm laced in her tone, causing him to frown as his jaw shifted. "I suppose I am just a disappointment," she continued coolly, her mouth forming a faint sneer. "Then again, I suppose one would have to blame the parents in that matter, non-plural to be specific," she said velvety.

His head snapped to her direction, fist clenching. "You're attitude is becoming unacceptable," he grit out, his voice icy, leaning in slightly. "As your father, I t would do you well to remember not to speak to me with such disrespect."

That was when something snapped, like a ceiling caving in. "Oh you are full of it," she spat, whipping around to face him, surprising him as he stepped back. "What right do you have to call yourself my father?" she questioned venomously, shaking her head in anguish. "You abused me, emotionally and physically!" she continued, her adrenaline rising.

Lucius tried to stay in control. "You needed a firm hand-I don't need to explain myself!"

"Oh but you do," she interrupted, her eyes ablaze with hatred. "Because I cannot help but wonder, what kind of father would let his child fight a war?" she questioned bitterly. He flinched, she couldn't help but laugh cruelly. "Did you even bother to stand up for me?"

"I will not discuss-"

"Did he just have to say the word, and you came barking," she ground out, her voice cold. His fists fell to his sides, his face struggling to remain passive as his jaw stiffened, his eyes full of fury. "Struck a nerve have I?" she inquired viciously. "Oh dear," she groaned sardonically. "Have I told some home truths?"

"Not another word-"

"-or you'll hit me?" she inquired curiously, a patronising smile stretching across her face. "Oh please don't hold back, I shall wear it proudly," she taunted, he remained silent. "I suppose if you did, it would be for my own good, right?" she speculated, stepping back, shaking her head as she considered him. "I believed you for so many years," her tone sounding hurt. "You were my idol, the one who I thought really did want what was best for me," she added scathingly, her eyes eyeing him bitterly. "It must have amused you so, watching me stumble to try and please you."

Lucius looked at her with uneasiness, before looking straight ahead. "What is done, is done." His voice shook a little.

Lyrisadora's eyes watered a little, herself forcing her sadness at bay, burying it under her hatred and anger. "Then answer me this," she said quietly, her eyes turning to look outside of the window. "A year ago, when you found out I had snuck out to go see the weird sisters, you hit me," she began calmly. " I was going runaway, but then you said, you loved me," her voice broke, she struggled to keep it even, swallowing a painful lump in her throat. "So did you mean it, or were you just lying?" she questioned, looking at him, scanning his face for any deception.

He was silent for a long moment, before he replied. "Of course I meant it," he replied gruffly, his face looking like it was having trouble registering all these different emotions, his self-control cracking. "From the moment you were born, I've loved you," he continued, he opened his mouth to say more but the words appeared to become stuck in his throat. Instead he met her gaze. "Does that make you feel better?" he questioned mournfully.

She looked at him, seeing his pain. "It doesn't make me feel anything," she replied quietly, looking away, seeing him swallow from the corner of her eye. "You'd think it would, before I would have…." She trailed off, thinking of all the times as a child all she had wanted her father to say was that he loved her. Her eyes were becoming wet again, she fought to stay in control, her spitefulness growing. "Let's make one thing clear," she began icily, her eyes piercing him. "You may be my father, but only by blood, but not by name," she spat, finding a twisted happiness in the way his face broke. "But don't worry, I'll keep up appearances," she continued frostily. "I know how much the family reputation means to you," she added scornfully. "Goodnight," she said coldly, eyeing him disdainfully before leaving the room, shutting the door harshly as she left him in silence.

Lucius let out a shallow breath, his eyes watering as he tried to keep his composer, his daughter's words sinking in like a blade.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope everyone has a merry Christmas! :D I can't wait to head home for the holidays! Real food for three weeks whoopie!<strong>

**Hope you guys liked this one, currently entering new story arc, yay. **


	53. Half Truths

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Naughty boy, no ones here to sleep**

* * *

><p><strong>What goes on behind these doors<br>I'll keep mine and you'll keep yours  
>We all have our secrets, we all have our secrets<strong>

**Chapter: Half Truths**

* * *

><p><em>11th January 1996<em>

* * *

><p><em> "Everything's different now….isn't it?" she said softly. <em>

_"Of course I love you, I've loved you since the day you were born."_

_"It doesn't make me feel anything."_

* * *

><p>"Interesting…"<p>

"Sir, do you mind!" Lyrisadora spluttered, pushing Professor Snape out of her head. The said man rolling his eyes as he lowered his wand. Student and teacher currently in the Potion's laboratory, His Pensive in the middle of the room, candles littered around the room to provide light as a potion in the corner shimmered.

"It seems your latest disagreement with your father is causing you to slip," he remarked bluntly.

She frowned in irritation, at his lack of courtesy when roaming her mind. "Hardly, I've just got a lot on my mind."

"I'm aware," he drawled, strolling over to the potion, lazily taking a whiff of it. "Which is why you need to sharpen your mind, less the Dark Lord becomes aware of your woes."

"I am keeping my mind sharp, it's just today's is not a good day," she argued. "I've got Umbridge on my back, she's convinced Potter is up to something." She wrinkled her nose in distaste for the woman. "She's been watching me like a hawk."

"_My_, your adolescent woes do sound endearing, _however_ do you cope?" Snape inquired, his tone laced with sarcasm.

Lyrisadora glared at the back of his head, muttering profanity under her breath. "_Thank you_ for the support professor." Walking over to him, peering round to get a good look at the potion. "So, how did I do?"

"You're Occlumency is good Lyra, just focus your emotions more," he drawled, stirring the potion some more. "Your poison however, needs work, this will paralyse, not kill," he added.

"I did it to perfection," she protested.

"No, you didn't, you missed something, now try to think what it might be," Snape challenged in a clipped tone.

Lyrisadora thought for a moment, biting the inside of her tongue. "The…_spell_…" she mused, looking at the Professor to see if she was right, the look he gave her was confirmation. "But I meant it…well I at least thought I meant it…"

"This is poison, the spell needs to have deadly intent," he explained.

She groaned. "Well that's no good, I can't even kill a mouse."

Professor Snape vanished the potion, giving her a quelling look. "You best get practising then, your new occupation is going to demand it of you," he warned coldly.

Lyrisadora tried not to tense, folding her arms stubbornly. "I'm aware," she replied, her tone just as cold. "I'm not naïve sir, I'm just not eager."

"You don't have to be, just willing, despite popular belief, the Dark lord does not like the outwardly savage."

"Tell me a gain how my aunt is still in favour?"

His lip twitched upwards. "Her undying loyalty and warrior instinct."

"Sounds like he could replace her with a Rottweiler," she pointed out lightly.

"Unless you want to keep your organs intact, I suggest you don't mention that in front of her," he drawled.

"Trust me, I have enough bad memories of her to remind me of that," she replied dryly. "If the rumours of her are true, then the less crazy version I knew is an angel compared to now."

"Quite," Snape replied dismissively. A loud knock on the door jolting any further conversation. "Enter," he called coldly, an irritated look sweeping over his face.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow once she saw Harry Potter emerge from behind the door, the said boy looking taken aback by her presence. "Haven't you got enough detentions with Umbridge Potter?" she inquired playfully.

"Potter is serving remedial Potions," Snape cut in, causing Lyrisadora to give him a sceptical look, smirking slight when Potter glared at the Potion's master.

"Well that's interesting," she said lightly, earning a warning look from the Professor telling her this didn't concern her, her interests peaked,

"Don't you have an Elixir to brew, I expect it by tomorrow afternoon," Snape instructed sharply, her smirk only grew.

"As you wish," she chimed, shrugging her shoulders as she flashed a smile at the disgruntled Fifth year Gryffindor. "Good look Potter," she called as she passed him, her voice like honey as she left the two antagonising pair alone.

* * *

><p><p>

Fred and George sat huddled in the abandoned girl's bathroom with Lyrisadora, the three teens sitting on a dry patch near the sinks, munching on some sweets.

Lyrisadora shifted a bit as they ate in silence. "Just a word of advice, that secret club of yours best keep its head low for a while, Umbridge is coming down hard lately," she said quietly.

The twins didn't seem that bother, Fred waving a dismissive hand. "No worries, toad face is as about as scary as her namesake."

"We can take care of ourselves," George reassured casually, taking a bite of chocolate.

And the twin will die, she pushed away that thought, straining a smile. "I know, it's just with things how they are….well….I'm sorry for being a worry warts," she recovered hastily, trying to push her emotions back down. Fiddling with the wrapper of her sweet.

There was an anxious silence for a moment, the sound of crinkling wrappers echoing against the walls. "You know," Fred sighed dramatically, breaking the silence. "You don't half pick the worst places to hang out Lyra." Surveying the damp bathroom, a broken toilet cracked in one stall and a stuffy smelly odour lingering in the air.

"Well where else would we be able to meet?" she inquired irritably. "It's not like before, the consequences are more serious this time around," she added gravely,

"We are aware," George said in a playful exasperation, a hint of seriousness in his tone. "But that doesn't mean you couldn't have a few scented candles around the place, maybe bring a rug."

"Next time we're picking the location," Fred declared brightly.

She rolled her eyes at their antics. "Right, sure then we'll build a clubhouse and have a few sleepovers," she retorted dryly.

"Excellent idea, I'll bring fondue," exclaimed George cheerfully.

"And I'll pick the rug," Fred announced.

Lyrisadora massaged the bridge in- between her nose, as she shook her head in amusement. "I worry for you two, I really do," she sighed, a smile creeping onto her lips.

* * *

><p>Adrian and Lyrisadora were in the Art Classroom, as the sun started to set. "Are you even sure this will work?" Adrian questioned dully, sitting at a mouldy old table, resting his elbows as he slouched. Opposite him Lyrisadora was writing markings on a square chalk board, muttering to herself.<p>

"No, first time I've attempted it," she mumbled, adding some chards iron and copper to the mixing bowl.

Adrian eyed her curiously. "I'm still confused why you're attempting this?"

"The seer said something about 'the alchemistic' circle in her prophesy, so it's worth a try to at least attempt to transmute something through alchemy," she explained, finishing up the construction circle, placing her chalk down.

"I really going to put that much weight in some random Seer's prediction? They're hardly accurate."

"She was accurate enough about Balik dying in the fire," she argued.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, that 'innocent will die in the fire', could have applied to anyone."

"If you're not going to take this seriously, then leave," she replied lightly, giving him a frustrated frown.

"_You're_ the one who invited me in the first place," Adrian exclaimed in exasperation. "Besides, I can't deny that I'm a_ little_ curious," he added reluctantly.

"Then shut up and prepare to be proven wrong," she snapped, rechecking her textbook, comparing the accuracy of the circle. "Right, everything should be in order," she added, placing the book down, putting the mixture in the centre of the circle, her excitement building as she picked up her wand. "_Incendio_," shooting the spell at the mixture, setting it alight and rubbing her hands together in anticipation. Adrian leaned back as his eyes grew in curiosity. Her fingers tingled with magic as she channelled it, focusing her mind before carefully placing her palms on the circle. Her hands buzzed as the magic flowed, the mixture glowing as the circle lit up red.

Adrian's eyes widened as a small brown owl statue emerged from the mixture, rising up from the warm glow, until the light faded and it was complete. There was a long pause, Lyrisadora grinning in triumph, while Adrian looked surprised that it had actually worked. "Huh, neat," he muttered.

She shot him a smug smirk as she carefully took the small bronze trinket by its head. "Tadaa!" she exclaimed brightly, placing it on the desk.

He picked it up and examined it curiously. "So, what else can you use this alchemy stuff for?"

"From what I gathered, all I really need is the transmutation circle and the equivalent exchange; you can't make something out of nothing," she elaborated, placing the empty bowl and chalk board back in her school bag. "So in theory, I could use it to manipulate the elements using the energy," she continued, Adrian just hummed in response, scratching the surface of the object. "All you really need to know is the right numbers and a good knowledge of potions," she rambled.

Adrian raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. "Are you finished?"

Her lips pursed as she frowned at him, throwing her satchel over her shoulder. "You inquired, I was simplly answering," she said tightly.

"Yes well it all sounds interesting, but a little too time consuming," he drawled handing her the small owl.

She snatched it out of his hand. "So is gardening," she retorted.

"It's not gardening, it's called knowing how to water a plant and passing an easy subject," he shot back.

She huffed. "Oh shove off, it's gardening and you know it," she snapped, more or less shoving past him, heading towards the door.

"Better than ornament making, seriously, by the end of the year you'll have a collection."

She flushed, snapping her head round to glare at him. "Oh go f-"her breath caught in her throat as her left arm started to burn, her cheeks turning a deathly pale as her gut twisted.

Adrian looked at her in concern. "What's wrong?"

She tried to regain composer, but it was too late, having slipped for just that moment. "You being a stuck up asshole is what's wrong," she countered, the burning growing. She needed to find Professor Snape. "Now if you don't mind, I have to go study," she added crossly.

"You just already finished studying."

She ignored him, hurrying out before he could protest, practically running down the stairs towards the Potion masters office. Her left arm feeling like it was being re-branded all over again.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope guys liked this one..<strong>

**I've started a Adrian and Lyra centric fic called poison & wine, which is basically extra scenes that don't make it into this fic. Go ahead, check it out.**


	54. Just Another Neccesary Evil

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Harem Scarem **

* * *

><p><strong>It's a twisted line that winds through right and wrong<strong>

**Chapter: Just Another Neccesary Evil**

* * *

><p>Much to her annoyance, Professor Snape stayed irritably calm as she rambled on about not knowing what she was meant to do, now her arm was burning. She stood in front of his desk, himself in the mist of stirring a bubbling potion, his bored expression never altering. She stared at him desperately, hoping he'd tell her how she was meant to get out of school to go see the Dark Lord, her fists shaking as her left arm throbbed in pain.<p>

He sighed. She nearly screamed at him. "Relax Miss Malfoy, he does not expect you to run away from school," he sighed, finally moving from behind his desk. "Follow me," he instructed, walking toward the potions laboratory in the other room.

She frowned in confusion and pain, quickly glancing at her left arm, pulling up her sleeve, the concealer she had used to hide it, evaporating away as the mark stood out against her pale skin. She quickly pulled her sleeve down and followed Snape into the other room. "Then what does he want?" she questioned warily.

He closed the door, heading towards the pensive and placing the tip of his wand to his forehead. She apprehensively walked towards the pensive as he drew out a silver shimmering thread, a single memory. "You were instructed by your mother to approach me when your arm burned during school hours. The Dark Lord wants me to keep an eye on you," Snape drawled, placing the memory in the basin. "He wanted me to pass along a message, to be given when this incident was to arise."

Lyrisadora swallowed a lump in her throat, ignoring the pain in her arm as she leaned over into the Pensive. "Oh, aren't I special," she mumbled miserably, glancing up at the Professor anxiously before dunking her head into the pensive.

* * *

><p><p>

_Her surroundings disappeared in a black misty swirl as a new scene emerged, the room that was forming around her was dark, and the only light a large fireplace, which gave an eerie glow. The room looked a bit worn down as dirt lingered on the mantelpiece and the furniture looked faded. When she looked towards the fireplace, she froze, her blood running cold as Lord Voldemort sat in one of the armchairs, a fat snake coiled around him as he stared straight at her. _

_She forced her fear down as she reminded herself that this was only a memory and he couldn't hurt her. She kept her eyes locked on him as he began to speak. "Lyrisadora, I hope my calling didn't alarm you too much," he said velvety, her jaw remained tight as she kept quiet. "Of course I don't expect you to leave school every time your mark burns, it would be far too disruptive." His voice was pleasant, she hated it when his voice was pleasant. Calm before the storm. "Instead I have my own task for you, a little test to help you get started in your services. Your obedience training has already been completed," he continued, his tone holding amusement to it as her smiled coldly, lightly petting his snake. Her gut twisted at the memory. "So I want you to impress me." She found herself forgetting how to breathe as she listened. "I want you to make me a poison, something…..imaginative, with a hint of personality," he explained smoothly. "I don't just want it to kill, I want it to entertain," he added maliciously. She tried to keep her face passive as a bad taste formed in her mouth. "I want it in three days, I'm sure you can handle it, you're a clever girl." His tone was a little condescending. "So, don't disappoint me," he finished lightly, evident warning in his tone as he evaporated into smoke, the memory pushing her out._

* * *

><p><p>

She breathed a shallow breath as she came out of the pensive, her fingers tightly gripping the basin as his message sunk in. She glanced towards Snape, the man rolling his sleeve back down as he looked at her inquiringly. "So, you understand now?" he asked.

She nodded stiffly. "Regrettably so," she muttered curtly. She paused before she added. "What if I can't do it?"

"You will."

"But I already failed to make a deadly poison."

"Only with the spell," Snape reasoned, removing the memory from the pensive and incinerating it. "Sometimes the best poisons aren't meant to kill, dosage can play a huge part."

"Like veritaserum," she added quietly, wincing as the pain in her arm continued. "What about my arm?" Her face imploring.

"I've already contacted the Dark Lord, notifying him that you've received his message, it should pass soon," he explained.

"Not soon enough…suppose he wants me to _really_ think about what he's ordering me to do," she theorised glumly, attempting to ignore the pain. "Figures," she mumbled. "Be creative, he said," she repeated bitterly. "He's turning me into a monster," she announced tonelessly, her body feeling cold. She looked to the Potions master, his lips were set thin as his face betrayed no emotion. "Is this how it all starts?" she questioned, her voice wavering. He remained silent as he walked out of the room, her heartbeat quickened more as her arm felt like it was bleeding. "Is he going to use the potion on someone? Sir I don't know how to handle this," she pleaded, her composer crumbling as her fear grew.

He stopped at the classroom door, hand hovering over the handle, his eyes piercing her. "You're going to have to compromise, you won't like it, but life isn't fair," he spoke lightly. "If you don't want to go insane, then remember who you are, no matter how much you change."

"But sir…" Her throat felt dry as she tried to say the right questioned. "When the day comes when he makes me kill someone…what do I do?"

He looked at her thoughtfully for a while, his gaze holding pity to it. "You don't think, you just do it," he answered coldly, before wrenching the door open. "Don't think about the future, focus on the now." As she was more or less shoved out of the room, door sharply shutting behind her.

* * *

><p><p>

The pain in her arm didn't stop until an hour later, but it did little to ease her anxiousness, she barely slept that night, every time her eyes closed the message relayed back in her mind. She knew she needed to get her emotions back in control, of her occlumency would do little to shield her.

So the Dark Lord wanted to bring out her dark side, perhaps that was what she was most afraid of, she had dabbled in that area time to time. The incident in Bulgaria and her taunts to her father, but it had all seemed in the now, never seeming to reflect what was to come. Well her father had always been a long running dilemma. But still, to truly embrace her unstable side, it felt wrong.

These thoughts plagued her mind as she lied awake that night. Her roommates sleeping peacefully while she fretted. She held her cat in comfort, Sapphira's purring soothing her a little. She nuzzled her face into the cat's fur as she closed her eyes, trying to understand the situation she was in, remembering the Professor's words. To focus on the now, at first it seemed entirely unhelpful, but she was beginning to understand. If she kept worrying about the future she'd go insane.

She sighed, her control over her emotions was slipping and that wouldn't be helpful if she was going to keep up this façade. She tried to accept the situation, if she wanted to kill someone she needed to mean it, she needed to channel her hate to its purest form.

She just hoped she didn't let it consume her.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope everybody is enjoying the holidays! I had a mishap on the way home, got lost in a field while trying to get the bus home, not pleasant.<strong>

**Let me know what you guys think. And thanks for the reviews on Poison and wine!**


	55. Crack in the Glass

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Fernando Pessoa**

* * *

><p><strong>In order to understand, I destroyed myself<strong>

**Chapter: Crack in the Glass**

* * *

><p><em>12th January 1996<em>

At breakfast Adrian dropped the daily prophet on the table in front of her. "Looks like the shit's about to hit the fan," Adrian chimed brightly, pushing Elizabeth out of the way so he could sit next to Lyrisadora. "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

Lyrisadora stared at the headline, '_Azkaban mass break out'_. "That Azkaban's reputation is in shreds," she answered tonelessly, tossing the paper back on his lap and resuming eating.

Adrian sighed in exasperation. "Well that's disconcerting, I had hoped for a better reaction," he cooed.

"Sorry to disappoint," she countered. "Anyway I need your help with a potion I'm having difficulty with," she added plainly.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Now that is a first; please do divulge," he urged playfully, resting his chin on his fist and he grinned teasingly at her.

"I'll explain later," she said curtly, taking another spoonful of porridge, the porridge stone cold.

* * *

><p><p>

For the remainder of the day her mood worsened, other students gave her looks which varied from wariness to outward dislike, it seemed Slytherin's reputation had surprisingly managed to worsen. She scratched her left arm and frowned when she walked passed them, she stopped and paused as she thought about the irritation she now felt, trying to think if it was enough to feel the urge to poison one of them. The thought left as quickly as it came.

Instead a new one entered once she saw her brother and his lackeys pushing a fist year back and forth. For a moment she just stopped and watched, seeing Draco laugh maliciously, eyes a glint with a sick joy.

She had never given her brother's bullying much thought, mainly because she had never witnessed it, allowing her to pretend it never really happened, but the façade and pretending was useless now. She felt angry, a violent energy building inside of her as she watched him push and hit the small kid. So perhaps she hadn't been thinking straight when she rushed in, yelled at him to stop and pushed him away; but to be fair she believed the hard smack across his face was perfectly justified.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you?" Draco squeaked, his cheeks burning pink in embarrassment as his friends watched in bewilderment.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she countered coldly. "You're pushing around a first year because you think it's fun," she exclaimed in disgust. "You're pathetic," she said distaste.

Draco's fist clenched. "Oh sod off, stop acting so self-righteous," he retorted acidly. "You can't tell me what to do; you think you're allowed to talk to me like that?" he spat.

Her eyes narrowed, a few people were starting to stare, she stepped in closer, keeping her voice low. "Yes, because if I don't, then you'll never realise how much of a self-indulgent bully you've become," she hissed, her voice weakening a little as she started to realise the monster her brother was starting to become. "And I should have helped you sooner," she mumbled.

For a brief second he hesitated, for that brief second she thought she might have got through to him, but his face quickly consorted into a glare and mouth formed an arrogant snarl. "Instead of criticizing others, you should take a nice long look at yourself," he replied. "I never _needed _your help, you've always needed my help," he stated scathingly.

She swallowed a dry lump in her throat, her retort staying stuck in her throat. "Hem _hem_," came an irritating overly sweet cough. Lyrisadora bit back a groan as she turned around. Madame Umbridge scuttling towards them, brazenly pink attire making her stand out like a firecracker. "I heard there was a little squabble between two siblings," she chimed brightly; the sound wrung irritably through Lyrisadora's ears. "I do hope you two haven't had a little tiff," she cooed, smiling sweetly.

Lyrisadora forced a gentle smile and turned around to face her. "No, just a small disagreement," she replied politely. "Nothing serious, pardon us for disturbing you," she added, making sure she sounded sincere.

Umbridge smiled appraisingly, her beady eyes turning to Draco. "Oh I see; Well I do hope you've settled you dispute with your sister Mr Malfoy," she said cheerfully. "It's always such a _shame_ when family members fall out."

Draco glanced at his sister before addressing Umbridge. "No, it's settled, just a little sibling rivalry," he replied coolly.

Umbridge just smiled, Lyrisadora found herself wondering how the woman kept that fake smile on 24/7; hers was starting to hurt. "Oh thank goodness, wonderful. Well if that's the case then there's nothing else to discuss; you two run along now," she announced joyfully, waving a dismissive hand and swiftly scuttling away back into the castle.

As soon as she was gone Lyrisadora's smile dropped, exchanging a hard look with Draco before the two went their separate ways.

* * *

><p>Adrian had to admit he was a little confused when little Miss blondie had asked for his help with potions; he just didn't quite understand why she would need his help. From what he had gathered, Potions was her best subject. Then again, maybe she just needed his help growing some plants for her ingredients; that seemed reasonable.<p>

He mused on this as she lead him to the lake, for a brief moment he wondered if she was going to drown him, he snickered in amusement, she glanced at him in curiosity. "What's so funny?" she questioned dully.

"Nothing, just remembered something funny," he replied dismissively.

She just shrugged in response and turned around. He quirked an eyebrow at her mellow attitude, she wasn't normally this lifeless, he wondered what had got her so down. "So you're taking me to the lake," he exclaimed.

"Yes," she replied simply.

"And we're alone…we never did finish our kiss you know…"

"Whatever sick derivative thoughts you're thinking, you better stop now," she ordered sharply, her tone holding a little more emotion to it than before. This made him smile, at least now she wasn't acting so docile anymore.

He smiled amusingly. "I was just stating the facts, no need to get so defensive," he reasoned plainly, stopping at the small hill overlooking the lake. "Fancy a swim?"

"I hate open water," she replied dismissively, glancing at the grey water before looking back at him. "The potion I need your help with, it's a poison Professor Snape wants me to complete; for extra credit," she explained.

He placed his hands in his pockets and looked at her with interest. "I see, and you need my help because?"

She paused, looking like she was trying to word her next explanation more carefully. "I lack the….shall we say, deadly intent when making poisons," she elaborated. "He wants me to make something unique, the only issue is, I don't really know creative ways to kill a person."

Well he knew that was a lie. "And you assumed I would?" he inquired smoothly.

He noticed that she seemed to hesitate. "Well-I wasn't judging you-"

"You kind of were."

"I'm not saying you'd be good at killing people," she snapped, looking a little panicky; he thought she looked cute.

"I'm a little insulted you didn't say I would be," Adrian exclaimed, pretending to look offended.

She just growled at him, his teasing easily ruffling her feathers. "Listen, I just need some ideas, you don't have to help me if you don't want to."

He sighed in exasperation; sometimes she could be so naïve. "Yet I always do," he said pointedly, picking up a stone and aiming it at the lake. "So let's start by thinking of the different ways to kill a person," he began, throwing the stone into the water, a small splash erupted.

He glanced back at her, she was folding her arms and looking uncertain. He picked up another stone and threw it upwards, catching it leisurely back in his hand, looking at her expectantly. She eventually complied. "Fatal wounds."

"Oh come on that's childs play, let's think bigger," he pushed, throwing her the stone.

She caught it and sighed in exasperation. "_Fine_. I could freeze someone from the inside, but that's too quick," she said quietly; he had to listen intently, watching as she threw the stone into the lake.

"You want it to be slow?" he inquired, he wondered who this poison was really for, then again he did have his theories.

"Yes, but that kind of potion already exist, I need something better," she said, her tone a little more demanding.

He gathered up more stones and gave her a handful. "I think better, when my hands are occupied," he explained. "Now, let's think….you could set fire to their spine; I read about a muggle disease that made your spine feeling like it was burning."

"You need to read better books," she replied, throwing the stone, her face looked stiffer. She certainly wasn't enjoying this conversation, nevertheless he continued.

"Probably. Then there's starvation, you could do wonders with that." She looked tenser, he decided to take a different approach. "You know, maybe you should first think about who you'd want to poison, then you'll come up with more ideas."

She looked at him coldly. "I don't hate anyone that much."

"You don't have to, you just have to think of every bad thing you've ever gone through and the rest will sort itself out," he explained, throwing another stone, the splash was much bigger now.

She was very quiet after he said that, he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking, he continued to throw stones until she spoke again. "I'd make them feel helpless," her tone had a frantic tone to it, it sounded like she was having trouble registering what she was saying. "Weak and small-no sound, just still and quiet, because they wouldn't need sound to make people understand how much pain they were going through," she continued, her voice having more of a haste to it. Adrian kept his eyes focused on her as he started to see her unravel. "They'd be destroyed from the inside, it'd be beautiful," she explained shakily.

He had to admit he felt concerned for her, but at the same time it was fantastic to see all that façade crack away. "It's not a bad thing to want that."

"Yes it is!" she snapped, seeming to regain herself, looking angry, but he knew the anger was not directed at himself.

He just had to chip away the rest of those layers so she could blossom. "No it isn't; nothing's black and white, the more you try and force yourself not to think like this, the worse you'll get," he reasoned warmly. "Society will never understand, so stop trying to conform to it and just be yourself."

And she was speechless, he always loved it when he got her like this, she knew he was right. "This-if I…" she trailed off, it looked like she was lost in thoughts; perhaps she was having an epiphany, Adrian couldn't really decide. And then she threw the stone into the lake, a big splash emitting. "I guess he's right," she said softly; Adrian wondered who she was referring to. "Don't think, just do."

"What?"

She didn't really answer him, just started to throw stones into the lake. "I don't really know how I'd turn that idea into a potion, a part of me doesn't want to know, but…" she shrugged. "I guess it's never really been about what I want, has it?" she questioned, glancing at him, to his dismay she looked sad.

"It's not healthy to be a pessimist at your age," Adrian pointed out.

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Then what should I be?"

He was a bit taken aback by this, shrugging. "A realist," he suggested.

"Hm, alright then, that's what I'll be," she responded calmly. "I'll end up going insane otherwise."

"Oh don't be so dramatic," he countered, rolling his eyes at her. "Besides, I wouldn't let that happen."

Lyrisadora looked at him sceptically. "Why, are you supposed to be my hero or something? If so, it seems like I got a pretty cheap deal."

Adrian sighed and shook his head, oh it seemed her snarky tongue had not been dismissed. "Oh why _thank you_, especially considering I saved your life a good number of times."

"Convenient that you fail to recall the number of times I saved your life."

"The number's so low I can hardly recall," he argued.

She seemed to relent, growing tired of their arguing and yielding in the end, just like she always did; he enjoyed that most about their discussions. "Well I'll hold you to that promise of yours, but if so, what do I owe you in return? And if you say anything vulgar, I'll ram this stone through your skull," she warned pleasantly, throwing and catching the smooth stone in her hand.

His lips twitched. "Simple, just keep me company," he answered casually.

"Aren't I already doing that?" she inquired warily.

"Exactly," he replied cheerfully, throwing the stone into the lake, and like that the next stage of the game had begun.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys had a good Christmas! Also hope you have a happy new year. <strong>


	56. A Spoonful of Schadenfreude

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Ellie Goulding**

* * *

><p><strong>I lie wide awake, think of things I<strong>  
><strong> can make but I don't seem to have the<strong>  
><strong> parts to build them<strong>

**Chapter: A Spoonful of Schadenfreude**

* * *

><p><em>13th January 1996<em>

The dining room in Malfoy manor was quiet, the sound of scraping forks and knives echoing, as Narcissa and Lucius sat at the table eating their evening meal.

Lucius glanced at his wife briefly, hesitating to speak as he finished eating his food. "Narcissa," he said curtly, his wife looked up at him curiously.

"Yes?"

He tried to find the right words to say. "Lyrisadora's been acting….odd lately," he stated. She remained silent. "We had a disagreement at Christmas."

She focused on him intently. "What happened?" she questioned smoothly.

"Words were said," he replied cautiously, unsure how much he should divulge. "It seems she's unhappy," he added warily.

Narcissa's eyes softened. "Do you know why?"

His jaw stiffened a little. "Do you think I was a bad father?" he asked uncomfortably.

Again she remained silent, hesitating in answering. "Lucius, we all make mistakes," she struggled to reply. "You love her, but I just wish you hadn't pressured her so much," she continued regrettably. "She was always so distant with me, looking back I don't really think I was any better…"

"So I'm the reason she hates me," he announced quietly, swallowing a lump in his throat as he kept his face passive. "I never did tell her I loved her enough, did I?" he spoke curtly. "If I had, then maybe-well who knows," he trailed off, resuming eating.

Narcissa stayed quiet for a while, looking at him with a mixture of sadness and concern. "What does the Dark Lord have planned for her?" she inquired softly.

He paused from taking another bite as his eyes flickered to her. "He was not specific, he says she has potential though, she just….needs to gain more experience."

"In other words?" she inquired anxiously.

"It just means he thinks she's too….reluctant to kill and…he wants her more hardened for her duty," Lucius replied stiffly, meeting his wife's worried gaze and quickly taking a gulp of wine.

"But you'll look after her won't you, Lucius? You must, keep her safe," she implored, her eyes watering a little as her voice became more frantic.

He tried to calm her down. "Of course I will. I'll keep her safe," he reassured soothingly, hastily grasping her hand and rubbing smooth circles into it. "It'll all turn out for the best in the end."

She removed her hand from his grasp.

* * *

><p>Lord Voldemort was lounging in his usual armchair next to the fireplace, the fire unlit; the candles around the room lit up instead. The newly released Bellatrix Lestrange standing in front of him, looking like she had just killed Dumbledore.<p>

Nagini was hissing at his side, crawling round him as he kept his eyes fixed on his most loyal of followers. "So Bella, do you understand the plan?" He asked mildly.

"Of course my lord," she replied velvety.

Voldemort just hummed lazily in response, stroking Nagina's head, before his red eyes flickered back to her. "Tell me, what are your feelings towards your niece?"

Bellatrix looked a little confused, before she waved a dismissive hand. "Like that of a cat to a mouse; the girl is spineless," she replied. "I just don't see why you're wasting time with her my lord."

He looked at her in mild amusement. "I don't waste time Bella, I simply just have the patience to make something better," he replied coldly.

She seemed to get the hint and quickly made herself look apologetic. "I meant no offence my lord, I was just was stating my concerns," she hastily protested, daring to step closer to him. "Of course you'd have your reasons for taking an interest in her."

"She isn't spineless Bella," he replied coolly, causing the deranged woman to look more confused. But he ignored her, instead remembering the first time he encountered the girl in Romania, he had been annoyed with her and the Pucey boy's meddling, but he had to admit they had shown potential, well some at least. Nagini hissed beside him. Though he would much have preferred she worked with that Pucey boy, their teamwork seemed to work, but that was all in good time. It wouldn't be long, the boy's father was practically begging his son could join the cause. He looked back at Bellatrix who was looking at him anxiously. "But she does need to prove herself, the task I've assigned her is small. So what do you suggest?"

Bellatrix seemed to quickly rattled her brain, before a grin spread across her face. "How about a little training exercise?" she suggested silkily. "Just to see how she holds her own; perhaps draw my dearest cousin out of his hiding spot."

"No, it's too soon for that," he said, her lips drooped a little. "But, a little training exercise does sound interesting. What do you suggest?" he inquired smoothly, relaxing in his chair as he waited to hear what torment Bellatrix wanted to inflict on her niece.

Her smile broadened as her eyes glinted. "I always was a fan of sewers."

* * *

><p>The potions laboratory was starting to get messy, as Lyrisadora fumbled with her ingredients, readjusting her goggles, the cauldron bubbling. A drop of the potion fizzed out and landed on her rubber gloves, burning through. She winced and quickly tried to purify the potion, grabbing a purple bottle and pouring half of the content in, the bubbling eased as the liquid lightened.<p>

She sighed in exasperation, leaning back against the desk and pushing her goggles on top of her head. It seemed creating a poison that had selective paralysis and at the same time admitted immense pain and suffering from the inside, while also causing the victims tongue to swell up painfully, was difficult to actually make. Then again, the idea was complicated as it was.

She sighed, all she needed was to work out a way to stabilise the potion. She side glanced at the velvety liquid, before she tensed as a knock from the ratted. "Hey Malfoy, you in there?" Lucretia's dry tone called.

Lyrisadora wasn't given much time to answer, as Lucretia opened the door and barged in, Lyrisadora scowled at. "I'm busy."

Lucretia glanced around the room airily, shrugging and looking unperturbed. "I gathered. But your brother sent me, to tell you, that Madame Umbitch asked him to tell you-"

"Lucretia, I don't need the full story," she groaned, giving the said girl an exasperated look.

Lucretia huffed. "The minor details tend to be the most interesting. Anyway, the low down is that _Madame bitch_ wants you in her office, pronto."

Lyrisadora felt a surge of frustration, what did that patronising cow want? She removed her goggles and gloves. "Alright, I'll be there in a bit," she replied unenthusiastically, placing a lid on the potion.

"Good luck," Lucretia said smugly, before tottering away.

Lyrisadora froze the potion in place, before carefully placing it in and empty cupboard on the bottom shelf. She locked the door behind her with her spare key before heading towards Professor Umbridge's office.

It didn't take long for the overly sweet scent to enter her nostrils, she swallowed and grimaced as she knocked on the door. "Come in," came the familiar teeth grindingly honey coated voice from the other end.

The revealing of the confectionary walls made her Lyrisadora squint, scanning the cat themed decorated room; they were really starting to put her off cats. Her eyes stopped on a small slouched figure in the corner of the room, a young first year whose back was to the room. "_Hem, hem_," coughed Umbridge cheerfully from her desk.

Lyrisadora forced a polite smile. "You wanted to see me Professor?"

"Ah yes, come sit-ignore Michael over there, he'll be serving a detention-Would you like some tea?" the pink clad woman inquired, as Lyrisadora sat down, taking a brief sidelong glance at the boy.

"No thank you," she replied lightly, keeping her smile fixed.

Umbridge continued to beam at her. "I just thought we'd have a little chat," she said, pouring herself a cup of tea, Lyrisadora watched as the cat on the teapot chased its tale; the woman's obsession was worrying. "It seems you've been looking a tad stressed these last few day, is anything the matter?"

Besides the fact I'm practically a slave to a mad man and have a giant snake tattoo on my arm? I'm fucking fantastic. But instead she replied. "No not really, I suppose being head girl is a bit stressful though." She added a sheepish smile, just to make it seem a little more genuine. She heard a soft whimper from the boy, she pretended to ignore it. "I suppose I have been a little highly strung, but with all this pressure from N.E.W.T.S, it's just made me think a lot about my future."

"But you have nothing to worry about my dear," Umbridge cooed, taking a sip of tea before placing her cup down. "Unlike _some_," she added mildly, her voice was practically drowning in syrup, all sticky and overly sweet. "Actually, I have to confess, I did summon you for alternative reasons, besides your well-being."

Lyrisadora frowned. "Which would be?"

"Miss Parkinson informs me, that you were awfully friendly with Weasley twins, a little troubling, especially since you're head girl now," she explained, looking at her like they were old friends discussing a little secret. "I assume your father wasn't aware?" she inquired, using the same girlish tone; it made Lyrisadora's skin crawl.

Her smile was starting to hurt now. "No he is not," she confessed, readjusting her hands on her lap, her mind racing. "The Weasley twins were always kind to me ; I was very shy when I was younger. There's just something exciting with being friends with them," she explained, carefully weaving her argument. "I admit I was rebelling, a childish want to get back at my parents for being so controlling."

Umbridge tilted her head inquisitively. "The recklessness of youth," she sighed. "Still. I do hope you've discarded such childish actions?" Her tone was a little less sugary.

"Of course, I understand the consequences," Lyrisadora answered, thinking now was a good moment to weaken her smile; good thing to, her muscles were going numb.

"Hmmm, yes that would be a shame," Umbridge concurred, her frown looking very contrived. "But they needn't know. However I do hope this past friendship won't affect your duties as head girl?"

"Of course not."

"Because you show so much promise and the twins, well…they're such a…._waste_," she continued, taking another sip of her tea. Lyrisadora suppressed the urge to grab the woman by her hair and bash her face down on the desk repeatedly.

"Hmm," she instead hummed in agreement. "I will continue to help you in your maintaining of order," she recited smoothly.

Toad face smiled. "Lovely." The boy whimpered more loudly, Lyrisadora peered at him, her eyes widening at the sign of blood on his hand. Was that what she thought it was? "_Michael,_ be quiet now; your elders are talking," Umbridge chimed, smiling pleasantly as she added another sugar to her tea. The boy called Michael turned around briefly to look at the woman fearfully, his face very pale. "Honestly. I imagine your father raised you to be better behaved," Toad face simpered. Casting a sharp look at the boy that made him turn back around to facing the wall.

Lyrisadora subconsciously clenched her fists on her lap, her face remaining passive. "Of course. But everybody is different Professor," she replied softly.

"Hm, yes shamefully so, especially the thick headed who never seem to learn," Umbridge sighed. "I remember my old secretary, silly little thing, who never quite learned to put the _right_ people at top priority," the woman spoke mildly. "She didn't quite understand how things were done, always a little slow, so in the end I suppose it was no surprise that we had to get rid of her," she elaborated, looking at Lyrisadora with beady eyes. "If she had been a little smarter, maybe things would have worked out better for her."

There was long silence, the two just stared at each other for a while, the scratching and cutting of the quell.

"Yes, probably," Lyrisadora finally replied, smiling sweetly. "But perhaps she was just different."

"Yes, most likely." Umbridge took another sip of her tea, looking perfectly content. "Well I'm glad we had this chat, we should do this more." And there she was, back to talking like she was Lyrisadora's childhood friend.

"Yes, of course Professor. But I really must be going, I have my studies to attend to."

"Of course, how silly of me to forget, run a long now-not you Michael, I don't think the punishment has sunk in yet."

Lyrisadora stared at the grotesquely pleasant woman for a little bit longer before she smiled and stood up. Stealing a glance at the boy, her stomach churning more as her theory was proven. Merlin that woman was sick. She closed the door behind and walked away from the sick woman's office. She reimagined the ever sweet smile on the woman's face, chirpy voice that reminded one of an annoying old great aunt who visited every Christmas. She wondered how much joy the woman took in torturing school kids.

Lyrisadora stopped, her eyes widening in realisation, perhaps she had been thinking of the stabiliser all wrong, it had never been about rage, it had been about joy. Joy in the torture you were inflicting on the person.

And in that instant, she had found her stabiliser.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys had a good new year. <strong>

**And thanks for the reviews :D**


	57. Fist with a Kiss

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Jessica Brody**

* * *

><p><strong>Because apart we might be as different as night and day, black and white, right and wrong, but together we create two sides of a whole. Together we balance.<strong>

**Chapter: Fist with a Kiss**

* * *

><p><em>14th January 1996<em>

It was a strange feeling when she indulged in it. Feeling joy for someone's suffering was actually quite easy, to be honest, it felt like a rush of power inside her, the potion sparked as the spell hit it, fizzling into a smooth liquid.

She tested it on a mouse, it wasn't a pleasant sight. It was slow at first, and then the mouse stiffened on laboratory table, jerking violently, small squeaks straining out from its small mouth, she watched with a strange fascination. She forced herself to keep watching as it writhed in agony, the tongue didn't swell up like she had planned, instead the mouth simply glued shut.

The change didn't really matter much, the poison did its job. The mouse hands started to become more limp, she assumed the paralysis was spreading from the feet to the rest of the body, the pain would move along towards the head as its body became numb. It took seventy five minutes for the mouse to finally die.

The room was silent after that, she just stood and stared at the tiny motionless body, her hands shook a little as she did the same to another mouse; they only needed one drop, a human would need at least ten drops, she calculated. She tried to focus her emotions as she watched the process repeat on the second mouse, detaching herself. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she buried a small amount of guilt and worry.

By the third mouse, she felt nothing. She bottled the potion up, carefully labelled it along with instructions.

When evening came, she gave the poison to Professor Snape. He eyed the potion for a moment before he spoke. "Were the results as you expected?"

"Yes, better than expected," she replied mildly, herself feeling a little empty inside.

His eyes flickered to the three dead mice in the rubbish bin. "I see. It'll be transported by tonight." He elaborated curtly.

Lyrisadora felt weary. "Hopefully, it shall be up to his standards," she spoke bitterly.

Snape didn't say anything and for a while the two just stood in silence.

She swallowed and briskly walked out without a word. She didn't want his pity, it'd just make her feel worse.

* * *

><p><p>

At the evening meal in the great hall, on the Slytherin table, Adrian poked his friend in the eye with a chicken leg. "Ow! What the fuck?" Miles Bletchley hissed, blindly grabbing a napkin to wipe his eye.

Adrian's face remained passive. "You tried to steal my gammon, that's a sixth time in a row."

"You didn't have to poke me in the eye with a freaking chicken," Miles shot back, glaring at him.

"Hm, true but at least now you won't do it again," Adrian stated confidently. "It's perfectly justified."

"Fuck you," Miles spat.

"Will you relax already, don't you think you're overreacting?" Adrian said pointedly.

Miles scowled. "You're a real fuck-tard sometimes."

Lucretia snickered across from them, quickly devouring her roast beef as Elizabeth rolled her eyes at them. "You know, for all the times you've called girls out for being dramatic, you two are just as worse."

Miles eyes narrowed. "I beg to differ, Cassondria is like a Goblin when she's pissed off."

"I'll drink to that," Lucretia concurred, tipping her cup to him.

Adrian poked at his mash and peas. "So I'm right to assume you two haven't gotten back together then?"

Mile's scowl deepened. "It's her fault, ever since Christmas break she's been acting really distant and she won't explain why."

"Hmm, yes girls tend to do that I'm afraid. Speaking of which, Lyra, you've been awfully quiet," Adrian said pleasantly, glancing at Lyrisadora, who was sat next to him.

Her posture was slumped as she poked at her food; she had barely touched it. "Hm," she hummed absently, not sparing them a glance.

Adrian eyed her intently. "Lost your appetite?" he inquired lightly, eyes shifting to her uneaten food.

She looked up at him. "I'm not feeling well," she argued, placing her fork down.

"Well we all know that's bull. Go on eat," he replied.

Her eyes narrowed in frustration. "No, I'm not hungry."

"I thought you were ill?"

"Same thing!" she snapped, backtracking when she saw a few students stare at her, lowering her voice. "Listen, just leave it, I'm just not feeling well."

Adrian frowned. Lucretia sighed. "Leave her be already, if she wants to starve herself, then let her." She said dismissively.

Elizabeth didn't appreciate her dismissive tone. "So I think it's safe to assume you'd leave me on my deathbed. I could be starving for days and you probably wouldn't notice."

"More or less, yes," Lucretia replied casually, shrugging as she smirked at her friend.

"Shit." The hiss from Adrian brought back the two's attention. It appeared Lyrisadora have stabbed him with her fork when he tried to force feed her some chicken.

"I told you I wasn't hungry!" Lyrisadora growled, removing the fork from Adrian's hand.

He squeezed his hand in pain as he glared at her, before stabbing her thigh with his fork. She let out a hiss of pain. "Hurts doesn't it?" he bit back.

Elizabeth's eyes widened in concern as Miles and Lucretia looked at them in befuddlement. "Will you two stop fight!" she snapped in a hushed tone, hastily confiscating their forks and knives. "Calm down already."

Adrian and Lyrisadora glared at each other. "Why are you acting like this?" Adrian questioned in frustration.

Her fist clenched, she opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, lowering her glare and turning away from.

Their stares were accusingly, she bit down on her tongue and got up and left the great hall.

* * *

><p><p>

She did regret not eating when her stomach grumbled painfully, herself sat in a corner of the girls' bathroom, Moaning Myrtle eyeing her curiously from behind the sinks.

Lyrisadora curled up tighter, as she buried her head in her knees. She knew she shouldn't have stabbed Adrian, she'd be pissed off if someone did that to her for something as minor as telling her to eat something. Still though, he didn't have to go and stab her in thigh. She'd never really seen him angry that much, and didn't want to see his spiteful side rear its head round. So maybe it was better she left, besides she didn't really want to explain herself to her friends.

She felt hollow, she had wanted to feel nothing when she poisoned the mouse, and in the end she hadn't and that was part of the problem, because eventually she wouldn't feel anything when she killed, it was terrifying and made her feel less human.

"What are you doing here?" inquired a shrill voice.

Lyrisadora's head jerked up, Moaning Myrtle was hovering in front of her, a frown on her transparent face. "Just thinking," Lyrisadora replied.

"Well go think somewhere else!" Moaning Myrtle demanded sharply.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at her, she wondered if the Ghost girl had always been like this, then something occurred to her. "Myrtle…does it hurt to die?"

Moaning Myrtle scowled. "No, it doesn't hurt, it just happens," she replied confidently, hovering further up towards the window. "Being dead is much more fun than being alive."

Lyrisadora doubted it, then again how would she know? "I see," she mumbled, remembering the writhing mouse. "That's good," she added more clearly. She then sighed and got up, feeling it was about time she apologised to Adrian.

"Where are you going?" Myrtle demanded.

"You wanted me to leave," Lyrisadora said dryly as she walked out of the bathroom.

Myrtle scowled and stuck her tongue out at her on her way out.

* * *

><p><p>

She found Adrian in his room, lounged on his bed reading. She cautiously made her way over to him. "Hi, it's me," she greeted awkwardly, standing at the foot of his bed.

He briefly glanced at her from behind his book, before turning another page. "Come to stab me in the gut?" He inquired dryly.

"No," she snapped, before forcing herself to calm down. "I came to apologise, I shouldn't have hurt you, I'm sorry," she apologised calmly.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at her. "Hm, alright then," he said.

She was surprised he hadn't said much else."Oh...Well, alright then," she said curtly. "I'll see you later." She turned around to leave.

Adrian eyed her leisurely. "So did You-Know-Who like the poison?" She froze and tensed. He continued. "I'm guessing that's what's got you all worked up."

"You're talking nonsense," she exclaimed, whipping around to face him, marching over to his bed. "Whatever you think you know, you don't. Understood?"

Adrian sighed, closing his book and placing it by the side, sitting up and looking at her in amusement. "Of course, so I assume there must be another reason you've started wearing long sleeves and keeping secrets," he drawled.

Lyrisadora tried to keep her panic at bay. "Just stop it, this isn't funny Adrian," she tried to keep the pleading out of her tone. "I know you're mad about earlier, but just let this go. Everything's fine, really," she argued. "My father and I just haven't been getting along, that's all."

He didn't look convinced. "I'm not your family or a Death eater, you know you can't keep secrets from me, princess," he said evenly. "So I wonder, what I would find under that sleeve of yours?" he questioned lightly, grabbing her left wrist.

"No!"

He ripped her sleeve up as she tried to tug it out of his grip. The glamour charm was fading, patches of it clumsily covering the black ink. Her eyes widened like Galleons, his grip loosened, allowing her to wrench her arm free, hastily pulling her robe and jumper sleeve down and tightly folding her arms. Adrian didn't look surprised. "Hmm, I thought it would be bigger," he commented absently.

Her hands shook as she grabbed him by the collar. "If you so much as breath a word-"

"If I had wanted-"

"Shut up!" she hissed, her grip tightening as her eyes narrowed. "This isn't a game Adrian, I could die, you could die. If you fuck this up I'll drag you down with me," she spat, his eyes widened.

"…Okay."

"Swear you won't tell," she snapped. He opened his mouth to speak, she stiffened her grip around his neck. "I said _swear_ it," she repeated icily.

"Okay, I swear, just calm down," he said quickly, carefully moving his hands over hers. "There's no need to be violent," he added warily.

She glared at him for a while longer before slacking her grip and letting him go. "You really need to learn when to mind your own business," she remarked coldly.

Adrian rubbed his neck as he eyed her intently. "Just wanted to check I was right, besides someone was going to find out soon enough," he reasoned.

She gave him a sharp look. "I know," she replied in a clipped tone. "And they could be killed for it, I'm not allowed to say anything to anybody," she added, turning to face him, her anger fading.

There was a tense silence as the two looked at each other. "My father wants me to join," Adrian stated.

"Why would he want that?" she questioned worriedly.

He shrugged. "He's an idiot, always has been," he said plainly.

"Well, what does your mother have to say about all this?" she inquired.

"I don't think she cares much, she's never really been the motherly type…well not in private anyway," he drawled, waving a dismissive hand.

"Oh, I see…well you don't have to join," she reasoned weakly, sitting next to him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, I'm sure many of people refused to join, I believe they're now all dead," he retorted mildly.

Lyrisadora shot him a quelling look. "At least they were free."

"And dead, emphasise on the_ dead_ part," he countered, he sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry I stabbed you earlier, but you did start it."

"I said I was sorry," she argued in exasperation.

"Yes I know, but next time remember, if you hurt me, I'm afraid I'll hurt you right back," he declared simply.

"Charming," she muttered, she paused as she looked at her arm. "Our parents really screwed us over."

Adrian hummed in agreement. "So, I'm guessing indulging in your sadistic side is taking its toll," he assumed.

She shifted uncomfortably. "I don't want to be a bad person, Adrian, I just don't know how to get out," her voice was low and anxious, she saw the fork marks in his hand, she gently grasped it, he looked at her curiously. "I'm afraid that if I start hurting people, I'll start to enjoy it." She traced the outline of the mark on his hand. "I love my family, but let's face it, they're the reason I'm in this mess."

He murmured. "Yes, I'm afraid family tend to be like that." She gave him a sceptical look. "Well, families like ours, to be more specific." He added.

"True," she muttered, hesitating before adding. "So you promise you won't utter a word, to anyone?"

"I swore, didn't I?" he replied lightly, smiling a little. "Just trust me." He kissed her forehead, her cheeks became heated as her skin tingled.

"Right, well…" She squeezed his hand. "….Thank you," she muttered, she looked at him for a moment as they both remained silent. She swallowed and licked her lips, before she kissed him.

He roughly kissed her back, she leaned in closer as she rested her forehead on his. It felt good and for moment she could forget everything and escape as a rush filled her. She frowned once she heard a noise, but quickly discarded it as his hand moved up her skirt, his touch sending a spark through her.

She gently tugged his hair, he was in the middle of tugging her tights down, when she noticed his roommate Miles Bletchley was watching them in shock.

She hastily jerked away and pulled her tights up, her face bright pink in embarrassment. Silently pleading to Merlin to make the floor swallow her whole.

* * *

><p><em>16TH January 1996<em>

She couldn't look Miles in the eye without a blush creeping to her cheeks, the boy's crude remarks and jokes didn't help matters.

And then there was the fact she hadn't heard word from the Dark Lord, it seemed he liked to keep his followers on their feet.

She finally spoke to Adrian when he cornered her in the hallway. "I really don't see what the big deal is," Adrian stated plainly.

"Of course you wouldn't," she groaned, scowling at him. "He nearly saw us…well, you know…"

"Fuck?"

"Language!" she hissed, herself getting worked up as she flushed. "He probably thinks I'm a slut."

Adrian rolled his eyes at her. "Please, Miles and Cassondria fuck like bunnies at any given chance. Just let it go," he reassured, running a finger down her neck. "Next time we'll just pick a more private place."

"And who says they'll be a next time?" she snapped irritably, waving his touch off.

"The fact you're blushing gives a hint," he replied nonchalantly. She gritted her teeth as her blush grew. "Oh, and the fact you kissed me in the first place."

"It's your fault!" she accused

"…How?" he inquired in confusion.

"You kissed me first at Christmas, that's what started this all off. You've been trying to get in my pants since we were fourteen, you're a creep and-"

"You still kissed me first."

"Not the point!" she snarled, her eyes narrowing. "You planned this from the start."

"You went along with it."

"Listen this stops now," she declared fiercely. "All this manipulating, secrets, lying. We come clean about everything," she stated sternly.

Adrian paused for a moment. "Hm, well…I suppose I've already got you hooked. Okay fine, we'll be honest with each other from now on," he agreed.

She looked a little taken aback that he agreed so readily. "Alright then, well listen, the thing is you're right about a lot of things. But no matter what happens, I won't let you con-"

"Listen since we're on the subject of being truthful, I need you to do something for me," he interrupted.

"I was in the middle of talking," she snapped in frustration. "You know what your problem is, you always interrupt me!"

"Yes but this is important and I can already guess what you're on about anyway, so let's move on from that shall we, and focus on a bigger issue," he explained.

"Oh screw you," she retorted weakly, sighing tiredly. "What is it?"

He hesitated. "I need you to get engaged to me by the end of the year, or my father is going to marry me to some inbred called Mildred Peebles."

She stared at him for a moment, a loss for words. "Wait…what?"

She wasn't sure if she liked being honest with each other after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys like this one, things will be explained in more detail in the next couple of chapters.<strong>


	58. Secrets

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire**

* * *

><p><strong>Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others.<strong>

**Chapter: Secrets**

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora looked at him in confusion, before she started to become annoyed, her eyes narrowing. "For Merlin sake, Adrian I'm not going to marry you and….who the hell is Mildred Pebble?" she exclaimed.<p>

"According to my father; A fine young lady from a good family. In other words she has a lot of money, so apparently she's perfect," Adrian replied, holding back a snort. "He sent me a letter today, I was surprised he even bothered to notify me, I expected he'd just surprise me for Easter," he drawled.

"Oh…that's, unfortunate," she replied carefully. "But I don't think marrying me will solve your problem, your father's mind is clearly made up."

"He's only doing this because he wants me wed before he pops his clogs, I wouldn't be shocked if he married me to my own grandmother at this stage," Adrian argued. "And besides, he's always liked you, believe it or not, he thinks you're a charming young lady," he elaborated sceptically.

"Well you're no Sir Luckless," she retorted bitingly.

He ignored her remark. "He gave me two years to find a wife, but since you've been so stubborn, my time is up."

"Well you shouldn't have wasted your time on me! Learn to accept the word no," Lyrisadora protested in frustration. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to get married, it'd be the worst mistake of my life."

"That's pretty steep considering the You-Know-What," Adrian pointed out, glancing at her arm.

"Don't even go there," she snapped. "Listen, isn't there any way you can get your father to call this off, maybe ask your mother," she suggested.

"I don't think she'd be much help, father never listens to her," he countered. "Also they hate each other…..well mother hates father, Father is just an idiot."

Lyrisadora sighed. "_Wonderful," _she muttered sarcastically. "Well, I don't know what to do."

"You could just marry me," he chimed.

She looked at him for a moment before laughing bitterly. "Oh yes, because that end wonderfully for us wouldn't it? Me old and miserable at home, while you are having an affair with a woman young enough to be your daughter? It'd be a fairy tale," she replied dryly.

"It wouldn't be that bad," Adrian protested. "Personally I think your overthinking this."

"No, you're not thinking enough about this, marriage is binding and a hell of a lot of stress to get out of, divorce settlements can take years off your life," she countered.

"Don't tell me, you've been reading those relationship self-help books again, haven't you?" he sighed in exasperation.

"And so what if I have?" she snapped. "If you've failed to gather what I'm getting at, it's that marriage isn't my thing and I doubt you're a one woman man."

"Now that is deba-"

"You slept with Margaret Ettington last week," interrupted Lyrisadora mildly.

"A moment of weakness."

She groaned. "I made commitment to my family and they sold me out to a mad man, I don't want to be let down like that ever again," she explained sombrely. "Marriage can go annul itself, I don't want it. Not to you or anybody. Not anymore."

He was silent for a moment. "Well this is brilliant," he said sardonically, before his eyes lit up as a thought struck him. "Alright then, you're parents want you to get married and right now you're under the thumb….my father hasn't got long left on this world, I predict he won't last the year. So what about an engagement?" he suggested.

She eyed him apprehensively. "But your father wants you wed before he dies, he'll want the wedding as soon as possible."

"Yes, but he wouldn't mind compromising, my father wants me to marry into the Malfoys, he'll be overjoyed you agreed and would be happy to please your family and if your family so wills that the wedding be delayed, then who is he to argue," he explained.

"But , what if he makes us sign a marriage contract, that contract could bind us for life, making us have to marry within a certain time," she argued.

This think that point over. "True, so that means we'll have to draw up a marriage contract before him, so we can make loopholes for the one he'll make, which will cancel it all out," he declared.

"That sounds very complicated," Lyrisadora sighed in exasperation.

"Yes but, the traditional Pucey family Marriage contract is bound by promise rings," he explained.

"That's sounds creepy and horrifying," Lyrisadora replied scathingly.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Normal people find it sweet," he replied lightly. "Anyway, the contract basically says that the contract can only be broken if one of the spouse were to die."

Lyrisadora looked affronted. "So you can't even get a divorce? It's either live in misery or die," she retorted harshly.

"Well the world isn't perfect. But besides that, we'll just need to make a contract that overrides that, so we'll need a sealer," he explained.

"This is deranged," she groaned. "And if I recall correctly, I never said 'yes I'd go through with this'," she pointed out, meeting his eye. "So, convince me, why should I go through with this?" she demanded mildly.

Adrian paused and thought, the two standing in silence as few students walked passed; wondering why the two were just staring at each other in the corridor. "Alright then," he began. "If I don't get married before my father dies, I inherit nothing, so when I ask you to do me this favour, I mean to say that I need to your help and you're the only one I can rely on, literally the only person I trust enough to pretend to marry me and I know I'm not the nicest person, I'm never going to be and the fact you put up with me is…..questionable but then again I put up with the fact you're a bitch at times," he conveyed, shrugging a bit. "So what I'm trying to say is, would you do me the honour of pretending to be my fiancé?"

She swallowed a lump in her throat. "I honestly don't know if you're having me on or not," she replied sheepishly. "But that was the kindest thing you've ever said to me," she added uncertainly. "I'm not really sure what expect anymore, but that was sweet," she said more warmly. "And…okay yeah, let's do this, I'll be your fake fiancé," she agreed, sounding a little unsure of what she had just said.

"You won't regret this," Adrian reassured.

"I tend to regret a lot of things, let's hope this doesn't get added to the list," she replied dryly.

* * *

><p>Severus Snape had a problem, and he couldn't keep on pretending it didn't bother him. His godchild's mental state was in jeopardy, and he wasn't quite sure how to help her. Though there was one idea that had crossed his mind, but it all depended on whether or not Lyrisadora would be willing to go through with it all.<p>

Which is how he found himself on the headmasters office. "And you trust she'll be capable, Severus?" Dumbledore inquired, watching as the Potion's professor paced around the room.

"I'd say adequate at best," Snape replied dryly. "We just have to be careful with her," he added.

"How so?" Dumbledore questioned mildly.

"Well I don't want her dead, now do I," he answered sharply, a snap to his tone, before he calmed down. "She can take care of herself, and the Dark Lord is already gathering and deploying Death Eaters around Europe."

Dumbledore pondered on this, letting out a breath hum in thought. "Is Miss Malfoy aware of what the Dark Lord will assign her to do?"

Snape stopped pacing, and turned to the headmaster. "Hardly, even I'm not entirely sure, most likely field work and potion brewing. He seems to have knowledge on her little espionage in Bulgaria, he was impressed."

"Hm, yes he must find it all amusingly ironic," Dumbledore muttered, recalling his theory on who had been possessing Thaddeus Balik's body at the time. "Still, keep an eye on her, war has a negative effect on all of us."

* * *

><p>Cassondria had a problem, there was a hollow feeling in her stomach that wouldn't go away and Miles was still pestering her about getting back together. When she thought about it, maybe they both had a problem, ever since the breakup, he was gaining weight and she was losing it, but maybe it was all for the best. A punishment for what she had done.<p>

She pulled her head up from the toilet as she drained the last of her dinner into the toilet, hating herself for how pathetic she was being. For a brief second wondering if she should just tell Miles what she had done, in hope he'd stop pestering her and move on. He'd hate her and she wanted him to.

Because perhaps her mother had been right, maybe she was just a slut in the end.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the delay.<strong>

**In response to question. _"No offense but if "Lyra" knows everything about the "Harry Potter world" how in the hell did she get herself to be Voldemort's bitch? Makes no sense."_**

**A: Lyra doesn't know everything about the Harry potter world, she grew up in it, but she isn't a mastermind. And aren't all of the Death eaters (minus Snape) more or less Voldemort's bitches? She's basically got a gun to her head if she steps out of line. But you did make a good point and I respect it.**

**It was really hard to find a name for this chapter, couldn't quite find the right words to sum it up. **


	59. The Pretty Honey Blonde

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Black Lagoon **

* * *

><p><strong>People are like dice, you throw yourself in the direction of your own choosing<strong>

**Chapter: The Pretty Honey Blonde**

* * *

><p><em>26th January 1996<em>

Elizabeth was apprehensive when Adrian and Lyrisadora told her about the marriage loophole. "Are you sure you want to use blood magic?" she questioned warily, eyeing the knife in Lyrisadora's hand. Elizabeth took a quick glance around the girls' toilets. Moaning Myrtle eyeing them intently.

"We're more familiar with it," Lyrisadora replied plainly.

"Besides blood marriage contracts are only slightly different to the normal ones," Adrian reassured. "All you have to do is say the spell to seal it."

Elizabeth hummed sceptically. "Well, it's your life," she commented dryly, shrugging as she pulled out her wand. "When you're ready."

Lyrisadora made her the first cut into her palm, her jaw stiff as she bit her lip, a ribbon of blood appearing.

Adrian made the second cut, taking the knife from her and quickly cutting his palm, burying a wince.

And then they joined hands, their grip tight as the wounds tickled. Lyrisadora swallowed and licked her lips. "Adrian, do you swear to annul any future marriage contracts between you and myself, if I wanted to?"

Adrian's lip twitched. "I swear, as long as you promise to be my fiancé for a minimum…five years," he said smoothly.

She crushed his hand in hers, smirking once she saw him frown. "I swear," she replied sweetly. "So long as I may cancel the engagement after said time."

"Agreed," Adrian concurred.

Their palms bristled. Lyrisadora nodded to Elizabeth. The anxious girl took a deep breath and hovered her wand over theirs. "_Sanguinem_," she uttered, the spell eloping the two hands in hot rush, before fading to a cold feeling. "There done, I hope you two know what you're doing," Elizabeth said warily, pocketing her wand, and glancing at them both.

Adrian nicked some toilet paper from the stalls and started to clean his wound. "Have a little faith Liz," he reassured playfully.

Lyrisadora sighed and nursed her cut with some tissue. "You owe me Adrian, I hope you fully understand that," she stated seriously.

Adrian looked at her dismissively. "Crystal, princess. But it's not like you don't owe me," he countered, looking at her slyly. Her eyes narrowed at him.

"Will you leave already!" shouted a shrill voice, making the three of them jump, Moaning Myrtle swooping down to glare at them. "This isn't a hangout spot, it's _my_ bathroom!" she hissed.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at her. "Last time I checked, you only haunted a cubicle."

Moaning Myrtle growled, her transparent silver cheeks turning a dark grey. "Just because you're alive, doesn't mean you can go invading ghost territory! If it isn't stupid children making potions or throwing books around like it's a game of Quidditch, its stupid people deliberately throwing up in my toilet," she raged.

Lyrisadora only registered half of what she was ranting on about. "Wait, what do you mean _deliberately_ throwing up in your toilet?" she inquired cautiously.

The ghost girl sniffed at her in distain. "Exactly what it is, just a silly stuck up girl making herself ill. She makes a right mess to, it stinks in here," she answered hazily, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Adrian sniffed the air. "I was wondering what that was," he said carelessly. "Wait, I thought ghost couldn't smell?"

Myrtle bristle. "Well I imagine it smells! Nasty puke everywhere!"

Elizabeth and Lyrisadora shared a look of alarm. "This girl, what does she look like?" Lyrisadora asked.

Moaning Myrtle eyed her for a moment before smiling coyly. "And why should I tell _you_," she said spitefully.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "Because this is serious. I'm a prefect, I'm meant to help people like that," she explained sternly.

The transparent girl huffed and folded her arms stubbornly. "Well, you can't make me tell, so why don't you run along, or I'll tell peeves about your little engagement," she warned snidely, sticking her chin out at them.

Elizabeth scowled. "You little…" she swallowed the curse in her throat, instead grumbling in retort.

"Just leave it Lyra," Adrian said lightly, throwing the blood stained tissue down the toilet.

Lyrisadora met his knowing gaze and pursed her lips. "Very well, let's leave," she announced stiffly, sneering at Moaning Myrtle; who stuck her tongue out in retort. The three of them briskly leaving the stuffy girls' toilets.

* * *

><p><em>27th January 1996<em>

Miles Bletchley, tugged at his expanding trouser waistband, shifting in his seat in the great hall. It was a Saturday morning, so the hall still was fairly empty. He looked at his full plate, gut twisting a bit as he felt sick.

And then a wisp of honey blonde walked past, making his head shoot up as he watched Cassondria walk past him to the other end of the table. He stared at her, and observed that she was a lot thinner and paler than he remembered. He shook his head and scowled, turning away, stabbing his beans and toast. He didn't even understand why he was worried about her, she dumped him, and she was the bitch in all of this.

He faltered, frowning as he felt a twinge of hurt, before he quickly pushed it off and sighed, working up the nerve to get up and talk to her. "Hello," he greeted civilly, sitting down opposite her.

Cassondria's eyes narrowed. "Go away Miles, I'm eating, you'll spoil my appetite," she replied coolly.

He noted her clean plate, he glared at her. "Can you stop being a bitch for ten seconds?"

"Funny, you're the one who said you liked it," she countered firmly.

"Yeah, when it wasn't directed at me," Miles argued. "What did I do to piss you off so much?" he questioned in frustrated.

His questioned made her purse her lips. "Sometimes people grow apart, like we did, what we had was good," she tried to explain. "But let's face it, we're not kids anymore. My parents want me to marry as soon as possible, and I will, because….well, I've already disappointed them enough," she said.

"But that doesn't explain why you decided to suddenly end it all," he protested, confused by her reasoning.

Cassondria looked away from him, her eyes widening when she Cordula enter the great hall, before glancing back at Miles. "Listen, let's just move on, it's over, alright?" she urged sternly, pushing her plate away and walking towards Cordula, Miles furrowed his brow, wondering why she was acting strange.

Cordula was surprised when Cassondria took her by the arm and dragged her out of the Great hall. "Uh, Cassondria it's breakfast," she pointed out feebly.

Cassondria smiled and rolled her eyes. "You can eat later, my hair is a mess and I need your help," she drawled, whisking her off her feet.

* * *

><p>The day was turning into night.<p>

Adrian hid near the girls' toilets Moaning Myrtle took to haunting. Elizabeth and Lucretia sat down next to him, looking out of place. "Where's Lyra?" Elizabeth questioned, glancing up at him.

"In some meeting with Dumbledore, we don't need her anyway," Adrian dismissed.

"So why do you need us?" Lucretia inquired nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow.

"Aren't you at least curious as to who is throwing up in the girls' toilets?" Adrian questioned.

"When you put it like that…hm, uh no not really," Lucretia retorted dryly.

Elizabeth nudged her. "Well I am, and I didn't want to come alone, so shut up," Elizabeth said sharply.

Lucretia frowned at her, before looking up at Adrian expectantly. "I'm just curious of who it is," he answered, keeping lookout. "So be quiet, or you'll scare whoever it is off."

Lucretia grumbled insults under her breath, folding her arms and slouching against the wall of their hiding spot and waited.

A couple of minutes had passed before someone caught there sight, a pretty honey blonde girl walking towards the toilets. Lucretia looked taken aback. "Cassondria," she mumbled, her voice barely audible.

Adrian watched Cassondria with interest. "Hm, that's interesting," he muttered. "Come on," he whispered, quietly walking to the girls' toilets, Elizabeth and Lucretia close behind.

It was difficult to be quiet when opening the door, so Adrian did it slowly. The sound of lurching echoed round the room, a distinct smell in the air. They all listened for a while, the sound of crying and vomiting masking the soft thump of the door closing behind them.

It seemed Moaning Myrtle had wondered off, whether it be out of frustration for Cassondria's presence or disgust from her vomiting in the toilet.

The three were as still as statues as they just stood and listened.

But Lucretia was the first to break. "Cassondria?" she inquired roughly.

The vomiting stopped, a choking sound was heard. "Go away!" Cassondria's voice yelled. "Can't you see I'm ill," she spat, wrenching the lavatory door open, facing them with an angry glower. "A little privacy would be nice," she sneered, her voice a little hoarse, she wiped some vomit from her mouth.

Adrian looked at her blankly. "Hm, you know, I'm surprised I didn't see it sooner," he said quietly, stepping closer. "You're skinnier than a snake," he commented, scanning her up and down.

"Shut up, like you know anything," she snapped, eyeing the exit warily, Lucretia and Elizabeth blocking her path.

"Cassie, why are you doing this?" Lucretia questioned in confusion. "You've never had any issue with your body, you've always made it clear that you think you're better than everyone else," she added, her voice having a tint of venom in in it.

Cassondria eyed her distrustfully. "Why do you care? Last time I checked, we weren't friends, if I recall correctly you thought I was a stuck up spoiled bitch, ironic coming from you," she replied acidly.

Lucretia's pride seemed to outweigh her sympathy for her old friend. "We aren't friends, but unlike you, I'm a decent human being," she retorted.

"Cassondria, Lucretia, shut up," Elizabeth interjected.

Cassondria looked at Elizabeth with distain. "So is she you're new girlfriend Lucretia? You're standards really have lowered," Cassondria drawled.

Lucretia stiffened, while Elizabeth rolled her eyes and brushed the snide comment off. "It's called a friendship Cassondria, something you'd know nothing about," Elizabeth retorted. "Now, stop avoiding our question."

"She's right," Adrian agreed, focusing on Cassondria. "What's with the eating disorder? It seems very sudden, before Christmas you were gaining weight, then suddenly you dump Miles with little to know explanation and then start upchucking your meals," he mused, Cassondria looked tense. "What happened?"

"Mind your own business Adrian," Cassondria spat.

"Nah, I don't really feel like it," he said casually, she squirmed under his gaze. "So, what's the matter? Are mommy and daddy giving you a hard time?"

"Fuck off," Cassondria cursed.

"Don't make me blackmail you Cassie," Adrian warned smoothly.

Her eyes were ablaze. "You wouldn't dare."

"You know I would."

"Why do you even care!" she shouted, looking at him in frustration. "Why don't you just go off and fuck that Malfoy bitch, since you love her so much," she sneered, her gaze wondering over to Elizabeth and Lucretia. "You're _her_ friends, not mine. Stop pretending to care about me, none of you even like me." Cassondria looked at them with distain.

"Jealous much," Adrian said amusingly.

Cassondria's eyes flashed. "Of her and you? Oh Adrian you flatter yourself, unlike you and her, I have standards," she countered, giving him a nasty smile.

"What happened over Christmas?" Adrian questioned, looking back at her, but this time really looking at her, past every shell and wall she had put in place. "You were healthy, I mean Miles did say you were emotional quite a bit, and you had started eating strange food."

Elizabeth stared at her, before something clicked. "Cassondria, are you…pregnant?"

There was tense silence, Cassondria had stiffened and hesitated before answering. "Of course not, do I even look pregnant?" she demanded angrily.

He eyed her inquisitively. "But you _were_ pregnant," Adrian said thoughtfully. "But not anymore."

Cassondria's words were caught in her throat.

Lucretia looked at her in surprise. "You were _pregnant_?" she muttered.

Cassondria seemed to finally crack, rounding on Lucretia. "_Obviously,_ you idiot, or are you blind as well as stupid?" she spat. "So yes, go ahead and call me a slut, I don't care what you think, you're worth nothing in my eyes, because that's all you lot are, you're worthless, pathetic!" she growled.

"What happened to the baby, Cassie?" Adrian asked tonelessly.

Tears prickled her eyes, she let out a deep breath and tried to control herself, wiping her eyes. "I thought my parents would at least understand, but I was wrong, they just…the way they looked at me, it was like I had _betrayed _them," she continued, her face crumbling. "My dad wouldn't even look at me, who would blame him, my mother said I was a slut and she was right, I mean I haven't been virgin since I was thirteen, big surprise right?" No one spoke. "So when they told me to get rid of it, I thought why not? It was just causing trouble, so I took the potion. And it didn't hurt, it just felt strange," she explained, some stray tears fell down her cheeks. "I didn't know if it was a boy of a girl, because it was too early. They let me hold it, it was so small you could fit it in your hand like a little doll and then….they tossed it into the fire and that was it," she explained weakly, her eyes looking empty.

Elizabeth looked disturbed, Lucretia looked at Cassondria with a look that resembled shock, but looked more troubled. Adrian looked concerned. "So, why do you make yourself sick?" he questioned, attempting to understand.

"Because it hurts, when I eat I just feel ill, I need to…let it out. It's pathetic. But who cares, I'm just a skank really, it's what you all think," Cassondria said quietly. "So now you know my dirty little secret, have I satisfied your curiosity?" she inquired icily, looking at them challengingly, they didn't reply, so instead of waiting, she pushed past them. "I don't care what you think either way," she hissed, slamming the door behind her.

Leaving Elizabeth, Adrian and Lucretia in silence.

* * *

><p>When professor Snape wanted to speak to Lyrisadora discreetly, she had hoped that it wasn't news from the dark Lord, and she was thankful it hadn't been, but hearing that Dumbledore wanted to discuss a confidential matter with her, hadn't eased her anxiety.<p>

So now here she was, sat in his office, hoping he wasn't going to out her as a Death Eater; one could never be sure with that mysterious twinkle in his eye. "I'm sorry for disturbing your evening Lyrisadora," Dumbledore said politely.

She forced a smile, reminding herself to make sure her posture was relaxed. "It's fine Professor, and you can call Lyra, everyone else does," she said brightly, he smiled in response, it was a nice smile, she actually felt herself relaxing a bit. "You wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes, it concerns you and your family," he spoke calmly, her smile became a little more fixed. "I know what kind of situation you're in, I want to help," he explained.

She swallowed. "Sir there must have been a misunderstanding, because I'm fine. I'm not saying my family and I always agree, but we're fine," she protested.

Dumbledore smiled at her in pity. "It's okay to be afraid, Lyra. It's probably terrifying for you, but if you let me, I can help you," he reassured.

She felt her façade cracking. "You don't understand, sir, you really don't," she said firmly, her eyes growing colder.

He looked at her intently, studying her, lowering his voice. "I know what it's like to be afraid and I know when someone is pretending not to be afraid."

There was a pause. "Do you?" Lyrisadora questioned softly, looking him in the eye. "I beg your pardon for my bluntness sir, but I don't think you do know. Not fear like this."

He didn't blink and kept his eyes focussed on her, she kept her mind guarded. "I know what it's like to hate yourself. I may not know you inside out, but I do understand. You want to be a good person and you want to do the right thing," he stated evenly.

"Doing the right thing is going to get me killed," she replied softly, she kept her eyes locked on his, wondering what he was thinking, but his mind was strong and there wasn't a crack in his mental walls. "I don't trust a lot of people sir, I don't even trust my own family, so why should I trust you?" she questioned, painful knot forming in her stomach.

He folded his hands onto the desk and smiled faintly at her. "You have no reason to, as far as you're concerned, the Order of the Phoenix wouldn't bat an eyelash at your death. But I believe everyone deserves a chance, the choices you make decide the person you become," he answered sincerely.

She avoided his gaze, her jaw slacking. "I know…I tend to make the wrong ones."

"If you want to be a good person Lyra, then you need to make the hard choices, no one else can do it for you. I'm giving you a chance because I believe you're a good person. You can help defeat Voldemort and help us win this war, but to do that I need you to let me help you," he said firmly.

She hesitated in meeting his gaze. "If I help you, then I need you to help my brother." Her voice growing stronger.

"Your brother has his own choices to make Lyra," Dumbledore reasoned.

"I know and he's an idiot. But I just want you to protect him, keep him out of Azkaban, keep him alive," she implored. "He's just an impressionable idiot, who wants to be like his father, he's not a murderer," she argued.

The headmaster paused. "I'll try, but that's all I can promise," he replied.

She decided that was better than nothing and nodded. "Alright then. What do you want me to do?" she questioned, remembering Cedric's death, if she was going to help win this war, then anger and grief would be her fuel.

* * *

><p><strong>Phew, actually managed to finish this chapter, been having writers block about it all week. <strong>

**I really had no idea what to name this chapter, took me a good twenty minutes to just stick with '**The Pretty Honey Blonde'****


	60. A long Night

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:A Song of Ice and Fire**

* * *

><p><strong>Give me honorable enemies rather than ambitious ones, and I'll sleep more easily by night<strong>

**Chapter: A long Night**

* * *

><p>The three Slytherins remained silent as they stood in the middle of the girl's toilets. Lucretia's brow creased, hesitating for a good while before speaking. "She's going to end up killing herself," she stated warily.<p>

"She's stupid enough to try," Adrian commented.

"We need to try and help her," Elizabeth said sternly.

"Well we can't exactly force feed her," he pointed out. "She's a vain messed up individual, she won't listen to us."

Elizabeth sighed, rubbing her chin as she tried to think of a solution. "Do you think we should tell Bletchley? He's kind of a part of this to," she inquired, looking towards Adrian.

"He could react badly to it all and make things worse," he argued.

"Yeah, but he might just be the only one who can help her," Lucretia countered. "Adrian, we've been her friend for years, we practically grew up together, the only person Cassondria cares about and would actually listen to, is Miles," she said stubbornly.

"True," Adrian muttered. "But it isn't our place to tell him about the abortion, that's something between those two," he reasoned.

"Get out of my TOILET'S!" screamed a shrill voiced, the tabs turning on to full power, splashing them, it sounded like Moaning Myrtle had finally returned.

The three Slytherins winced, before glancing over at the angry Ghost girl in annoyance.

Adrian groaned in frustration. "Alright, alright no need to go all poltergeist on us, we're leaving," he snapped, stepping away from the puddle of water.

Myrtle muttered curses after them as she watched them leave.

Lucretia glared at the Ghost one last time before the door slammed shut. "Dumbledore seriously needs to start exorcising some of these ghosts," she muttered.

* * *

><p>The Phoenix perched itself by the window, golden feathers dulled by the lack of light from the window. Lyrisadora focused her gaze on Dumbledore, wondering to herself what type of mess she was getting herself into.<p>

"Voldemort's power doesn't just extend to Britain alone, he has already started gaining support from certain areas in Europe," Dumbledore began to explain. "It's not large groups, more of tiny sections. However he's already gained support from a number of giants and he's not going to stop there, he's not just thinking of upcoming war, he's thinking of the after effects, maintaining his power, gaining support from other countries."

"How far along is he?" she questioned quietly, her mind rambling as it processed the information, imagining the scenario playing out.

"He's being discreet, most people still think he's dead, but rumours have been spreading. That's how it started in the first few years of him gaining power, until the dark mark started hovering in the air and he stopped being discreet," the Headmaster explained.

Lyrisadora paused, thinking this over. "So where do I come in to all of this?"

He didn't answer straight away, she took that as a bad sign. "I need someone to discreetly counter his recruitment, stop it by the roots-"

"Before the weed spreads," she finished for him, smiling a little. "You want be to shut it down? Meaning I'll have to deal with, less than what you'd call decent human beings," she added, she found herself frowning in thought, as she started to realise what he was asking of her. "I might die," she stated absently, it sounding more like a statement.

"It's a dangerous job," Dumbledore confirmed flatly.

"Remind me again how you're _helping_ me?" she inquired softly, arching an eyebrow at him. Dumbledore looked grave. Her mouth curved upwards in bemusement. "It's okay, sir, I understand. Besides, let's face I'm dead either way, at least this time I'd actually be doing something good, right?"

"…It shouldn't have had to come to this," he stated, his voice oddly quiet. "I can help protect your family, this mission won't put them in harm."

She stared at him curiously. "How?"

"I can't tell you straight away, but I will, in time."

"In other words, I have to trust you?" she summed up dryly, she wished he wouldn't be so cryptic.

"Just as I have to trust you," he replied.

She gave him a questioning look. "And do you trust me?" she asked cautiously, watching him closely.

"If I didn't you wouldn't be here," he answered warmly. "But, the less you know the safer you are. And this is all a lot to process in one night," he argued.

She could accept that excuse, so she nodded curtly. "Fair point," she concurred.

"So, will you accept my offer?" he inquired. "It's your choice."

She let out a deep breath, taking a moment to ask herself if she wanted this. "If I die, I want to at least be able to tell myself I did the right thing," she said. "So, I accept. And I hope for your sake you know what you're doing, sir."

The twinkle in his eye was back. "Professor Snape often asks that question as well."

* * *

><p>Like a revolving door, when Lyrisadora left his office, Professor Snape entered. "I assume she's accepted the offer then?" he questioned forthrightly.<p>

The headmaster nodded, standing up from his seat. "Yes though I haven't divulged all the details of her assignment, this was your idea after all."

Snape wondered around the room, his mind thinking rapidly. "You did say that this was a threat, you needed someone, she's the one for the job," he stated in a matter of fact tone.

"And you trust her?" Dumbledore questioned lightly, moving in front of his desk, leaning on it for support as he looked at the Potion's Professor.

Snape shot him a reserved annoyed look, perfectly aware the questioned was rhetorical. "I've known her since the day she was born, I know her better than she knows herself," he said curtly. "She's strong, she just hasn't been allowed to grow into it. Lucius kept a tight leash," he explained, a slight bitterness laced in his tone.

The headmaster nodded. "Then the only thing left is to plan carefully, there already is the Harry and the prophecy to think about."

"And that insufferable woman," Snape interjected dully.

"Hm, yes she is a bit of an issue," Dumbledore agreed. "Still, we mustn't lose focus. When do you plan on deploying Miss Malfoy?"

"I'll need a few months to get everything sorted and I'm not sending her out until I know she's ready," he replied.

The older man nodded in agreement. "I trust you Severus," The headmaster reassured. A look flashed across Snape's face, it resembled scepticism, and this wasn't unnoticed by Dumbledore. "But I do have to have some secrets, Severus."

Snape grumbled in an unsatisfied manner, the debate over Dumbledore not telling him the full details of his final plan over Harry Potter's destiny, still not resolved.

* * *

><p>Lucius looked at the letter in front of him, with a mixture of happiness and confusion. Four days ago Lyrisadora had written to them and told them she wanted to marry Adrian Pucey, three days ago Elatus Pucey had confirmed this and blessed the union; he sounded very eager, but then again he was a dying man. And two days ago Lucius had sent his reply accepting the union.<p>

Everything had gone smoothly and it would all be finalised when the two 'yet to be engaged' returned home for the Easter break. So then why was he a tiny bit hesitant? Well, it all just felt strange, Lyrisadora had always been hesitant to the idea of marriage, and she had declined nearly all their suggestions and had countlessly delayed the matter entirely. So why now was she so eager?

Narcissa had put it down to love, he was not to whimsical. He frowned, resting his elbow on the armchair, head sitting on his fist as he looked at the letter, like it was a peculiar new puzzle. It was true that Lyrisadora had developed a friendship with the boy, but none of it had hinted at marriage before.

However there was one possibility he had thought on, his daughter could simply want to marry Adrian for his money, it was the worst kept secret that Elatus was nearly at deaths door, and his son would inherit everything. It would explain why Lyrisadora had suggested they delay the actual marriage for a year or so.

His brow creased as he tried to think of another reason, but this current one was the only one that seemed to make sense. He sighed in exasperation, his daughter could be such an enigma at times. He slouched in his chair, looking older and wearier than a man his age should. He wondered if this marriage would make her happy, if so then who he to deny her? She already hated him enough, no need to add to it.

He folded the letter away, making plans to write to his daughter tomorrow to explain the future plans. At least she might appreciate his consent, but he doubted she would, her words still fresh in his mind. _Father by blood but not by name_, she couldn't have cut deeper than that.

He considered pouring himself a Firewhisky, but thought better of it.

* * *

><p>It was past one in the morning when Lyrisadora finally headed back to the Slytherin Common room. Her mind still focused on the offer she had just accepted, she didn't even know when she was meant to leave, her gut twisted.<p>

She assumed Dumbledore would make her disappear, it made sense. She'd leave her old life behind and take on the mission of poisoning Voldemort's network before it grew stronger. Her lips tightened as she thought about leaving everything behind, family and friends.

But she'd get away from Voldemort, which had been what she wanted. She let out a deep breath of frustration, she'd have to sleep on it, too much to take in.

As she stepped into the common room, she was surprised Adrian, Elizabeth and Lucretia were still up. Adrian was the first to notice her. "What took you so long?" he inquired curiously.

She shrugged, plopping down next to him on the sofa. "I took a walk," she replied in a neutral tone. "Did you find out who that girl was?"

He glanced at Lucretia and Elizabeth who were opposite. "Yes, we did," he answered evenly.

Lyrisadora gave them an intrigued look. "So who was it?" she asked.

Lucretia swallowed a lump in her throat. "It was Cassondria," she answered, Lyrisadora's eyes widened. "Turns out her parents royally messed her up; they made her get an abortion, she didn't respond well to that," Lucretia explained.

"Cassondria was pregnant?" Lyrisadora exclaimed, her brow creasing as she fitted the information together. "So I assume Miles wasn't aware?"

"You assume correctly," Adrian replied tonelessly. "It's a messy situation, which is why I propose we don't get too involved."

"I'm head girl and you're a Prefect, it's our job to get involved," Lyrisadora argued in exasperation. "Merlin knows, why you were made a Prefect."

"I was the least sadistic," Adrian confessed blatantly.

Lucretia raised an eyebrow at that. "That's questionable," she retorted lightly.

He just rolled his eyes at her. "Moving on. Like I said, we shouldn't get too involved. Yes it's our job to watch out for our housemates, but that doesn't mean we should get too involved in their lives, their business is their own," he proclaimed.

"That doesn't stop you from interfering in my life," Lyrisadora stated mildly.

To her amusement he pursed his lips and ignored her comment. "So, we'll tell Miles about Cassondria's problem and if it doesn't get better, then we'll tell Professor Snape," he affirmed.

"Hm, alright then, fine," Lyrisadora relented, his reasoning making sense.

"I still think we should keep an eye on her," Elizabeth stressed.

"Well obviously," he retorted impatiently, earning a harsh pinch in the arm from Lyrisadora, he shot her a miffed look. "So, what did Dumbledore want with you anyway?" he asked, changing the subject.

"He just wanted information on how Umbridge is controlling the prefects and head girl and boy and her impact on the Slytherins," Lyrisadora lied smoothly.

Adrian seemed to believe it, looking away in disinterest. "I guess he must be feeling the heat then," he mused.

Lyrisadora faintly hummed in agreement, looking away, her eyes dropping in tiredness, her shoulders feeling more than little heavier.

* * *

><p><strong>I had free time, got a surge of inspiration. TADAAA!<strong>


	61. Galleon for your thoughts?

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Sirius Black, Order of the Phoenix **

* * *

><p><strong>The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are. <strong>

**Chapter: Galleon for your thoughts?**

* * *

><p><em>29th January 1996<em>

Snape was impressed that Lyrisadora managed to not start bombarding him with questions about the job Dumbledore has given her. Instead she was quiet, as she helped him brew some Veritaserum in his office, as he graded some sixth year assignments.

Still though, his paternal side irked at him to try and convince her to decline the job, but he knew that would be ridiculous, she was in just as much danger here than she would be abroad, and besides _he_ was the one who insisted she be the one to do the job in the first place. "…The job Dumbledore proposed to you," Snape spoke, gaining her abrupt attention. "It was my idea," he confessed. She at least deserved to hear the truth.

He watched her intently for her reaction, but her face was unreadable. "You must have faith in me," she replied, giving him a small smile.

"I do," he agreed, standing up from behind his desk. "However, I want to make sure you understand fully of what you're accepting," he continued.

"And here I thought you wanted me to do it," she joked, moving the potion to the side. "I know it's dangerous, I could be killed, or worse."

"I know, but I was referring to your family," he replied evenly. "Because you can't tell them, you can tell know one. You're going to have to leave everything behind," he continued gravely.

She was quiet for a moment. "And if I stay here I'll either die or turn into a monster," she argued mildly, meeting his gaze. "I don't want to sit back and watch the world burn, I want to help save it," she professed.

"It'll be painful-"

"Well of course it will be, I still love them! Don't you think I already feel guilty just thinking about it," she snapped, earning a disapproving look. She sighed. "I'm sorry. But what I mean is that, I have to follow my own path…. I don't want to hurt them….but this is something I need to do," she explained.

"I see, "Snape replied, his tone neutral, looking at her with the faintest amount of respect, glad to see her finally come into her own. Still though, sentiment got the better of him. "I just wanted you to know it's not too late to back out."

She looked at him curiously. "Is this a test?"

He sighed. "No. Blame it on sentiment."

Her lip quirked upwards as she looked at him in amusement. "I never took you for the overprotective type, sir," she commented mildly. "But I've already made it clear I'm going through with this, no matter how much it's going to hurt in the long run," she said firmly.

Snape was silent for a while before the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly.

* * *

><p>Adrian was still working out the kinks in telling Miles about Cassondria's vomit control issue. It was now lunch break and the two friends were sat on an archway window sill in the courtyard, and he still had yet to tell him.<p>

All the while Miles was munching on a chocolate bar, Adrian glanced at the sugary treat, before noticing his friend's expanding waist band. "Didn't you already eat some chocolate earlier?" Adrian inquired mildly.

"Yeah," Miles replied flatly, continuing eating.

"Right…don't you think you should mind the sugar, you're not exactly skinny," Adrian pointed out bluntly.

Miles shot him an annoyed look. "Who are you, my mother?" he snapped defensively, devouring his sugary treat.

Adrian just shrugged, flagging his hands up in surrender. "Just my opinion," he tried to smooth it over. "So anyway, how's your grandmother? Still singing?"

"She's dead," Miles replied flatly.

"Oh is she? My condolences," Adrian said evenly, earning a glare.

"You're a real twat sometimes, Adrian," he retorted irritably.

Adrian flashed a bright smile. "Well you're no saint yourself," he stated.

Miles rolled his eyes and looked away. "Yeah well, whatever."

"You want to go beat up a Hufflepuff? That seems to put you in a good mood," Adrian suggested pleasantly.

Miles shrugged dismissively. "Not really," he replied dully.

There was a good gap of silence after this, causing Adrian to become a little agitated as he realised it was now or never. "Listen Miles, have you noticed anything different about Cassondria lately?"

Miles furrowed his brow. "Well, she is a lot skinnier," he replied. "And…she doesn't really eat much anymore…"

"Yeah," Adrian agreed carefully, thinking over his next words closely. "And the thing is, she might be in more trouble than you realise."

Miles looked at him in confusion. "What? Is she sick?" His voice sounded concerned.

"Physically? No. Mentally? Afraid so," Adrian answered. "I found her throwing up in the toilets, she kind of has an eating disorder," he tried to explain smoothly.

His friend's eyes widened like galleons. "What!" he exclaimed.

"Now just relax," Adrian reassured hastily. "She's feeling guilty because she's afraid you'll hate her, once you realise what her parents made her do," he explained.

This seemed to make Miles falter. "What did her parents make her do?" he questioned uneasily.

* * *

><p>Cordula was surprised when Lucretia whisked her away, out of the bloom. "What in Merlin's beard are you doing?" she stammered.<p>

Lucretia let go of her arm and looked around the greenhouse. "Cassondria is in trouble," Lucretia replied bluntly, folding her arms and giving Cordula an annoyed look.

Cordula was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she's…been upchucking in the girls' toilets," she replied. "Saw her myself."

The dark olive skinned girl paused and narrowed her eyes at her former friend. "And how do I know you're not _lying_?"

Lucretia rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed she's lost weight? And speaking of which, when did you actually last see her eat?"

Cordula frowned. "Alright, good point," she murmured, she bit her lip as she recalled Cassondria's odd behaviour. "I never thought she'd be that stupid though…"

Lucretia snorted in bemusement and rolled her eyes. "Cassondria's always been an idiot."

Cordula arched an eyebrow at her. "You didn't always think that," she commented mildly, twirling her braided ponytail around her finger.

The two were silent for a moment.

"Yeah, well we were stupid children," Lucretia retorted harshly. "I'll never understand why I put up with her shit all those years."

Cordula gave her a perceptive look, they both knew that was a lie. "You still care, don't you?"

"I just don't want to see her dead, that's all," Lucretia argued icily.

Cordula didn't look convinced, to Lucretia's irritation she saw her former friend's lip curve upwards in amusement. "You haven't changed at all, have you?" she mused pleasantly, shaking her head softly. "I'll keep an eye on Cassie, make sure she doesn't go off the deep end, " she reassured.

Lucrteia nodded. "Thanks, I appreciate it," she said sincerely.

Cordula hummed, her dark eyes still fixed on her. "You know, she never did tell anyone your little secret."

Lucretia stiffened. "Of course, I figured as much," she responded rigidly.

Cordula shrugged. "She'll never admit it, but she does care about you, just not in the way you want her to," she divulged, a sly smirk etched on her lips, before clasping her hands behind her back and walking away.

Lucretia swallowed a lump in her throat, a fire rising in her stomach as she stormed off, her former friend's words still stinging.

* * *

><p>It was during her free period when Lyrisadora found herself throwing stones across the river, at which time she accidentally ran into the famous boy who lived.<p>

Potter had looked lost in his own world, wondering down to the lake, stopping once he saw her, a tense silence resting between them. She wouldn't consider Potter a friend of sorts, more of a mutual acquaintance, too much bad blood between him and her brother.

She tried to ease the tension by offering a reserved smile, he looked at her warily, she briefly wondered if he thought she was a Death Eater, and if so, why hadn't he gone running? She put it down to Gryffindor pride.

Nevertheless, the silence was becoming unbearable. "Fancy seeing you here, Potter," she said neutrally, picking up another stone, watching it skim across the water. "Lovely weather."

There was a small pause before Potter replied. "Yeah, not too cold either," he replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he stared across the lake.

Lyrisadora fiddled with the stone in her palm. She tried to think of more to say, but what could she say? Apologise on her brother's behalf, she doubted it would make a difference or even be appreciated. "Galleon for your thoughts?" she inquired.

"Isn't it a sickle?"

"No, a Wizard's thoughts are precious things," she stated pleasantly.

He looked like he wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "I bet," he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. "Can I ask you something?" he asked, walking a little closer, so they were a safe hearing distance apart.

"Ask away," she replied evenly, smiling politely, fiddling with the smooth stone in her hand.

He seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "Fred and George say you're their friend," he began. "And when I asked what you're like, they just said that you're like a closed book," he tried to explain, she eyed him passively as she waited for him to finish. "You push people away…why?"

"Because I'm a Slytherin," she replied automatically, shrugging his question off as if the answer was obvious.

He was quiet for a moment. "Do you ever think you're a bad person?"

This question made her frown as she looked at him with interest. "The world isn't black and white." He seemed visibly annoyed by this. She smiled sadly at him, he seemed lost, the question holding genuine importance. She met his gaze and tried to fight the urge to peak into his mind, he wore his heart on his sleeve, his thoughts practically spilling out and wanting to be seen; the boy was an open book. "There's bad and good in everyone, that's just the way it is."

Her curiosity grew when she saw something flash in his eyes, giving into temptation she took a quick peak into his mind, before hastily withdrawing, it appeared her words echoed another's. "Yeah I know that, but that still doesn't answer my question."

She regarded him for a moment before answering. "Am I bad person? I suppose I am, but I also do bad things and sometimes I enjoy it, " she replied neutrally, as if discussing the weather. "But like I said, I'm a Slytherin, it's what we're like," she argued, shrugging, tossing the stone across the water. "Do you think you're a bad person?"

"….I'm not sure," he replied hesitantly.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, like I said, the world isn't all black and white," she reassured, a small smile creeping onto her lips. "Everybody makes good and bad choices."

"Yeah…our choices make us who we are," he stated, as if remembering the words from elsewhere.

"Never truer words spoken," Lyrisadora concurred softly. Her mind turning to the mission Dumbledore had given her. "You're really brave, you know," she said quietly, staring out onto the lake. He looked at her intently, looking at her with a mixture or surprise and intrigue. "You may not think it, but you are…you're friends are brave to. You're lucky," she stated mildly.

"….Thanks," he said uncomfortably.

She hummed quietly in response, the two stood in silence for a while, watching the sunset.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Miles yelled after Cassondria as she screamed at him and ran away towards the forbidden forest.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Lyra finally meets Harry again! They haven't had much reason to interact in the last couple of years.<strong>

**Hope you guys liked this one!**

**And thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate it :D**


	62. Stacked up like a house of cards

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote Origin: Frank Underwood, House of Cards**

* * *

><p><strong>If you want to earn my loyalty, then you'll have to offer yours in return<strong>**  
><strong>

**Chapter: ****Stacked up like a house of cards**

* * *

><p>When Cassondria ran away from Miles, she made sure not to go too deep into the Forbidden forest, she wasn't that stupid after all. Instead she manoeuvred through the trees, Miles yells getting fainter as she outran him.<p>

But her running soon slowed to a stumbling walk as exhaustion overtook her, her body feeling weak as she breathed heavily. She stopped to rest, leaning on a tree for support. She crouched down and rested her head, he eyes still wet from earlier.

The memory of Miles confronting her about her starvation and the baby, making her wince. He had caught her by surprise and more or less demanded she explain what was going on with her, telling her he knew everything.

He was confused and angry, everything she feared he'd be, he hadn't yelled, which she was grateful for. So she told him everything and had waited for his response. She scrunched her eyes up as she remembered his pale expression and how he had said "_Why would you do that_?" that was like a knife in her stomach and it must have shown on her face, because Miles had instantly looks like he regretted it, hastily apologising.

But she knew what he really felt then and there. So, she just ran. Cassondria curled up tighter into a ball, her fists clenching, hot tears falling. Why would she do it? His words were like a betrayal. She scrunched her eyes up tight and cried.

It was getting darker, but she hadn't seemed to notice, her sobs had turned into whimpers as she buried her head into her knees.

And then a voice called. "Cassondria…" it called uneasily.

Cassondria's head snapped up, her blurred vision slowly focusing. Cassondria blanched once realised it was the last person she had wanted to see, of all people who was standing in front of her with a pitying expression etched on her face. "Piss off!" Cassondria shrieked, hastily wiping her face and stumbling to her feet.

Lyrisadora didn't budge, instead keeping her gaze focused on her. "…Is it Miles?"

Cassondria looked affronted at the correct assumption, this soon turned to rage, and she wanted to slap that pitying look of Lyrisadora's face. "Obviously. Are you happy? You must be feeling so satisfied, revenge at its sweetest," she spat, her voice strained and broken.

Lyrisadora remained silent, face passive as she eyed Cassondria intently. "You assume incorrectly," she replied mildly.

This didn't cool the other girl's temper. "Just piss off, leave me alone, you're the last person I want to see!"

Lyrisadora hesitated before replying. "I just….you should know that you're parents should have let you choose, they shouldn't have forced you."

Cassondria drew her wand. "Shut up! You don't know a thing. You're worthless, pathetic and I hate you," she spat, new tears brimming in her eyes. "Everybody fucking loves you, don't they? Well congratulations, you win, I'm just as pathetic as you!" she screamed, tears blinding her vision.

Lyrisadora took a step back, holding her arms up to placate the hysteric girl. "Okay, I'll go, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she said evenly. "You may think I'm lying, but I actually do want to help you, it's like you said, I'm pathetic like that."

Despite herself, Cassondria seemed to falter, but her glare never wavered. "I wouldn't give two shits about you."

"I know, it's among the many reasons I don't like you," Lyrisadora replied, her voice having a hardened tone to it. "But just because I don't like you, doesn't mean I like seeing you suffer," she added, sighing in exasperation, Cassondria's hand slacked a little. "You don't need to punish yourself."

Cassondria swallowed a lump in her throat, before lowering her wand. "Why can't you just leave it?" she muttered, her frown deepening.

Lyrisadora fixed her with firm look. "Just talk to Miles."

Cassondria scoffed and lowered her wand, rolling her eyes at the other girl. "Yes, because that worked out wonderfully," she sneered.

"And running away is better?" Lyrisadora questioned sharply.

Cassondria glared at her. "Well I didn't exactly know what to say now did I? I doubt you'd fare much better," she spat, scowling at her. Cassondria folded her arms and looked away.

Lyrisadora swallowed, remaining composed. "So what are you going to do now?" she inquired coldly. "Keep avoiding him? Throw up until you choke?" she questioned, stepping a little closer to the guarded girl. "None of the options seem promising, and I can't understand what it must be like being in your situation." She paused. "But talk to Miles again, try and sort it out, because running away isn't going to solve anything," she advised lightly.

Cassondria remained silent, refusing to look at her. "You should mind your own business, Malfoy," she murmured, a tiredness layering her tone.

"Fair point," Lyrisadora replied evenly, before sighing. "Don't worry about getting back before curfew," she said, giving the girl one last look before turning back to walk towards the castle. "I'll just give you a detention anyway," she called, walking away.

Cassondria bit her tongue, an irritated sneer formed on her lips. "Bitch," she muttered, before looking around the quiet forest, a lump forming in her throat as she wiped her eyes, burying her face in her hand.

* * *

><p><em>30th January 1996<em>

Lyrisadora was beginning to wonder why she had even bothered taking Defence against the dark arts at NEWT level, considering Umbridge had taught them next to nothing. The question bitterly lingered in her mind as she sat at the back row of desks and copied from a text book in DADA, the classroom silent as the students begrudgingly worked.

She glanced over at Fred and George across the room, the two didn't appear to be looking at the textbook, she assumed they were doodling and she didn't blame them if they were. It seemed the Ministry was perfectly content on letting student fail DADA, well the ones they considered undesirable at least, as from what she gathered, a number of Slytherins, including herself, from prominent families had received extra lessons during the holidays.

She turned her gaze over to Cassondria, who was in the front row, she could only see the side of her face as the honey blonde girl worked silently, her complexion less sickly. Lyrisadora looked over at Miles who was sat next to Adrian, Miles seemed to have a permanent frown on his face as he worked.

She scratched her quill on her parchment, making an ugly mark on the paper, her mind growing numb from boredom, she glanced at Adrian next to her to see how he was fairing. He wasn't much better, looking like he was at a funeral.

Adrian noticed her looking and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. "What?" he murmured.

She just shrugged and looked back down at her work. "Just bored," she replied quietly, briefly glancing up at Umbridge who was sitting at her desk sipping tea, ever pleasant smile present. "We might as well be staring at a wall, it'd be more exciting than this," she muttered, scribbling a small doodle on her work.

"You don't half-"Adrian began to mutter dryly, before being hit in the eye with a small paper ball.

Lyrisadora looked over in the direction of where the ball had been thrown, noticing the Weasley twins sitting a bit too casually. She sighed and made to grab the paper, but Adrian had already beaten her to it, opening it up and scanning the contents. "Give that back," she hissed, hastily glancing up at Umbridge, who was now pacing the room, checking everyone's work.

Adrian smirked and scrunched the piece of paper up, Lyrisadora made to grab for it. "In all fairness, it was me that got hit," he argued.

"But it was meant for me," she hissed, eyes narrowing at him.

Adrian fixed her with an innocent look. "How do you know?"

"Is everything alright?" chirped a sugary voice.

Adrian hid the paper in his fist and smiled indulgently up at Professor Umbridge, the pink clad woman looking at Lyrisadora and him cheerfully. "Just helping Adrian with one of the questions Professor," Lyrisadora lied evenly, smiling pleasantly.

"Really? Oh, then carry on then," Umbridge replied brightly, her smile widening as she waved a dismissive had, before tottering off.

Lyrisadora drew a quiet breath of relief, before looking back at Adrian pointedly. He smiled at her pleasantly, making her feel infuriated. She looked back at the Weasley twins who looked the image of ignorance in the whole affair. She started to doubt if the note was really for her, maybe it had been for Adrian. She looked at the rest of the Gryffindor's who were near the Weasley twins, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Lee Jordon and Patricia Stimpson.

She wondered why any of them would give Adrian a note? Which also begged the question, why he hadn't told her what the note had said?

* * *

><p>She didn't have time to inquire to Adrian about the note after class, as she was instantly intercepted by Professor Snape to help brew some Drought of living death.<p>

So Adrian was able to slip away with her none the wiser, the scrunched up note in his pocket as he walked towards the Arithmancy classroom. When he got there he was alone, not a student in sight, not counting the Grey Lady hovering by. However he didn't have to wait long for his summoner, as Lucretia peaked her head round the corner.

"Anyone follow you?" Lucretia whispered, stepping closer as she scanned the area.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "This isn't an Auror operation."

Lucretia sneered at him, a sour expression on her face. "I'm cautious, you would be to if you were in my position," she countered.

"I wouldn't be stupid enough to get caught in the act," Adrian retorted dryly, smiling coyly. "Though, it was fun to watch."

"You're such a pervert," Lucretia snapped, her eyes blazing. "Always have been, always will. I don't know why Lyra puts up with you."

"Well she's no saint," he reasoned, stepping closer in, pulling the note out and holding it up for view. "Besides, let's not beat around the bush," he added, Lucretia's expression was stiff. "You wanted to talk to me about last night."

Lucretia swallowed. "I wanted to tell you that this is all just a misunderstanding," she tried to explain.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at her. "It seemed pretty clear to me, sounded pretty obvious to."

"It was a one off," she snapped, losing her cool. "A simple mistake…an experiment," she tried to argue.

Adrian looked at her seriously. "You know, I don't care if you like girls, everyone has their preferences," he stated bluntly.

Lucretia's cheeks flushed, all former confidence replaced with frantic panic. "I'm not gay….I just….it was a one off!" she hissed, looking behind her frantically, afraid someone overheard. "Just promise you won't tell, _please_," she implored, looking at him desperately. Adrian remained silent, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "If my parents, or worse anyone, finds out, then I'm done for," she begged, her eyes dulling." A pure-blood lady should marry a good pure-blooded man. Those are the rules," she murmured, looking away.

Adrian considered her for a moment, before sighing. "Calm down, I won't tell," he reassured.

Lucretia looked at him hopefully. "Really, you promise?"

"I have nothing to gain if I tell, well at least for now," he continued.

Any hope in her expression vanished at those words. "What do you want?"

"I just said, I don't want anything right now," he replied smoothly, scrunching the note back in his pocket. "So tell Patricia she doesn't have to worry her pretty little head about anything," he reassured pleasantly.

Lucretia was silent as she swallowed a painful lump in her throat.

Adrian smiled at her before nodding curtly and walking away.

Lucretia felt her insults stuck in her throat as she watched him leave, the fear of uncertainty stuck in her stomach.

* * *

><p>When Lyrisadora and Professor Snape entered the security of his office, he promptly told her he could make the Drought of Living death in his sleep, and that he needed to speak to her on more pressing issues.<p>

"The mission is being put into place, I think it's best if we have you fake your death," Snape explained.

Lyrisadora blanched at his bluntness. "Oh, so nothing big then?" she commented sarcastically, folding her arms as she levelled him with a peeved look.

He didn't seem accommodating to her sarcasm. "Unless you want your family killed for betrayal, then faking your death is the most logical direction," he replied sharply. "If you're assumed dead, then you'll be able to drop off the radar and carry out the mission without the Dark Lord breathing down your neck," he continued.

"Okay, so how do we go about doing that?" Lyrisadora questioned.

"Involving less traceable means. Are you familiar with Muggle plastic surgery?" he inquired. Lyrisadora gave him a blank look. "I expected so, the staging of the death will be tricky and planned correctly. But first we will need to secure money to pay for it, normally a simple memory wipe would remove such difficulty," Snape divulged. "But the parts and equipment need to be paid for. "

"And what is 'plastic sugary' exactly?" Lyrisadora inquired curiously.

"A more tedious muggle version of the glamour charm," Snape answered curtly.

"Then why not just use a glamour charm?"

"Because you won't be the one we're disguising, the subject will need to be very much dead," Snape explained coldly, causing her to tense, and feel a little bit stupid at the obvious reason. "And when the body is inspected by medi-witches, no trace of magic must be present. We need a more permanent transformation, one most wizards and witches like yourself are ignorant of," he explained.

"I see," Lyrisadora muttered, frowning. "So this body will be acquired from….?"

"St Mungo's morgue, they have an abundant supply, finding the right measurements will be another issue," Snape mused.

She took a moment to process the plan. "So you need my money to pay for the operation?"

"Your trust fund outshines my yearly salary tremendously Miss Malfoy," he retorted dryly, fixing her with a dead look.

"Well it's a good thing the Goblins are discreet, but I'll at least need a decent reason," she argued.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Snape drawled. "I'm sure making a business investment wouldn't be too farfetched."

Lyrisadora hummed lowly in response. "Hopefully, I might need some help."

"You are forbidden to tell anyone," Snape snapped harshly.

"I know that," Lyrisadora replied irritably. "I'd be subtle about it, I'm not stupid."

"Many people think they're not stupid, a good number of them are now dead," he remarked coldly. "Be careful," he warned sternly, fixing her with a piercing look.

Lyrisadora kept her stance as they stared each other down. "I will be," she argued firmly. "I won't let you down Professor," she reaffirmed, giving him a small smile, his expression was unreadable.

"Good, because there's no turning back now, you follow this through to the end," he said strongly, briefly looking away. "As for the Dark Lord, from what I've been told, he plans to give you a test over the Easter Holidays."

Lyrisadora became more alert. "What does he want me to do?"

He looked her grimly, or was that his usual expression? She wasn't quite sure. "A simple observation mission, covert if you like, he wants you to investigate the sewers," he answered.

Her reaction was disdainful. "Oh goody," she replied nonchalantly. "Then does he want me to scrub the toilets and wash his feet?"

The potion's professor gave her an unamused look. "If you don't mind that tongue of yours, then I predict much worse," he said lightly.

She smiled at him ruefully. "I don't need a reminder."

* * *

><p>Lucretia didn't feel very hungry at dinner, she blamed it on Adrian's face, and she wondered if he took joy in others misery. Elizabeth had of course been concerned, her kindness often made Lucretia wonder how the girl could be a Slytherin, Lucretia assumed the only reason the hat had put her there, was on ambition alone and ability to hold a grudge for six years.<p>

But she'd dwell on that later, Lucretia had bigger problems, Patricia seemed to have a lack of concern with the whole thing, true the Gryffindor didn't want the whole school knowing, but she didn't have the same urgency to keep it all a secret like Lucretia. It seemed like the Stimpson's were a very accepting lot, who were just a bit conservative. In other words they would be the '_are you sure dear? That's nice dear, we love you anyway_ _dear_', yet were still a little uncomfortable when the subject was brought up.

Gryffindors seemed to have all the luck. Lucretia knew her parents wouldn't be as dismissive, at first they're be, '_well I assume you'll follow your duty either way?_' and when she promptly refused. _'You're no daughter of mine!'_, she could envision the fury on their faces.

She swore under her breath as she grudgingly walked into her dorm, shoving Lyrisadora's cat out of the way. Before the second year things had been so much simpler, Cordula and Cassondria were her best friends, everything was perfect and then she started to get a warm feeling every time Cassondria smiled, laughed or linked arms with her. It all started to get confusing after that, she was young, still finding out who she was, she didn't know what to feel.

But after Cassondria and Miles started to get more physical with one another, it started to go all wrong. Lucretia had been jalousie, how could she not be? The two blatantly shoved their affections in her face. So it came as no surprise that she started to lose her patience with Cassondria more and more, rose tinted glasses cracked.

The banter became more heated, Cordula stuck in the middle of it all, til one day, it all gave and Lucretia made one mistake.

She kissed Cassondria, she didn't really know what reaction she had wanted from the pretty honey blonde girl. Maybe speechlessness, some polite refusal, or dare she dream that she would kiss her back like some cliché romance novel. Instead she received a hard whack and a look of disgust.

And before she knew it, harsh words were said and their friendship was over.

Lucretia curled up in her bed and sighed, briefly glancing at the witch weekly magazines scattered on the floor. Why couldn't she have a nice boring life? When she briefly went out with that moron Poliakoff, she had hoped it would maybe 'fix' her so to speak, but it had just been a disaster.

Things had only got more difficult when Patricia had given her the eye in the corridor when Christmas break ended.

Patricia Stimpson was homely looking girl, with dark haired and skin and a little on the plump side, with her oval face, but funny and actually quite charming. A few cheeky touches when no one was looking, brief warm smiles…it had been nice. It had also escalated quickly.

So of course having her luck, Adrian had caught them fooling around last night in the girl's bathroom when he was on prefect patrol.

Lucretia groaned into her pillow, she needed to sort this out, quickly and quietly, before Adrian started to wield his new found power over her.

* * *

><p>After his prefect patrol, Adrian found Lyrisadora in the common room on a regal coach staring at the fire, a brown book resting on her lap. Her hair was a little on messy side as it was hastily plaited up, a few hairs loose.<p>

He came down and sat next to her. "Still wondering what that note said?" he teased.

Her eyes flickered over to him. "I assumed it was just a small love letter from your many scorned ex-girlfriends," she sighed, leaning her head back.

"I don't have ex-girlfriends," he replied in a matter of fact tone. "I sleep around, there's a difference."

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Either way I don't care," she lied. "I have more important things on my mind," she muttered, meeting is gaze. "My future being one of them…we are getting fake-engaged after all."

He looked at her with interest. "Yes we are, wont that be fun," he agreed playfully.

"Hm, not if we're in a war," she replied mildly.

"You never know, it might be romantic," he argued nonchalantly.

Lyrisadora scoffed. "Dream on," she retorted in amusement. "But on a serious note, I'll admit, I'm a little scared," she admitted reluctantly.

He met her stern look. "Understandable," he replied.

"Well aren't you? I mean, your father wants you to join the cause," she said, lowering her voice and leaning in. "And I….I don't if I can hack it, I don't want to become a monster," she whispered, her expression morphing into concern. Adrian eyed her intently. "I need to get out," she murmured.

He didn't speak for a while. "And what do you want from me?" he questioned quietly.

"I want you to come with me," she answered simply.

He hadn't expected that answer. "Excuse me?" he questioned in confusion.

"If you stay here, you're going to get branded and join their ranks," she explained. "So I want you to come with me," she continued, her stare never wavering. "I need your help and you owe me a debt."

"Why the sudden decision?" Adrian inquired evenly, finding it all a little too good to be true.

"Since the Dark Lord has started taking an interest in me," she replied, she looked at him uncertainly. "If I stay here things are only going to get worse, I don't have any more options, I either stay or runaway," she argued plainly. "I need help, and you're the only one I trust," she stated, looking at him pointedly.

They were both silent for a moment. Adrian leaned in closer and put his thumb to her bottom lip, lifting her chin up. "What do you want me to do?" he muttered.

"Find a way to transfer a large amount of money, without suspicion," Lyrisadora said softly, she broke their gaze and looked down, placing a hand on his thy. "I need you to trust me," she added, looking back up at him.

He looked at her for a moment before smiling. "Let's go to America," he suggested, before kissing her deeply.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the delay, had a ton of work to do, same old same old, still have more work to do. But I thought I might as well get this done.<strong>

**Hope everyone had a happy Easter!**

**Tried to make this chapter longer, but sometimes the chapters are going to be short, so I can post them quicker and I don't overload them with too much info in one go.**

**A lot of blackmailing and deception happening right now, Adrian wont be pleased when he realises Lyra lied to him. But it is a time of war. **


	63. Silver tongues

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Stabilo, Flawed Design **

* * *

><p><strong>And ever since I figured out<br>That I could control other people  
>I've had trouble sleeping<br>With both eyes closed**

**Cause I lie, and if I could control it**  
><strong>Maybe I could leave it all behind<strong>

**Chapter: Silver tongues ****  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>3rd February 1996<em>

Adrian had always considered himself a messed up person, after all, why had he gone and slept with Daphne Greengrass after only a couple of days of agreeing to run away with his bitchy little Malfoy princess? There was most definitely something wrong with him.

Adrian sighed quietly, glancing over at Daphne's sleeping figure. He looked around the quiet male dorms room, he felt a weird unfamiliar feeling in his stomach. It all felt strange. He shifted in bed, looking back at the fifth year girl and frowned, it wasn't like he had planned this to happen, it had just sort of well happened.

Daphne had been upset over some family issue or whatever and Adrian had been bored, and to be fair Daphne was a good looking girl. The uneasy feeling in his stomach didn't ease up. Daphne squirmed and moaned, turning over to face him, her eyes easing open. She looked a tad alarmed when she saw he was watching her. "Oh….um…" she trailed off once she realised whose bed she was in. "…morning…" she greeted uneasily, sitting up.

"Morning," he replied curtly, looking at her for a moment before sitting up.

Daphne looked at him curiously. "It wasn't _that_ bad, was it?" she questioned.

Adrian's lip twitched upwards at the comment. "Hard to say," he replied evenly.

She seemed to take offence. "Well you were the one who looked guilty," she countered dryly, smirking at him. "Is the famous Adrian Pucey finally gaining a conscience?" she added mockingly.

Adrian gave her a slighting look. "Shouldn't you be leaving? Wouldn't want pug face Parkinson telling people you're a whore," he retorted.

Daphne rolled her eyes at him. "Are you familiar with the word hypocrite?" she inquired, before shaking her head and getting out of the bed.

Adrian turned away and lay back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as she got dressed. "Remember to close the door on your way out," he called.

"Piss off," Daphne replied harshly, before slamming the door shut.

Montague groaned in annoyance, Adrian glanced at him, Daphne's comments having woke the boy up. "Couldn't you have done her in the bathroom instead," Montague hissed, before burying his head in his pillow.

Adrian ignored him and mused to himself. Perhaps Daphne had been right, maybe he had gained a conscience. He frowned, maybe that was why he felt so…queasy. He liked sex, more specifically he liked variation, it was borderline addiction and he knew it would come to ram him in the arse when he was older. He wasn't animalistic, he could control himself, but if the girl was consenting then all bets were off.

He briefly wondered if Lyrisadora would be mad with him if she caught him in the act. He threw the thought away, if she was hurt by it then it was her own fault, she knew what he was like, he had never lied to her about it.

The uneasy feeling in his stomach grew, he turned over in bed, he was probably just apprehensive about leaving the country, after all he doubted the old Voldy-pants would let them go so easily…well maybe him.

But then he couldn't just go and abandoned Lyrisadora like that, she hadn't abandoned him after all, on the contrary, she had more or less begged him to come with her, he smiled faintly in bemusement. It was hook line and sinker now, they would runaway together and she would be his, simple. But first he had to get the money sorted, after all they needed to start a whole new life together, new identities and so on.

It was about time he cashed in on that favour Lucretia owed him.

* * *

><p>As usually Lyrisadora had woken up before her housemates, she never could do lie-ins. But recently, her strict body clock had worked to her advantage, giving her time to shower and place the glamour charm and concealer over her mark.<p>

The Slytherin bathroom was empty, as she sat in her soft dressing gown on the edge of the large bath. Placing the sticking charm over the concealer, hiding the Dark Mark. She placed her wand in her dressing gown pocket and rolled her sleeve down, before standing up and heading towards the mirror above one of the sinks.

While she pulled out a comb from her pocket and started to comb her damp hair, she recalled the night before, catching Daphne Greengrass head up with Adrian to his bedroom, her suspicions were clarified when the fifth year girl left in the early hours of the morning from the said boy's dorm.

She wondered if she should be upset about it all, but it wasn't like Adrian had never been honest with her about it, she had always know he liked to fool around with girls, even if he was willing to drop everything to be with her, he still wasn't going to change that much. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't really care if he changed or not, true she wished he wouldn't be such a creep at times, but he accepted her as she was, so the least she could do was accept him how he was.

She had to admit, she like whatever it was they had. She put the comb back in her pocket and tied her hair up into a ponytail, before staring back at her reflections. "And I'm going to end up ruining it all," she muttered to herself, fully aware that Adrian would not forgive her easily once it was discovered she had used and lied to him.

But she couldn't just go and tell him her mission from Dumbledore, he'd want to come with her and she needed him to be safe. She groaned in frustration, things were much easier when she hated him.

* * *

><p>Lucretia felt like a cornered mouse when Adrian dragged her off in the middle of lunch, needless to say she hadn't been pleased, but nevertheless kept her mouth shut, best not to upset her blackmailer.<p>

"What do you want?" she questioned gruffly, crossing her arms as she pushed her chin out in defiance.

"To be specific? Nothing much, in fact it's more of a favour," he replied pleasantly.

"One I no doubt have to agree to," she retorted.

"Precisely," Adrian replied brightly. "Now as you know, we'll be graduating soon-"

"Thank Merlin-"

"Please don't interrupt," Adrian cut in impatiently, he received a tight lipped response before continuing. "So I'll need to start securing my future and politics really isn't my thing,so I want to start a little business, preferably America," he began to explain, giving her an even smile. "But I need to be discreet, my father won't exactly be encouraging, so this is strictly off the radar," he told her.

Her eyes narrowed. "So what exactly do you want from me, my family connections and power ar strictly politics, not business ventures," Lucretia replied.

"Yes, but it's not strictly there connections I need," Adrian corrected. "Patricia Stimpson's mother deals with foreign financial affairs and her father is good friends with a Mr Garfield Collins?" he inquired.

Lucretia's eyes widened at the amount of information he knew. "How many girls did you have to fuck to get that chunk of information?" she questioned crudely.

"None," he replied in a clipped tone. Lucretia raised an eyebrow at his abrupt tone, wondering why he was suddenly so pious. "People talk, a few friendly prods and it was easy," he added.

"Figures," she mumbled. "So, I'm guessing you want me to convince Patricia?" she assumed, before shaking her head. "She won't do it, especially if she knows she's being blackmailed. She's stubborn like that," she explained, a hint of fondness seeping into her tone.

Adrian didn't seem bothered by this, she assumed he had already guessed Patricia would be difficult. "Then convince her," he replied simply. "You are a Slytherin aren't you? Can you honestly tell me you _couldn't_ convince her?" he questioned, fixing her glare with a cooled look. Lucretia's jaw tensed, of course she could convince Patricia, bearing in mind it would be a little morally dubious and manipulative, but she could still do it. But being blackmailed to do it left a bad taste in her mouth. Adrian seemed to take her silence as an answer. "Then be discreet. I want to talk to Stimpson in person, you just have to convince her," he said.

"And you promise you won't spill the beans once we've done as you ask?" she asked firmly.

"I'll take it to my grave," he replied sincerely.

"I'll make sure it's an early one," Lucretia growled, glaring at him. "Now if you're finished, I have my lunch to finish," she said flatly, before walking off, her temper simmering.

"You have a nice day too, Looloo," he called as he watched her go, a satisfied smirk etched on his face, he was hoping Lyrisadora wouldn't question him too much on how he planned to get the money transferred, but if she did he'd just tell her he had it all sorted, he was allowed to have some secrets after all.

* * *

><p>"So should we ask her or not?" Fred questioned, looking at George with uncertainty as the watched Lyrisadora walk out of the library.<p>

"There's still hope for her, she hasn't picked a side yet," George argued quietly.

"Or as far as we know," Fred stated. "And I really do hate to be a downer, but I think she might have already chosen."

An unfamiliar grim look flashed across George's face, before he quickly rolled his eyes and punched his brother in the arm. "Yeah, well I'll believe that when I know for sure," he argued. "We might as well ask her while no one's around," he reasoned, making his way over to her.

Fred sighed quietly before following. "Oi! Malfoy," he called, causing Lyrisadora to look behind her.

She stopped and looked around warily. "Yes?" she asked quietly, stepping closer. "What is it?" she questioned.

Fred and George exchanged a look before Fred decided to poise the question. "It's graduation soon, and Voldy-warts won't be laying low forever," he started.

"So we were wondering if you wanted to…join the Order?" George suggested.

There was a pause. "I can't pick a side," she stated simply.

"You can't stay neutral forever," Fred reasoned.

"I know," she replied evenly, looking around uncertainly. "But it wouldn't be smart to discuss it in open space," she argued.

"Slytherins," Fred muttered, rolling his eyes. "Alright, we get it, but it was just an invitation."

"And it'd all be up to Dumbledore in the end, we're not even members yet," George added.

"But we'd put in a good word for you," Fred added.

"And I appreciate that," Lyrisadora replied. "But don't worry about me, I'll be okay," she reassured, forcing a smile, making sure to add some warmth into it, she didn't want the twins worrying about her, they had their own lives to lead. "Look after yourself," she said, before leaving them be.

Fred looked back at George. "Think she's lying?" Fred questioned once she was out of hearing distance.

George hesitated before replying with a shrug. "I can never tell."

* * *

><p>"What's wrong?" Adrian questioned, sitting down next to her. It was evening when Lyrisadora finally decided to sort through her mail from breakfast, sitting down at one of the wooden tables in the common room. When Adrian waltzed on in and spotted her.<p>

She glanced at him from the letter from her mother and half shrugged. "My mother keeps babbling on about the big engagement party, it's becoming endearing," she answered mildly, passing him the letter. "Thank go there won't be a wedding, she's already spent half a small fortune on the celebration alone," she sighed, watching him read. "How's our financial affairs faring?"

"Running smoothly, I have everything under control," he replied, not looking up as he read.

"Hm, alright then," she responded dismissively. "If you sort that out in due time, then I'll be able to get our cover story sorted. So I'll need it done before Easter," she said plainly.

This time he glanced up at her, an eyebrow arched. "Already giving orders I see."

She gave him a wire like smile. "It won't get done unless I do," she retorted, plucking the letter from his grasp and folding it up.

He gave her an equally wire like smile. "Of course," he replied dutifully, resting his chin on his left knuckle. "I trust your judgement after," he added, she wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

But her reply stayed lodged in her throat when she felt her arm burn a little, not the same throbbing pain like before, but more of a simmering heat. It appeared Voldemort was sending out a wide call for his other Death Eaters, a call she didn't appear to need to answer. She flexed her left hand's fingers, her lips tightening. She caught Adrian observing her curiously. "Good, I'm glad," she replied.

"Though I wouldn't trust you completely, we all have secrets after all," he added in bluntly.

Dread filled her stomach, but she tried to ignore it. "Same for me, for obvious reasons," she replied smoothly, before resting her chin on her temples hands. "But I am curious as to why you don't trust me?" she questioned light-heartedly.

"Because you're a liar," he answered simply, as if it was all trivial.

Lyrisadora remained impassive and rolled her eyes. "Look around you, everyone here is a liar," she countered. "Some just aren't that good."

His smile remained ever pleasant, it was getting on her nerves. "Yes, but most aren't pathological," he drawled. "But don't fret, I think of it more as a charm than a flaw," he added.

She didn't bother keeping her smile in place, she never did like pretending with him. "I'll take that as a compliment," she acknowledged. "Besides, If I wasn't a liar I'd be dead," she remarked coolly.

He smiled charmingly. "I was just being honest Princess, no need to get upset," he argued pleasantly.

"I'm not upset," she countered curtly. "I don't trust you completely either, you're a creep."

Adrian gave her a peeved look. "Well you're a little too pious for my liking," he retorted. "And besides, it's not like I don't trust you, I just only trust you a good 47% of the time," he added, leaning back on his chair slightly.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at him, but nevertheless let the subject go, after all she wouldn't trust herself either.

* * *

><p><strong>Managed to get some free time before I need to start my assessments!<strong>

**And Dauntless14, just relax, Adrian and Lyra are gonna be fine, Slytherins lie to each other all the time.**


	64. Strings

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Frank Underwood, house of cards**

* * *

><p><strong>After all, we are nothing more or less than what we choose to reveal. What I am to Claire is not what I am to Zoe, just as Zoe is not to me what she is to her father.<strong>

**Chapter: Strings**

* * *

><p><em>5th February 1996<em>

The word uncomfortable was not enough to describe Patricia Stimpson's feelings, as she sat across Adrian in the Hogshead. Dirty pint glass remaining untouched. "Lucretia said you wanted to start a business in America," Patricia spoke evenly, trying to remain as civil as possible.

Adrian smiled charmingly, she felt her jaw tighten, something about him just made her skin crawl. "I'm ambitious, my father just doesn't see it that way," he replied.

"So much so that you want to change your identity?" she question lowly, eyes narrowing. "A little extreme."

He just shrugged. "If it's too morally dubious for you, then nevermind," he reassured plainly.

Patricia bit back a scoff, she doubted she had a choice, Lucretia had been very persuasive and she doubted Adrian would keep his lip shut on her father's association with Garfield Collins less than legal part time work. "I'm just saying it isn't going to be that easy, my parents wouldn't be happy if they found out I was being bl-"

"Do you plan on telling them?"

"No," she snapped, before quieting her tone. "It's just risky, that's all."

Adrian looked at her in bemusement, it made her jaw tighten. "Mr Collin helps get people in and out of England by less than legal means, of course it's risky," he replied in exasperation. "So, this is what you're going to do, you're going to tell your father that two friends of yours are in a spot of bother and need help vacating the country," Adrian began to explain lowly, tapping a finger on his glass. "And you're going to have to do a little meddling with your mother's accounting books," he added.

A flare of irritation overcame her as she glared at him, did he really have to order her to do it? They both knew she was going to do it anyway, she assumed it simply a matter of making it clear who was in control. It's a position she doesn't ever want to be put in ever again, it made her feel like she had drank gone off milk. The fact Lucretia had used guilt and sex to persuade her to go through with this, only served as a reminder of the bad taste it left in her mouth.

And now Pucey was looking at her expectantly, it was moments like this that reminded her why she disliked a majority of the Slytherins. "Fine, it'll be sorted in a month," she replied tightly, struggling to keep her tone civil. "But you'll have to pay him up front. And you better not try anything funny, because Mr Collin isn't an idiot," she added firmly.

Adrian smiled pleasantly. "I wouldn't be interested in him if he was," he replied mildly, before leaving her be.

Patricia was peeved at his smugness, muttering "wanker," into her drink as she drained the contents.

* * *

><p><em>8th March 1996<em>

The uncomfortable silence between Draco and his sister was becoming unbearable. He didn't exactly know what her game was, the atmosphere around them was tense, his housemates seemed to sense it as they ignored them entirely, pretending they weren't there. It made his scowl deepen. What exactly did she even want?

"Your food's getting cold," Lyrisadora commented.

Draco couldn't hold the biting comment back. "_And_?" he sneered, sounding much more immature than he actually was, he blamed her entirely for having that effect on him.

To his frustration her face remained blank. "It just seems like a waste of food," she replied lightly, taking another bite of her meal. "You don't need to be all snappy," she added quietly.

"Well if you don't like it, eat somewhere else," he retorted plainly, irritation creeping into his tone.

She just shrugged. "I just wanted to eat with you, you're my brother," she commented simply, looking at him intently.

He felt unnerved by her stare and looked away, it was so similar to their father's that it was frightening. Even though logically that shouldn't be possible, because his sister has their mother's eyes, well he supposed genetically she had their mother's eyes. Because for a while now they have been looking more like dark tunnels, cold and hard as ice. A little too much like their father's even though there isn't a speck of blue or grey in place.

He didn't have a biting remark for her, it was often the case when she acted mellow and subdued around him, it was like throwing insults at a brick wall. Which was why he liked it better when she argued with him.

A brief memory resurfaced of them yelling and doors being slammed shut, back when everything they argued about was stupid and childish.

He forced himself not to smile in nostalgia. Instead he just ate his food, because he was hungry, not because she told him to.

* * *

><p><em>16th March 1996<em>

Adrian made sure he kept a close eye on Patricia and Lucretia after the talk in Hogshead. So far the deal has been kept, no vows even needed, which was a relief because he's not sure how many times his palm can handle being cut until it starts to scar.

And for the first time he feels strangely content, well as content as a person could be with his mother slowly poisoning his father to death, but besides that and Voldemort's growing power, things are…..pleasant.

He understands it's most likely 'little miss princess Malfoy's' growing affection, it's a nice distraction of sorts, and it helps ease his doubts and concerns.

His mind was brought back to the present when Lyrisadora snuggled closer into him, his arm around her and her fur ball of a cat resting in her lap as they sit on the sofa in the common room. He's never really been a cuddler, so this is new and…different, he sort of enjoys it.

"I'll transfer the money when I get chance," she speaks, and her voice is so low he almost doesn't catch it. She snuggles her head into his chest and closes her eyes. "I'll have it converted into dollars and then back Galleons," she continued.

Adrian nods, tapping his fingers on the sofa arm, she had proposed the idea of them both transferring the money separately so it would be more discreet. And even though he knows he already agreed, there's still a nagging feeling in the back of his head. He doesn't trust her completely, but….he does have to at least trust her a good 60% of the time, if they're going to make this work. "Okay," he mutters.

She looks up at him and sighs, seeming to sense his doubt, he doesn't feel reassured by this. "I'm anxious too," she reassured gently. "And the fact we have to make this engagement thing look convincing isn't making it any better," she added soothingly. He looks at her, brown eyes drawing him in. "But we can do this, " she argued firmly, smiling weakly, it's an unsure insecure like smile he often sees her wear and somehow it's strangely reassuring, it means she is actually going to go through with this even if she's afraid.

The nagging voice grows fainter as she kisses his cheek and snuggles into him more.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora isn't quite sure what she feels at this point, she supposes she feels a little guilty about manipulating Adrian, but it isn't like it's all manipulative. She does care for him and she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy tender moments like this. She's doing this for the cause and for his benefit, getting him away from danger, keeping him safe.<p>

She repeats this reasoning to herself constantly, it sometimes nearly drives her insane. So the tender moments may have a dark motive, but she does generally enjoy them and want them. They're a welcomed distraction, an addictive feeling that she wants more off.

She stroked Sapphira gently, finding comfort, enjoying cuddling with Adrian, it made her feel less on guard, keeping her mind at ease. "Just make sure you don't cock it up," he muttered back, a smile tugging at his lips.

"You're so funny," she retorted sarcastically, they were both quiet for a moment. And she recalls sensing his moment of doubt earlier. "Are you sure you could leave it all behind?" she questioned softly.

"It's a little too late to back out now," he joked, light-heartedly, she feels that little tinge of doubt that he's trying to mask. .

"I know, but still, could you really just leave your parents behind?" her tone remaining quiet as she rubbed the circles on the back of his hand, she needs him 100% committed, she needs him to confirm to himself that he'll go through with this.

"You know I don't particularly like my parents," he answered evenly after a brief second of hesitation.

"But you don't hate them either though," she stated.

"Indifference can be a lot worse than hate," he argued.

She shrugged dismissively. "You still don't hate them, you don't like them, but you don't want them dead," she retorted.

"And how do you know?" he inquired, there was an edge to his voice.

Her expression revealed nothing, as she craned her neck upwards to look at him. "You're not stopping your mother from killing your father, but at the same time you're not helping her, you're just doing _nothing_. You don't take pleasure from it, you've just accepted it; indifference, not hate," she explained calmly.

Her explanation seemed to get under his skin, as he gave her a tight smile. "Ever considered becoming a therapist?" he inquired lightly.

She takes note that he doesn't like it when she gets under his skin like that, which is laughable considering he does it all the time with her. They lapsed back into a calm silence, she studied his face and hummed curiously. "Once or twice," she finally replied, before resting her head back on his chest.

"Mother is hardly in England anyway, she can take care of herself," Adrian added, as if it was some sort of argument, or maybe he was just rationalising, she knew that deep down he probably did care, a little.

* * *

><p><em>3rd April 1996<em>

The Hogwarts express was pulling into platform 9 3/4, Lyrisadora felt a sickly sensation of dread in her stomach, and it must have shown as Draco eyed her with concern from opposite, but otherwise remained silent.

To her annoyance Adrian didn't seem perturbed or anxious, instead he looked almost excited. But then again he didn't have to carry out a mission for the Dark Lord, discreetly handle a muggle money transfer which she hadn't the faintest clue how to operate and also juggle two separate plans with the Order of the Phoenix and himself.

She really needed a drink right now, or maybe a cigarette? The smell of tobacco had seemed very appealing lately.

She was brought out of her worrying when Adrian nudged her, the train having come to a stop. She smiled faintly and hastily gathered her things.

She swallowed her lump in her throat and remembered to control her breathing, forcing her expression to appear cheerful, linking arms with Adrian as they manoeuvred through the crowds and onto the platform. Sapphira mewled in her cage, Lyrisadora wondered if her cat shared her discomfort.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Adrian leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, before whispering in her ear. "Show time."

She followed his gaze to see both their parents near the exit of the platform, Draco looking over at her curiously.

She took a deep breath and smiled at them.

She most definitely was going to need more than just a drink.

* * *

><p><strong>And my first year of uni is over! Roll on summer :D<strong>


	65. A Rhumba of Snakes

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Frank Underwood, house of cards**

* * *

><p><strong>Shake with your right hand, but hold a rock with your left<strong>

**Chapter: A Rhumba of Snakes**

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora barely had time to breath when she was whisked off by her mother, the engagement contract was to be signed today and the party tonight at eight. Her parents certainly were eager, perhaps they were afraid she'd get cold feet.<p>

Either way, her mother was babbling on about the celebration and the months it took to plan, as well as getting Adrian's mother involved occasionally, but by the sound of things the Pucey's hadn't had much say in the engagement party planning, besides money, especially seeing how it was to take place at Malfoy manor.

Lyrisadora stole a glance at Adrian as they were pushed into the Pucey manor drawing room, he appeared to share her irritation with their parents. "…And I understand if it's all overwhelming, Lyrisa," Narcissa continued, clasping her daughter's hand. Draco failing to keep up with them.

Lyrisadora looked at her mother blankly. "Well I have just got off the train," she replied dryly.

Her mother exchanged a perceptive look with her father, but otherwise smiled pleasantly. "Of course, but you two did seemed so eager, we just wanted to help get the ball properly rolling," she reasoned.

Lyrisadora just hummed in disinterest as they stopped in front of a primly dressed lawyer- which she think was called Mr Gordon-who looked like an ink stain in his black and grey ink like robes. A fresh contract on the table next to a small black box and a quill nearby. There was a brief silence, as Lyrisadora and Adrian looked at the contract in front of them as their parents watched tensely on the stands. Until Elatus Pucey broke out into a coughing fit, to which his wife Rosalie patted him unenthusiastically on the back.

She heard Adrian let out a quiet sigh as he ignored his father and picked up the quill. "Let's get this sorted then," Adrian stated, picking up the contract, Lyrisadora peered round his shoulder to read it, their parents' signatures already in place.

"Your father and I have read the terms and agree to them," Narcissa told her daughter.

"The contract is purely for the records though really," Adrian's mother informed smoothly, voice sounding clipped and direct, Lyrisadora had all but forgotten what her voice sounded like. "The rings will be the binding of the engagement," Rosalie added, walking over to the black box and opening it up, revealing two silver rings.

"Do they come off?" Lyrisadora questioned, trying to keep her tone light as she stared at the rings warily.

There was pause. "Only after you two wed, they will stay on until either one of you dies or both families agree to terminate the contract," his mother drawled, her tone taking on a tense edge.

Lyrisadora looked at her intently, wondering what did drive her to slowly start murdering her husband. "I see," she replied evenly, sharing a knowing look with Adrian.

"Yes now, is there anything else?" Elatus questioned gruffly, checking his wristwatch impatiently.

Lyrisadora gave him a tight smile. "No, I think that's all," she replied.

Adrian glanced at her before signing the contract and handing her the quill, her hand shook a little as she signed her name, the room silent in anticipation. When the rings were handed to them, she took her time to study them , by all appearance they just looked like ordinary rings, easy to replicate, when she put the ring on after Adrian however, they both burned making them both wince in pain..

Adrian's father looked alarmed. "It doesn't normally do that," he muttered in confusion.

Lyrisadora smiled placidly. "It's fine, probably just fresh magic-it's fine, look," she reassured, flashing them the ring, the metal now perfectly cool.

She shared another look with Adrian, it looked like the blood vow had worked.

* * *

><p>It really was amazing what a small fortune could buy, because the Malfoy Ballroom now resembled a radiant sun, well close enough to one. It was pastel and gold, white marble floor so smooth you could skate on it.<p>

She didn't even recognise the fabric her dress was made off, when her mother wanted to show off, she showed off. The dress was backless and pure silver, with a breast enhancing neckline which tightly kept them in place, and clasped at her neck. Her arms covered up by silver elbow length gloves, tightly bound by a silver gold dragon bracelet which twisted around her arm, enchanted to shrink to the right shape.

A navy blue sash wrapped around her waist to show her link to the Pucey family colours, as if it was a last minute reminder that they existed as well. Or maybe it was so she matched slightly with Adrian, who hadn't a speck of silver colouring on his crisp navy robes.

A full orchestra at the back and small brown mahogany tables round the sides. A few peacocks confined around the edges of the room. Enchanted crystals hovering in the air; she wondered it that was a safety hazard? She really didn't know how her mother was going to top this for Draco's engagement; maybe have a performing dragon?

Lyrisadora didn't have time to finish that train of thought as her father finished making the announcement of their engagement, the sound of clapping drowning out the music. She strained a smile, faking looking bashful as she clasped her hands round her back and looked shyly at Adrian, her eyes shooting him a firm look. He seemed to get the message and lead her down the stairs away from the congratulating crowd.

"It's only been an hour and I already want to rip my hair out," she muttered into his ear.

He smiled appealingly. "Now, now dear, there's no need for violence," he cooed.

"If one more person tries to kiss me on the cheek, I'm going to punch them," she retorted gently, tone sweet as honey.

"Lyrisadora," came a crisp drawl of her voice, she nearly groaned in anguish when she turned around and saw her Grandmother standing there, silver hair full of odd ornaments and wearing a dress that looked like a wet plum. "Congratulations, " she said pleasantly, looking at her with the faintest signs of approval. Lyrisadora briefly wondered if she was drunk.

"Thank you, grandmother," Lyrisadora responded nicely. "I'm so glad you could come," she added, before making her expression appear sad. "And I hope you're coping well with grandfather's illness."

Basilia didn't seem the least bit concerned. "Oh it's his fault, I told him to see a healer way before it broke out, but he's so stubborn," she sighed, waving a dismissive hand. "But enough of that, what's this I hear of you two delaying your wedding?" she questioned, a sharpness to her tone.

Adrian smiled charmingly. "We haven't decided where we're going to have it, and we wouldn't want to rush things, it's an important day," he reasoned.

"Poppycock," Basilia snorted. "My marriage only took two weeks to arrange."

"Grandmother, you were engaged for nine years," Lyrisadora pointed out flatly.

"That's besides the point," she argued. "You're both of age, you should get it over with as soon as possible."

Lyrisadora sighed quietly, there was no doubt about it now, she needed a drink. "I understand grandmother, but I'd rather not talk of such dull things. Adrian and I were in the middle of a conversation," she interjected, the comment coming out sharper than she intended.

Her grandmother picked up on it and looked affronted, her eyes growing cold as her lip thinned. Adrian smiled brightly and took Lyrisadora's arm. "You're concerns are heart-warming Mrs Malfoy, always a pleasure," he complimented hastily before dragging Lyrisadora off. Leaving the old woman to stew in her anger.

Lyrisadora sighed in exasperation and grabbed a class of elf wine from a server a waiter was holding, the wine feeling good as she drank. "You'd think old age would soften her up," she whispered bitterly.

"It could have been worse," Adrian argued. "She could have been drunk, and gone raving."

Lyrisadora chuckled. "No, she would have just passed out on the floor drooling," she corrected, draining her drink spotless. "I needed that," she sighed in relief, before grabbing another from a waiter passing by.

Adrian looked at her with amusement. "Planning to have a repeat of New Years eve ?" he questioned playfully.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at him as she drank. "I wasn't that drunk."

"You were nearly passed out on a chair, you're lucky I found you and not Cassondria," he pointed out.

She gave him a dismissive shrug. "I wouldn't have cared, 1995 was a shit year," she replied carelessly.

"And this year?" he inquired.

She hesitated before answering. "Still shit and we're barely halfway through it," she answered cynically, she looked around the ballroom of chattering guest, her thumb picked at the silver ring on her finger. She clasped Adrian's hand and traced his ring with her thumb, ignoring his inquiring gaze. "You owe you me still, I won't let you forget this," she muttered.

"I know," he replied apathetically, watching her carefully as she sighed and reach for another drink. "You want to dance?" he asked quickly. She looked back at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Not really," she answered tonelessly. "I was going to have another drink actually," she added lightly.

"Now really isn't the time to get drunk, princess," Adrian protested, looking at her with aggravation.

"I wasn't," she argued. "I was going to get borderline tipsy," she stated.

That managed to get an amused look from him. "Alright, but just lay off the wine for a bit," he urged.

She gave him an impatient look. "Fine," she sighed, deciding that he did have a point, She looked around absently, eyes locking onto the familiar faces of Lucretia and Elizabeth from across the room near the orchestra. "I'm going to mingle, hope you can survive without me," she chimed, shooting him a grin before hurrying off to her friends, not sparing him a second glance.

Lucretia seemed to have a nervous look about her when Lyrisadora approached her and Elizabeth. "Congratulations," Lucretia greeted curtly. "Can't believe Adrian finally snagged you," she added.

Elizabeth gave Lyrisadora a brief look before smiling brightly. "Yeah, congratulations, hope everything goes well," she said cheerfully.

Lyrisadora gave her a fond smile. "It's been going alright so far," she reassured.

"Well, I can't say I approve," Lucretia burst in casually. "I mean, Adrian is still a creep," she punctured.

"I know, trust me though, I can handle him," she concurred.

Lucretia gave her a small genuine smile this time. "Good luck, hope you make an honest man out of him," she said.

"I wouldn't hold out too much hope," Lyrisadora countered bluntly.

"Lyrisadora," interjected a cool male voice, Lyrisadora's jaw tightened, she turned around to see her father in front of her. Himself appearing unusually tense. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he inquired evenly.

A smile twisted onto her lips. "The wine is exquisite as always," she replied coldly.

The atmosphere became tense, Lucretia and Elizabeth watching the two Malfoy's stare at each other challengingly. Lyrisadora wondered if they'd drag her away to save her a confrontation. "Liz, can you show me where the food is, I can't for the life of me remember," Lucretia said through a strained laugh.

Lyrisadora bit back a sigh of irritation, what did she expect? She fixed her father with a piercing stare and kept her smile fixed as Lucretia and Elizabeth scampered off. "Is there anything you wanted father? I do have more mingling to do," she spoke casually.

"I just wanted to see how you were, you've been home for over twelve hours and we've barely spoken," he said pleasantly.

"It's been a busy day, father, surely you understand?" she protested.

"I just wanted to catch up…I know we've had our differences, recently," he began to reason. Lyrisadora wanted to drown out his attempts of 'making up for lost time', there was nothing more to say and he couldn't just fix it with carefully handled gentle words.

"Understatement much," she muttered, her smile becoming more condescending, a painful lump forming in her throat as she looked at him icily. "What do want me to say father? Should I chat about the weather? Somehow pretend that it's all okay?" she questioned quietly.

Her father's jaw visibly stiffened, but otherwise he remained composed. "This is ridiculous," he said lowly, so they could not be overheard. "You need to understand that you can't behave like this forever."

"And what exactly am I not understanding, father?" she inquired bitterly. "I thought I made my feelings very clear," she continued, her anger growing.

"I understand that you may be resentful, but I'm trying to fix this….you're my daughter," he argued, his façade seemed to be slipping, as she detected a rawness seep into his tone. "We need to move passed this."

She swallowed a painful knot in her throat, not even bothering to make her smile look real. "Then tell me something, if I married a muggle, would you let me be happy?" she hissed, catching him by surprise. "Do you ever regret making me feel scared alone, regret pushing me to be perfect, when in actuality even 'perfect' wasn't good enough?"

His fist clenched. "Do you even hear yourself?" he hissed, looking around in paranoia. "Do you want to shame this family?"

Lyrisadora smiled at him sadly, feeling a hollow feeling in her stomach. "You can't fix this father, not until you realise what's broken, and if you haven't realised it by now, then we have nothing else to say to each other," she explained, she went to walk away, but he grabbed her hand tightly. She fixed him with a warning glare, but otherwise remained silent, no need to cause a scene.

Her father didn't speak right away, he looked like he was having inner battle with himself. "I was proud of you," he finally said, his tone barely audible, making her freeze and eye him unblinkingly. "You…." He was stumbling over his words, this was new. He took a moment to compose himself, it seemed pride was getting the best of him. "And when you're a parent, you'll realise that sometimes you have to do what's necessary, to make sure your children are bought up right," he resolved.

She swallowed a pained laugh. "I know, which is why some people shouldn't be parents," she replied softly. Her gaze fixed with his, both their Occlumancy shields up high, it was like staring a brick wall, however she noted that his had cracks in it. And for a second, she felt an overwhelming sadness, tinged with regret and a whisper of a choked apology.

He squeezed her hand painfully in warning, she backed off and wrenched her hand free when his grip loosened. Her face a mask of calmness as she left him.

A sick feeling was stuck in her stomach as she walked towards the balcony that showed the view of the gardens, the fact Cassondria and Miles were kissing on the said balcony did not lessen the feeling in her stomach. "I see you two finally made up," she commented dryly, causing them to break apart.

"Aren't you meant to be snogging Adrian?" Cassondria bit back, but surprisingly her voice lacked its usual venom.

Lyrisadora smiled coldly. "Just make sure your parents don't catch you," she warned. Cassondria seemed to draw closer into Miles protectively. Lyrisadora decided to just leave them be, taking in a breath of fresh air before heading back inside, at least Cassondria had more colour in her cheeks these days.

"How's the mingling going?" Adrian questioned, as she re-entered the ballroom.

"As good as predicted," she huffed, folding her arms as a smile tugged at her lips.

"I saw you talking to your father, I assume that went as well as predicted?" he asked.

"I think it went worse actually," she answered, shrugging it off. "Come on, I need some air."

She clasped his hand and started to lead them out of the ballroom. "That bad? Should I bring a sick bag?" he joked as he followed her out.

"Nah, I think I'll just throw up on a peacock, that'll rile him up," she quipped, stepping outside, the early April air still having a nip of chill to it. "I actually think he's sorry, you know," she continued.

"But you're not going to forgive him," Adrian stated absently.

"…Not right now," she returned, wanting to drop the subject.

"Where are you two going?" Narcissa questioned sharply from behind them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Out for fresh air," Lyrisadora claimed evenly.

Her mother eyed Adrian briefly before noticing their clasped hands. "But you can't just leave your guests," she argued cheerfully, her smile a little fixed, as she took Lyrisadora's hand. "The party is in both your honours, you have a responsibility," she urged, steering them back inside. A flash of irritation showed on Adrian's face before he hid it, Lyrisadora felt the same as her mother ushered them inside. "And you wouldn't want people to talk," Narcissa muttered.

Lyrisadora held back a groan. What? Did her mother think they were going to shag behind a tree? "Mother, I think you're being paranoid," she remarked.

Her mother frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about. Now why don't you go socialise," she suggested, in a way that made it sound more like an order.

And socialise she did, up to the point she wanted to punch her grandmother in the face.

* * *

><p>Adrian stretched when he got out of the shower, Lyrisadora really did have a nice bathroom.<p>

He wrapped a towel round his waist and went towards the mirror, taking a hand towel to dry his wet hair, while he hummed a tune. He stopped when he heard the bedroom door open, pausing to listen, hearing a faint tired sigh from the bedroom. Trying to hide a smirk he placed the towel round his neck and casually went to the bathroom door, opening it and making Lyrisadora jump in surprise. "You're out of soap," he greeted calmly, smiling at her mortified expression, he wished he had a camera.

"What the fuck are you doing here!" she hissed, her eyes as wide as galleons, his lip curved as he opened his mouth to answer. "Besides taking a shower," she added bitingly, fixing him with a disapproving look.

He shrugged, as if he didn't understand why she was so affronted. "There wasn't any soup in my shower, so I thought I'd just use yours," he lied. In truth he had just wanted to see what her bedroom looked like, simply curiosity and then he saw the bathroom and decided, why the hell not? The bathroom looked nicer than the one in his guest room.

"Get out," she instructed sharply, eyes following as he made his way over to her bed, removing the towel from around his neck to dry his hair.

He had to stop himself from grinning. "Why?"

"Because if anyone comes in to find us-"

"Then lock the door," he suggested mildly, he was amused to find that she was becoming more frazzled.

"This isn't funny," she snapped.

"From my end it is," he countered, he sighed. "Just calm down for a sec, I'm pretty sure you've seen a guy half naked before," he tried to argue.

Her pale cheeks became blotchy pink in embarrassment. "Why are you doing this? It's embarrassing," she stressed.

"I thought the reason was pretty obvious," he retorted innocently. "I had to admire you in that dress all night," he cooed, walking towards her, looking at the slim dress that hugged her figure in all the right places, how could her mother expect chastity when she put her daughter in that type of dress? "And legally speaking, we are engaged," he added carefully, using his finger to outline her collarbone.

She gave him a sour smile. "Yes, but even then-_this-_comes after marriage," she pointed out, halting his finger from moving.

"Traditionally speaking," he reasoned, giving her a pointed look. "And last time I checked, you're not a fair maiden anymore."

She squeezed his finger painfully. "Just because we're engaged doesn't mean you're entitled to have sex with me," she said coolly.

_Legally speaking I am_, he thought in his head, but decided on a different approach, removing his finger from her grasp. "Then what exactly are we then, in your head?" he inquired, unable to remove the condescending edge from his voice.

He was pleased to see that she hesitated. "I don't know what we are," she answered uncomfortably, refusing to look him in the eyes this time.

His lip twitched as he closed in on her, wrapping his hands round her waist and kissing her neck. "Then I don't understand what you're so fussed about, we are going to run away together, remember," he reminded, nipping her on the neck.

"I know," she replied softly.

"I have needs, you have needs," he continued, breaking away from kissing her to study her reaction, as he pulled her in closer, he noted that her breathing had quickened a little.

"And if I don't want too?" she questioned, her voice shaking a little, as he pressed his forehead against hers.

He stepped back a bit and removed his hands. "Then I'll just leave," he replied dismissively, they stared at each other for a good long while, Adrian wondered what inner battle of desire were going on in her head.

Until finally she replied. "You're the biggest prick I've ever met." Looking at him with interest, her voice lacking any venom or anger to it. "But fuck it, I don't even care anymore," she exclaimed, Unclasping the hook of the dress collar that pulled it up, letting the top bosom fall as she stepped out of it, before pulling him into a kiss.

"I'll take that as consent then," he breathed, a satisfactory smile playing on his lips.

She frantically grabbed her wand strapped at her thigh and locked the door, before he grabbed it to hastily place a protection charm on himself, before tossing it to the side, she dug her nails into his shoulders, he pulled the bracelets around her arms off, as well as the gloves. "Did anyone see you come in?" she hissed, breaking away from the kiss as he pushed her onto the bed.

"Nope, " he replied, removing the towel from his waist, before closing his mouth around hers again.

"Not even the portraits?" she murmured, kissing him back, as she uncovered the sheets.

"Sleeping charm," he replied irritably, wondering whether to precede slowly or fast.

"Good," she murmured, strapping her arms round his neck, her body feeling warm against his. "Good," she repeated, when he removed her knickers.

He finally got a moan out of her when he slid his hand between her thighs, and then she sweetened the deal by placing her hand between his. Good things really did come to those who waited.

* * *

><p><em>4th April 1996<em>

It was 4am in the morning and her room was silent, Lyrisadora stirred in her sleep, wriggling under the sheets as her arm burned unpleasantly, when the burning intensified her eyes popped open, barely registering Adrian's sleeping form next to her.

She clasped her left aim in pain, realising that this call was specifically for her, she never would understand how dark magic properly operated. Her jaw stiff as she quickly looked around the room, trying to be as quiet as possible as she got out of bed and rushed to find some clothes. Her hair a mess, clips and grips tangled in her hair, while her makeup appeared smudged.

Her heart was racing in fear as she quickly got dressed, tied her hair back and washed her face clean, strapping her boots on and digging through a locked box to get her Death Eater cloak out.

She really hoped the Dark Lord didn't mind tardiness. More importantly though, she wondered why he had decided to call her this early, didn't he realise normal people needed sleep?

But didn't have to time to dwell on that, as she rushed towards the window. Her father had briefly told her that the dark magic in the Death Eater cloak and dark mark would allow her to half fly/ apparate to wherever the Dark lord was. He had neglected to say how.

But the burning in her arm was borderline agony right now, so she decided to wing it and closed her eyes, letting the magic engulf her as she flew out of the window.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm keeping this story rating a T! This isn't a porno. <strong>

**(clears throat)**

**Anyway, hope you guys like it. Next chapter is going to have the meeting between a certain Black dog and a blonde Slytherin. **


	66. The Black Sheep

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Robert Capa **

**There's a lot of swearing in this one, just a heads up in case some folks don't like that stuff. **

* * *

><p><strong>This war is like an actress who is getting old. It is less and less photogenic and more and more dangerous <strong>

**Chapter: The Black Sheep **

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora realised that there was a reason most people chose to fly using a broomstick, as she tried to keep herself from bashing into the ground, her movements clumsy as she zoomed through the air. Fortunately the trip didn't last too long, a decaying mansion coming into view, as she flew through the protective wards like they were nothing more than a bubble and landing ungracefully onto the ground , head first.<p>

She groaned and stumbled to her feet, hunching a little in soreness, she ran a hand through her tangled hair, the door opened before she could reach it. She looked to see a tall older man in the doorway, with dark messy hair with hints of grey in it and a brutish lined face that seemed to struggle to look remotely pleasant. The uneasiness of his stare didn't help when she realised she had forgotten to put on a bra.

"You look like shit," the man commented, eyes glinting with a strange malice.

Lyrisadora hid a scowl at his casual forthrightness and ignored him as she entered the mansion. "I'm right in guessing the Dark Lord is expecting me?" she questioned curtly, trying to look as graceful as one could in her dishevelled state.

The door clicked shut behind her. "He's upstairs," the man replied, walking towards her. "You must be Bella's niece," he said, evident interest in his tone.

"I am," Lyrisadora replied evenly, looking back at him. "And you would be?"

"Antonin Dolohov," he replied, a predatory like smile forming on his lips. "Follow me," he instructed, walking towards the stairs.

Lyrisadora complied, scanning the hallway of the mansion, whatever glamour and regal nature the mansion once possessed had faded throughout the years. The wallpaper peeling and faded, hallway stuffy and damp with mould and dust. The faded portraits didn't move, which meant it appeared the house had belonged to muggles. She found this most peculiar and a little ironic.

Dolohov glanced at her. "You should probably fix yourself up, you look like a tramp," he said bluntly.

Her eyes narrowed at him in dislike, before whipping out her wand to fix her hair and face, cleaning the mud off her robes, muttering the spells under her breath. "Oh Ly-Ly, is that you?" cooed a wire splitting voice.

Lyrisadora's eyes widened a fraction as she and Dolohov stopped in front of a door, Bellatrix Lestrange standing outside. Lyrisadora swallowed a lump in her throat as she laid eyes on her deranged aunt. Prison had not been very kind to her aunt, the woman's face looking more bony and haunted, like a face painted skull. Her beauty still remained somewhat, but it appeared much more hollow and corpse like. "Auntie," Lyrisadora replied, hating how her voice came out quieter than she had intended.

Bellatrix smiled at her, looking more crazed than normal, pushing past Dolohov to grab her face. "Such a pretty thing. Didn't I tell you Dolohov, that she was pretty?" Phrasing it like it was a secret joke between the two. "She's all grown up, Cissy must be so proud," she continued to coo, a glint of malice in her eyes. Lyrisadora kept her aunt's piercing stare and swallowed, the woman's nails dug into her jaw. "And so punctual too, the Dark Lord will be pleased," she complimented mockingly, letting go of her niece's chin.

Lyrisadora forced a wire like smile. "I missed you to auntie," she retorted sweetly, eyeing her aunt challengingly, the older woman's hand's twitching to curse her. Lyrisadora wondered why her aunt was so riled up. "But I mustn't keep the Dark Lord waiting," she said pointedly, stepping towards the door.

Bellatrix gave her a dangerous smile as she opened the door. "No, he wouldn't like that," she replied simply.

Lyrisadora buried her apprehension and hastily stepped into the room, the door shutting behind her. She recognised the room from the memory she had been shown, right down to the chair by the fire, which was not unlit. She stepped into the room and looked around warily for Voldemort, freezing when she heard a hiss and flinched when something slither past her leg.

"Miss Malfoy," said a cold voice, she whipped around to find Lord Voldemort near the door, and she stepped back and did a hasty bow, breathing in a shallow breath. He didn't seem to pay her much mind, instead letting Nagini wrap around his waist as he wondered over to the chair. "The potion you made worked tremendously," he praised silkily, taking a seat.

She wondered closer, remaining composed as she masked her apprehension. "How did you find the results?" Glad that her voice remained even.

His red eyes lingered on her for a moment. "It was fascinating to watch, so many expressions of pain. Well done," he replied.

She kept her occlumancy shields high as she buried her nausea. "So I gather you liked the potion my lord?"

A small twisted smile stretched on his lips. "You'd know if I didn't," he answered icily, petting Nagini. "But moving on," he added after a pause. "I have a task for you," he began to explain, watching her like a hawk, flicking his hand to make a tattered parchment fly towards her.

Lyrisadora scanned the parchment, it was a map of the underground sewers in London. "The sewers," she muttered to herself, remembering Snape's information. She looked back at Voldemort and wondered if she should question further, afraid of his ever changing mood, instead she made her confusion known on her expression.

"In the sewers there is an old tunnel that leads up to the ministry, it's blocked off, I need you to unblock it," he explained. It sounded simple enough. "You will be accompanied by Dolohov, Halkirk and Miller, you will lead the group through the sewers, map out the area and complete the task," he instructed firmly.

She felt a strange tingle of her lips, but brushed it off. "I understand," she replied curtly. "What time do you expect to us to set out, my lord?"

"Be ready to leave in an hour, Halkirk and Miller will have arrived by then," he responded dismissively, petting Nagini. "Your aunt thinks you'll fail," he added mildly. She forced herself not to tense. "She says you're a waste of time, but you'll prove her wrong of course," he continued, eyes fixing her on the spot. "I hate it when people waste my time."

"I won't fail," Lyrisadora assured, her voice sounding more confident than she felt.

There was a brief silence, she hoped he would dismiss her already. "You must think we're all monsters here, don't you?" he questioned softly, his tone having a frightening amusement to it.

"My lord?" she questioned, fear creeping into her voice.

"Have you ever killed before Miss Malfoy?" he questioned velvety.

A sick sensation filled her stomach as she recalled Balik burning in the flames. "Not in cold blood," she replied.

"A murder is still a murder," he argued evenly, letting Nagini slither away as he arose. "That doesn't mean it isn't justified though," he added, circling her like a predator.

The hairs on her neck prickled. "I understand that….I just receive no pleasure from it," she replied hesitantly, her fingers twitching in nervousness.

"Completely understandable," the Dark Lord concurred nonchalantly, red eyes fixed on her. "But one would also understand that it's simply a necessary evil." His tone enticing.

The uneasy sensation grew as she found herself actually agreeing with him. She understood, this was war, compromises had to be made. "I agree, this is a war after all," she replied evenly.

His thin pale lips twitched in amusement. "Exactly," he agreed, briefly squeezing her shoulder with a bony hand, she couldn't stop herself from flinching from the contact of his touch, she was grateful when he removed his hand, glad it had only lasted a second. "You know your mission, your father is fully aware of your absence," he explained, walking back over to his chair, a few scrolls flying into his hand. "Don't be seen, Dolohov will explain the rest. Now leave."

She didn't need to be told twice, as she hastily bowed and left, letting out as mall sigh of relief when the door shut behind her.

The relief didn't last long, once Dolohov appeared in front of her. "Come on," he instructed gruffly, not waiting for a reply as he walked off. She followed him in silence as they walked through the decayed hallway, downstairs and passed a series of rooms. "You stink of sex by the way," he stated, glancing around to smirk at her embarrassed expression.

"Thank you for the notification," she drawled, masking her humiliation. "I am understood that you'll be filling me in on the minor details of the mission?"

To her displeasure, he slowed his pace to walk alongside her. "Of course, we can't have our leader going in blind after all," he said, a condescension in his tone.

"Of course," she agreed coolly, refusing to let him get to her.

"There will be rats of course, nasty little things," he began to elaborate. "A few flesh eating slugs, but they're not the problem, a Fafnir is, they're nasty little shits," he continued, she looked at him curiously, not recognising the name.

"What are they?"

"They're lizards, and ugly as fuck," he replied bluntly, opening the door to another room. "You'll be a lucky bitch if you don't see them."

"Don't scare her Dolohov," Bellatrix sneered, sitting at a chipped table with Rodolphus, a few scraps of food on the table.

Lyrisadora ignored her aunt's mocking tone, struggling to remain polite, Rodolphus got up and came towards her. "Uncle," she greeted apprehensively as she eyed the tall thickset man warily. Her uncle may still have retained some of his good looks, but his face now looked thuggish, adding the fact he was infamous for killing and torturing people, made him look very intimidating. "It's good to see-" She was cut off when he embraced her in a tight hug and laughed loudly.

It wasn't a cruel laugh, however it sounded underused. "You never told me she was this tall, Bella," he said, ruffling his niece's newly primed hair, Lyrisadora's face was smashed against his chest as she looked up at him in alarm. "It's good to see you kid," he greeted warmly, loosening his hold.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "You can suffocate her after the mission Rod," she said dully, inspecting her sharp nails.

To Lyrisadora's relief he let her go, allowing her to properly breath, that had been a surprise. She looked at her uncle with wide eyes, feeling very much like a child in front of her aunt and uncle. Her uncle just smiled, it was a chipped sort of smile, as though his mouth muscles were unused to being stretched in such a way. "How you coping kid?" he asked.

Well that was a loaded question, one she couldn't exactly answer truthfully, so instead she forced a friendly smile and shrugged. "I have my ups and downs," she replied, ignoring the piercing looks from Dolohov and her aunt who were eating at the table. "Also, I got engaged," she exclaimed, making sure her voice sounded bright, like hanging out with Death Eaters was a weekly thing

Her uncle seemed genuinely interested. "Seriously? Can't believe it, for the last fifteen years I've thought of you as a toddler," he said, running a hand through his tangled hair. "The same baby who threw up on Bella," he added, shooting and amused look at his wife, who just growled in response, directing her glare at her niece. "So who's the lucky sod?"

"Adrian Pucey," Lyrisadora answered immediately, not wanting a pause of silence. "The announcement party was last night," she added, trying to keep the conversation going, at least her uncle was better company than Dolohov and her aunt.

"Bet it was only the best for a Malfoy," Bellatrix commented darkly.

Lyrisadora pretended she didn't notice the dark undertone and shrugged dismissively. "The wine was good, can't say the same for the people though," she remarked, making her uncle's smile widen in amusement as he swung a large arm round her shoulder.

"Glad I wasn't there then," he responded amusingly, steering her to the table. "Go on eat, you're probably starving."

She visibly heard her aunt scoff into her cup of water. "She doesn't know the meaning of the word," Bellatrix muttered bitterly.

Lyrisadora decided from then on she'd just ignore everything that passed from her aunt's mouth, pouring herself some water and buttering a roll of bread. "Thanks," she replied to him, they ate in silence for a good while, which she was glad for, the situation was confusing enough, she hadn't expected to be eating breakfast with her Death Eater aunt and uncle, and she hadn't expected her uncle to be so…welcoming. Who knew, maybe he was just bi-polar and she was seeing his nice side.

* * *

><p>In London, number twelve Grimmauld Place stood silent, Sirius Black sat in the kitchen eating a blob of plain porridge, hair a mess.<p>

Sirius wasn't sure if the milk he had used was properly in date, as the porridge had a distinct gone off taste to it, but Molly wasn't here to cook, so he worked with what he had. Plus Kreacher was nowhere to be found, but he couldn't really care less.

Still, he could at least have done with company, something to yell at and fill the dull silence in the house. But he reminded himself that it wouldn't be like this for long, Remus would be coming over tomorrow to stay for a few days, as well as the Weasleys, which meant he'd be able to see Harry.

He swallowed a lump in his throat, glancing around the decaying house full of memories he'd very much like to forget. His leg twitched in agitation, he needed to get out. He forced himself to calm down, remembering Dumbledore's orders, instead removing himself from the table so he could walk it off.

He looked out of the window, noticing a couple of kids ride by on bikes. He leaned his head against the window, wishing for something to happen, at least then he wouldn't have to feel his brain decay from the suffocating silence in the house.

And when something did, Sirius couldn't decide if it was a blessing, or if whatever Gods or Goddesses were shitting with him. As a weedy young looking lad with ash blonde hair and pale skin appeared in front of his house, looking lost and confused, wearing an oversized brown coat and black slacks and robes underneath.

Sirius knew he should have just marked the man down as a lost tourist, but he couldn't help but observe that the guy practically screamed suspicious. Maybe he was being judgmental, or maybe he just trusted his instincts, he couldn't decide and the twitch in his leg was getting worse.

So when the man hurried off down the street, he couldn't help but transform into his canine form and follow.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to kill Miller, fucking weasel," Dolohov growled, waiting with Lyrisadora and Halkirk outside the entrance to the sewers. "Why the fuck is he late?"<p>

"Maybe he's dead," a bulky built young man named Brendon Halkirk suggested dryly.

"He'll wish he was when I find him," Dolohov muttered.

Lyrisadora remained calm as she waited, hiding her irritation, the Dark Lord could have at least given her more level headed competent people to work with. Then again he probably only considered her useful enough to do the dirty work, which she supposed was a good thing. She also supposed this would all be easier if they could just apperate into the sewers, but it looked like the ministry wasn't that stupid, a firm anti-apperation charm in place around the sewers surrounding the ministry underground. She directed her attention to Halkirk. "You positive you've got the sewer route memorised?" she checked, looking at the man who was three years her senior.

"You know what the definition of a photographic memory is, right?" And apparently he was full of snark.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, I must have skipped over it when I ran out of fucks to give," she retorted pleasantly, these Death Eaters always seemed to rile her up.

"Will you two stop pissing about already," Dolohov snapped.

Lyrisadora gave him a cold look before looking over when Miller came into view, looking every inch like a weasel Dolohov described him as, weedy with ash blonde hair, goggle like brown eyes and pale skin. "Sorry I'm late, I got the wrong street," Bryron Miller tried to explain, eyeing Dolohov fearfully. "And my mum's in St Mungo's right now-"

"If I wanted a pile of shit, I would have gone to the loo," Dolohov spat, making Miller flinch.

Lyrisadora intervened before Dolohov could start hexing Miller, they were already off schedule. "We can deal with this later, we have a schedule to keep," she interjected sharply, halting any further argument.

She kept her gaze icy as she tried to keep them all in line, they hadn't even entered the sewers yet and things were already going wrong.

* * *

><p>Sirius was aware his memory wasn't all it used to be, Azkaban had that effect on you after a decade of living there, but he never could forget a face. A useful thing that had aided him throughout his life. Especially in this moment.<p>

The place he had ended up following suspect weasel, or as it turned out, a bloke called Miller. Was the entrance to the sewers, a rundown place with not another person in sight, except for a group of three Miller seemed to know. A man who looked in his forties, though it was hard to tell with his hood up, another man who looked around the same age as Miller, mid-twenties and then a girl who looked to be the youngest, he'd guess late teens or early twenties.

They were all dressed in dark clothes and he couldn't hear what they were saying, and Sirius strongly suspected they were Death Eaters, or maybe that was just his paranoia speaking. Still in his dog form he watched them from behind a trash can as they entered the sewers, still unwire whether he should report back to the order of the Phoenix or follow them.

His tail was twitching in with held back energy, he hadn't been outside in months and he was positive whatever these four were up to, was nothing good. So he followed.

* * *

><p>She could handle the filthy water, waterproof charms were to be used for a reason after all, and the dark wasn't so bad, the combined lumos spell allowed them to see clearly. The flesh eating leashes only stuck to her boots a couple of times. But the smell of the sewers was too much, it smelled rotten and was stuffy, the air thin and hard to breath.<p>

Halkirk stumbled along the sewer path. "Stop lagging Halkirk," Dolohov snapped, a flare of spit spraying. Having Dolohov nearby didn't help either, his personality seemed to mirror the sewer's, Lyrisadora's dislike for him seemed to be shared by the others.

It was becoming more apparent by the second that, though as skilled as he was and experienced, Dolohov was more of a weapon to wielded, which meant the Dark Lord expected her to keep him in line. "Just calm down Dolohov," Lyrisadora tried to placate him. "Halkirk knows the way, just keep your eyes focused on those lizard things you keep going on about," she instructed calmly, keeping her wand at the ready.

Dolohov didn't seem to enjoy taking orders from someone half his age. "Trust me, I don't need to be focused to know one of those bastards' is nearby," he retorted gruffly.

"Good, then I trust we'll be able to make this out alive," Lyrisadora commented.

"Optimist, aren't you?" Miller muttered.

She ignored him, forcing herself not to flinch when a rat skimmed by her leg. "Let's just keep moving. Which way now Halkirk?" she questioned.

"We need to turn right," he replied, taking the turning. "There's a dip by the corner, so be careful."

Her foot slipped a little on the slime covered path, her ears twitching alert when she heard a soft patter behind her. She whipped around, only to be greeted by nothing. "Did anyone else hear a noise?" she questioned quietly.

They stopped and listened, before Dolohov's eyes narrowed. "Probably a Fafnir, best keep moving, you don't bother them, they don't bother you, " he reasoned, continuing ahead.

She hummed in agreement before following them.

* * *

><p>Sirius held back a pant of relief as he hid in the shadows, his paws slime ridden and fur matted. He waited until they were further ahead before following them again, keeping a close eye on the light the group were emulating.<p>

He knew what he was doing was very reckless, but his suspicions had been right, Dolohov was in the group, he didn't recognise the other two, but the fact the girl was a Malfoy jogged a few memories.

Lyrisadora Malfoy, soon he had never met but Regulas had told him was Narcissa's daughter, the notification from his brother had been a simple short note owled to him, telling him about the new addition to the family, apparently his brother had felt he deserved to know at least some of the things happening in his estranged family. Sirius hadn't really given it any thought at the time.

He knew nothing about the girl, however the fact she was infiltrated with Death Eaters didn't give a good impression.

He tried to remain as covert as possible when he followed them, but the slippery path wasn't making things easy, as they seemed to be gaining speed as more turnings came up ahead.

The faint sound of a slither sent a chill down his spine, he whipped his head round to see darkness, and he pricked his ears and listened intently. Unfortunately with his focus shifted he lost balance, his paws slipping as he fell into the filthy murk ridden sewage water.

"Now I know somebody must have heard that," Malfoy's voice exclaimed. Sirius came up for air, blinking and shaking his head fiercely as he tried to get the gunk from his eyes. The slithering noise grew louder.

"Oh shit!" Dolohov's voice rang out. Sirius jumped onto the path, just in time to catch the outline of a giant lizard jump down and try to bite his head off.

* * *

><p>Dolohov had been right about Fafnir, they were ugly as fuck, giant lizards about the size of a greyhound, beady red eyes and a mouth that could swallow a head whole. And there was more than one, it appeared they had been hidden in the smaller pipe regions near the ceiling and whatever made that splash had disturbed them, because now a good six of them were advancing on them right now.<p>

"_Stupefy," _she cursed, knocking one of them back, Halkirk and Miller ended up falling into the water as two more advanced from behind, curses and hexes flying around her. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a tactical plan to keep them alive. "Dolohov to watch your right!" she yelled, running forward.

Dolohov shot a hex at a Fafnir that burst up from the water. "Malfoy what's the plan?" he more or less screamed.

Lyrisadora tried to think, they were lizards, and they had weaknesses. Lizards…water. "Miller, Halkirk! Get out of the water," she ordered, brandishing her wand. "_Aguamenti Relashio_!" she yelled, the sewage water coming up in a wave of boiling water and pushing the lizards back, the water making their skin boil. "Move!" she growled at her group.

They advanced forward, Halkirk and Miller at the front, an allotment of curses and hexes sprouting from their wands. "Halkirk get us out of here!" Dolohov screamed.

"Take a left!" Halkirk replied, falling into the water as he evaded a Fafnir bite to the head.

Lyrisadora jumped into the water to follow Halkirk, her ears prickling when she heard a dog like howl echo throughout the sewer tunnel, which made even Dolohov look back in confusion. She jumped back as a Fafnir sprang jumped into the water after her. "_Relashio,"_ she uttered hastily, trying to fight it off, its thick tail whacking her back under water. She blindly shot a curse at the creature under water, knocking it out, before hurriedly coming up for air. A thick muck coating her face. She wiped it from her eyes and hurried to follow the others.

Dolohov seemed to be getting more desperate, which wasn't a good sign as he ended up taking out a good chunk of the wall. She raced to get back onto the bank, aiming another stunner at three Fafnir, taking out two.

The waterproof charm was wearing thin as her boots remained slimed up, not a good thing when you're running for your life. Also not good when the sewer is pitch black, Miller's lumos charm barely outlining a figure. "We need to block them out!" came Miller's panicked voice.

"Good idea," Dolohov cried.

"No bad idea!" Lyrisadora argued, the last thing they needed was a cave in, especially in this chaos. "Use the water to make a boiling wave," she countered, it was the only thing she could think of, if they grouped up and used combined efforts, then they could tidal wave these son of a bitches back to the dark ages and boil them like frogs. "Stay together," she instructed, racing to catch up with them, the last thing they needed was to be separated.

Halrick and Miller seemed to listen, or at least contemplate her plan, as they stayed together, Dolohov however seemed to be a loose cannon without proper control, instead staying apart from the group and taking on a Fafnir, actually tackling it into the water. It didn't help that something bashed her from behind, knocking her back into the sewage again.

When she looked up, it appeared to be a man, he was fighting back four Fafnir from the shadows. She barely had time to register this as Dolohov sent another curse at a Fafnir on the ceiling, taking another chunk of the wall out, however this was a big one, causing another chunk of the wall to come out.

Lyrisadora avoided a large chunk of rubble that splashed into the water. Well wasn't this bloody fantastic, she though bitterly, hastily finding the path in the darkness, feeling the wall as she tried to stay on the path. "Halkirk, Miller!" she called, the sound of crumbling heard. "Dolohov move!"

"Malfoy!" Dolohov shouted gruffly, Halfirk grabbing him out of the water towards the left tunnel.

She couldn't tell which sewer tunnel was caving in, but she distinctively heard Halkirk yelling "Come on!" to the others, before a big chunk of the ceiling hit her shoulder, knocking her down, as she heard a Fafnir hiss near her.

Her shoulder was dislodged, the bone twisting painfully as she tried to get to her feet. She supposed she was supposed to feel afraid, however shock replaced fear when she felt an arm rap around her, a stupefy curse sending the Fafnir flying, as she was dragged off before the ceiling caved in.

* * *

><p><strong>It's a two parter folks! Because it's Sirius, the guy deserves a two parter. Plus I decided it was way overdue that Lyra and Sirius interact.<strong>

**Hope the action wasn't confusing and I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter.**


	67. The Stranger

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Maya Angelou**

* * *

><p><strong>I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.<strong>

**Chapter: The Stranger**

* * *

><p>Sirius was very much regretting going into the sewers alone, he should have contacted the order, sure he would have got shit for leaving the house in the first place, but it would have been better than this.<p>

It was pitch black, his arm wrapped tightly around Malfoy's waist, with them both lying on the floor, a few broken pieces of rumble digging into his back. The stink of the sewer water stuck in his nostrils. There was a stillness for a moment as the whole situation began to sink in, the witch in his grip seemed to tense, no doubt realising she was currently at the mercy-

"Fuck!" he exclaimed when she stabbed his thigh, causing his grip to loosen, allowing her to slip free.

He gritted his teeth and winced, involuntarily curling inwards from the pain in his leg, the wound feeling like it was burning, he had a bad feeling the wound was cursed . "_Lumos_," she muttered, causing a light to blind him. He squinted at her, having to blink several times before he got a good image of her. Up close he could tell, even with the lack of light, that this kid was Narcissa's, it was like looking at a drawing, the type that weren't all that accurate, but still gave you an idea of the person's character.

His hand twitched as he debated grabbing his wand, unsure if she would stun him, or worse finish the job the knife had started. So for a while they just stared at each other, it appeared she was expecting him to make the first move. She also appeared to be struggling to maintain a firm pose, her shoulder looking dislocated, straining to keep the blood soaked knife in its grip. Sirius swallowed, maintain the stare off, before he decided to speak. "Are you going to finish it already, or are you going to wait till this wound finished the job for you?" he asked, glaring back defiantly. He was a Gryffindor damn it, like hell he'd cower to a snake, especially one who was barely out of puberty.

"Why did you save me?" she questioned, her tone a little too forceful, it seemed her injury was having more effect than she was letting on.

And he wasn't really sure how to answer that, he didn't particularly want to in all honesty, I mean she was a Death Eater after all, he had killed loads in the past without even batting an eye. He didn't even know her, why should he care about her…and yet he had. "Instinct," he replied gruffly, it was becoming harder to ignore the pain now, and it seemed to be spreading. "Now are you going to kill me or not?" he snapped in frustration.

She was hesitating now. "That depends, are _you_ going to kill me?" she inquired.

Oh he really was in two minds on this, especially since he had saved her in the first place, but if he didn't kill her then she'd kill him, it was just how things went. But she could have killed him minutes ago before they started passing questions around. But then again maybe she wasn't allowed to kill him, maybe the Death Eaters wanted him alive for their own purposes, maybe blackmail of sorts. He didn't feel relieved by that theory, he'd rather be dead than be used by them.

"Well?" she questioned sternly, eyes locking with his own, he felt a sting in his head.

He should just kill her and make a run for it…well, crawl for it. His hand tightened around his wand, he saw her stiffen. He should kill her, but…..she was just a kid, he felt a bad taste in his mouth. Maybe he was an idiot, a fool who let sentiment become his undoing, but he just couldn't do it.

"You're Sirius Black," she stated, her voice ringing in his ears, the statement sounding more of a confirmation. "Do you know who I am?" she questioned.

His throat felt dry. "You're Narcissa's daughter," he replied.

She nodded faintly, her head jerked as the sound of hisses and scrapes of claws reverberated throughout the sewers, it seemed those lizard like bastards weren't finished yet. "Can you walk?" she asked, her voice taking on much more of an urgent tone to it.

"Barely," he retorted, his whole leg now throbbing. "I'm guessing that knife was cursed?"

She seemed to ignore him, stiffly placing the bloodied knife back into her robe pocket. "I'm not going to kill you," she said suddenly, her eyes fixed back on his. "Just so long that you promise not to kill me," she explained sternly.

Promises were dangerous things, a few right chosen words and wandless magic could be a wizard's undoing. But right now he didn't have many options. "I promise," he agreed.

"Good, then this is a truce," she said, backing off so he could sit up, the rubble behind them stirred as the sound of scratching increased. "Just give me a sec," she added, taking a moment to pop her shoulder back into place, failing to hold back a growl of pain.

"Think you can help me out as well?" he struggled to keep his voice even as the wound stung more powerfully.

"Just bear with me," she reassured, casting alight feather charm on him, which made his stomach do a summersault, as she hauled him up to his feet, his arm wrapped around her shoulder as she walked hastily down the sewers. "The farther we're away from the Fanfir the better," she murmured.

"They are nasty fucks, aren't they?" Sirius remarked, his tone lacking its usual humour, he hoped she actually would treat his wound, he was even more hopeful she even knew how, his healing skills were a tad abysmal. She took a right down a tunnel, and he really hoped she knew where she was going. "You know where you're going, right?"

"Kind of," she answered hesitantly, looking half focused as she strained her ears for any other sound, before stopping at a corner, the path much wider here. The feather charm evaporated as she sat him down on the floor. "I need some more light," she ordered, unbuckling his belt.

"Um…" As she forced his pants down, making him feel very uncomfortable. "Could you not?"

She shot him an irritated look. "Do you want the curse to spread?" she snapped.

He really wished he had just stayed home now. "No," he answered.

"Then be useful and give me more light!" she hissed, losing her patience with him.

He hastily complied, pulling out his wand and muttering '_lumos_'. He grimaced when he saw the enflamed would, an ugly greenish goo and bruise formed around his thigh. He faintly heard her mutter something about healing potions and could swear he heard the words 'sadistic prick'. "So…is it fixable?"

His gut clenched when she didn't answer right away. "The curse is spreading fast, we might have to amputate your leg."

"What!" he yelled, eyes wide with horror.

"But we might be able to remove it-the curse I mean-just…keep that light steady," she reassured, cancelling her own lumos spell. "_Vulnera Sanentur_," she muttered, hovering her wand over where the curse had spread, the cursed veins glowing orange. Sirius gritted his teeth as he felt a burse of pain. The pain came and went as she channelled the curse towards the stab wound, trying to draw it out. She muttered another spell in French, before switching to Bulgarian. He kept his hand steady and watched with a morbid fascination as the curse moved through his leg. "This might sting a little," she warned, which he translated as; '_this will hurt like hell'_.

And it did. "Fuck!" he gasped, as a mangled black blood substance was forced out and evaporated. He let out a breath of relief as his heart calmed down. He tried to move his leg, but froze when he couldn't feel it, it was like a bucket of ice cold water had been tossed on him. "I can't feel my leg." He hated how his voice sounded so small.

"It's only temporary," she reassured quickly, frantically examining his leg, feeling the muscle with her hands. "Temporary nerve damage."

Temporary or not, it was still frightening as hell, it was like the limb wasn't even attached. "How long will it last?"

"An hour and a half or so. I still need to finish healing it, the curse is gone but the damage is still there," she explained, examine the still enflamed wound.

"Okay," he replied, relaxing a little against the wall, reassuring himself that he'd be fine. Well that's if he could trust that she wasn't lying to him, the uneasy feeling stayed settled in his gut. He didn't like feeling helpless like this, he couldn't underestimate her because of her age. But they had made a promise, which was at least a tad reassuring, whether or not it lasted when they got out of here was another story….well if they ever got out of here. Even if he sent a message to the order, it could be a long while before anyone found them. And would Malfoy even let him? He swallowed a dry lump in his throat, she may seem decent, but he doubted she'd allow herself to be captured by the Order willingly.

"Are you going to call the Order?" she questioned.

He blanched. How the hell did she know what he was thinking? "Well I need to get out, and I don't plan on fighting Dolohov in this state," he answered, keeping his voice even. "And why were you lot down here in the first place?" It was a risky question to ask, and he doubted she'd tell him the truth, but he was curious and he didn't like sitting in silence.

"Why did you follow us?" she redirected the question, barley even looking at him.

He didn't see any harm in answering. "I saw one of your goons-Miller I think-and thought he looked suspicious, so I followed, it was a gut feeling," he explained.

"It was very reckless," she commented.

"I know," he retorted. "But I did used to be an Auror, when I have a feeling, I follow it through."

"Hmm," she replied simply, her dismissal was a little annoying.

"But back to my question. You lot obviously are down here for a reason," he continued, rattling his brain, he wasn't sure if they were trying to find something down here, maybe a secret passageway, Voldemort had been trying to find alternative ways into the Ministry. It was a bit of a leap, but it gave a good reason why they would be down here, there could be an old tunnel that led to the Ministry after all. He looked back to see her giving him a warning look, one that told him it would be smart not to finish that train of thought, he felt a slight prod in his mind, a threatening nudge. He wisely decided to change the subject. "So, where did you get that knife?"

"It was a gift, from my…fiancé," she divulged.

Sirius looked at her with surprise. "Was a ring not good enough?"

"It was a Christmas gift," she explained further, glancing up at him.

Sirius put it down as a Slytherin thing. "Right, I see, he sounds charming."

"He's a prick," she countered, her lip tugging up in amusement.

Sirius found himself smiling a little, which was unnerving, he shouldn't be smiling, she was a Death Eater, and a Malfoy, why was she even acting pleasant towards him? "Why are you a Death Eater?" he asked bluntly, never one to be less than so.

She tensed, he winced when her magic stung his leg, maybe he should have been more tentative. "Because I made the wrong choices," she replied lightly.

"Well obviously-ow!"

"Hold still," she scolded, fixing him with a stern look that reminisced her mother's. "And my father had a good hand in it," she added bitterly.

She seemed to dislike Lucius….maybe she wasn't that bad. "Yeah, that seems like something Lucius would do," he agreed. "So, think you have any idea how to get us out of here?"

"I only have a faint remembrance of the sewer routes, my guide is with the others," she explained, finishing up healing the wound. "The sewers around this area intertwine with each other, which means it's a high possibility we'll run into the others soon."

"Which means I'll be done for," he exclaimed. But he could always transform into his dog form and hide, maybe trail them out of the sewers, it was a risky move, but it was better than an outright fight he'd no doubt lose. "There must be a sewer drain somewhere round here, it's still daylight, so the light will be easier to find," he advised.

"Seems like a good idea," she responded, cleaning up the blood from his leg. "As long as the Fafnir don't find us first."

He had almost forgotten about those sods. "Yeah hopefully."

"Is there a reason the Ministry lets them roam down here?" she questioned curiously.

He shrugged. "Well, there has always been the rumour that they're the ministry's unregistered guard dogs, keeping witches and wizards out," he explained. "Of course, publically the reason is because there are too many of them and the Ministry simply doesn't have the resources to tackle the issue," he added, rolling his eyes. "The Fafnir infested these sewers in the 1920's, and apparently the Ministry still doesn't have the resources to get rid of the problem."

"Typical," she commented, before rising to her feet. "It's heeled, it'll probably be stiff for a few weeks, but otherwise, you'll live," she divulged.

"Thanks," he said, hastily pulling up his trousers. He stumbled at first when he tried to get to his feet, his leg was still numb and he still couldn't properly feel his leg.

"Careful," she warned, helping him to his feet. "Like I said, you won't be able to feel anything for an hour or so." His stomach did another summersault when she cast the feather lightening charm on him again, placing his arm around her shoulders. "Now come on."

For a good while they wondered in silence, both wands shining in the darkness as they navigated through the sewers. "Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if you had been a Slytherin?"

Well that seemed out of the blue, and surprisingly one that wasn't normally asked. "Miserable," he replied simply. "What about you?"

"…I'm where I belong," she answered, he picked up the tiniest hint of uncertainty. "In Slytherin anyway," she added, that sentence bearing the plain truth of it. So far he was beginning to find her pleasant, she obviously didn't like being Death Eater, that was always a bonus, however he still knew hardly anything about her.

"How's Narcissa these days, still married to that arse?" he asked.

"Sadly yes," Malfoy responded.

"Pity," Sirius sighed. "So, who's this Fiancé of yours?" Might as well have small talk to distract the looming threats hiding in the dark.

"His name's Adrian," she answered. "He's a Pucey."

Sirius sighed in disappointment, he had hoped the girl would have been more rebellious, just to rile up Lucius and Narcissa's feathers. "Boring."

"I assure you he's far from it," she argued, a playful tint in her voice he hadn't heard before.

"I see, do you love him?" he asked, just out of interest.

"It's complicated."

He snorted, how complicated could a teenage relationship be? "When isn't it," he said instead.

"Were your romances ever complicated?" she questioned forthrightly.

"No, I was always an easy going guy," he replied, glad when he started to feel a twitch in his leg.

"Did you ever sleep around?" she asked casually. Well she most certainly didn't get that bluntness from Narcissa, most likely Lucius.

He was distracted from his healing leg, by the bluntness of her question. "Not exactly."

"How did you 'not exactly' sleep around?" she persisted.

He groaned, he wondered if she was deliberately not being tactful, or if she genuinely was oblivious. "I kissed a girl in a closet in fifth year, my girlfriend at the time was not pleased." He explained. "Why so curious, does Adrian sleep around?" he questioned sarcastically, not really expecting an answer.

"All the time," she answered, as if it was a day to day thing, his eyes widened in surprise.

"And you're okay with that?" The calm look on her face was his answer. "Why in Merlin are you okay with that?"

She shrugged. "I told you it was complicated," she replied simply.

She was crazy, not Bellatrix crazy, but just that odd kind of crazy, like the weird kid in class you never sat next to because they made you a little too uncomfortable. "Do you sleep around?" he asked, wondering if this was the normal thing teenagers just did nowadays.

"No, too busy," she answered evenly.

Sirius shook his head, this was a little too much for him, why the hell was he even having this conversation with his baby cousin? It felt wrong. "Can we please not talk about this."

"You were the one who asked," she pointed out in amusement.

He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "And I'm regretting it every passing-shit!" he hissed, stopping when he saw a fresh dead body slumped against the wall, well at least half dead, it appeared to be gurgling blood from his mouth.

"Miller," Lyrisadora exclaimed, dragging Sirius along as she rushed towards him. Sirius propped himself on his knees next to the kid, shining his torch at him. It wasn't a pretty sight, the kid had a whole chunk of his ribs taken out of his left side, and his left arm was gone to, leaving a bloody stump. There were scratches and gashes along his collar bone and face, chunks of hair were missing and his skin was a white as chalk. His clothes were blood soaked and he was choking on his own blood. There was blood dripping into the sewage waste. "Where are the others?" she questioned, her voice staying unflinchingly calm, drawing Miller's attention away from him.

Miller's eyes were as wide as inhumanly possible, his mouth struggled to get the words out. "R…an…" he gurgled. "Fafnaaa…" He coughed and spluttered. Lyrisadora tried to remove the blood from his lungs with a spell. It didn't do much, but it allowed him to speak, but it wouldn't last long, the blood would just build up again until the blood loss from his other injuries killed him. Sirius had seen it all before, it was horrible to watch.

"The Fafnir got you, then what happened?" Lyrisadora questioned.

"Bastards' ran," he choked, lifting a shaking arm and pointing it to the tunnel to their right. "Halkirk found…found a way out," Miller rasped, his breathing was heavy and the life in his eyes was fading. He looked over at Malfoy, silently watching as she desperately attempted to try and heal Miller's wounds, her calm faced twitching and cracking as the realisation of how futile her efforts were dawned.

"Lyrisadora, he's dying," he said gently, addressing her properly this time, her gaze snapped back at him, he looked back at Miller. "I'm sorry," he apologised, looking at a man who looked barely twenty five.

"No-fuck-don't, please stay," Miller choked, still evident desperation and pleading in his eyes. "Help me," he implored.

Sirius looked away and leaned against the wall for support. "Lyrisadora, we need to move," he instructed sharply. She looked up at him, for the first time looking very much the scared teenager she was. "It's not safe," he insisted.

She glanced back at Miller, eyes fixed on his terrified ones, before she got to her feet and looked away, supporting Sirius as they walked away. "No, don't leave…please!..." Miller's voice was becoming more choked, more faint.

He didn't even know the kid, yet it still felt like a punch to the gut, heck maybe it was because he didn't know him why he felt so bad, the last people Miller saw were strangers to him. Within a minute or so Miller's voice stopped, along with the chokes, before he was silent. Sirius couldn't bring himself to look back.

After a long amount of apprehension, Sirius looked back at Lyrisadora. "I'm sorry about your, friend."

"I barley knew him."

"I know," he said, but still, he felt he needed to at least offer some condolences. "He have any family?"

She paused. "He had a mother," she answered dully.

He stared at her for a while. "You tried to save him," he stated.

"I had to try," she responded automatically.

He was still trying to work her out, there was definitely compassion there, but there was something he wasn't seeing, like he was only reading the chapter titles of a book. "Where are you going when we get out?"

"…I failed my mission Mr Black, I think we both know what's going to happen next," she said coldly.

He felt a bad taste in his mouth, she was right, Voldemort didn't tolerate failure. "You could run, you could fight," he stated, but they both understood all of the above would be fruitless.

"Mr Black-"

"Call me Sirius," he interrupted automatically, he noticed her lips twitch upwards in amusement.

"Sirius," she started again. "Have you killed before?"

"Yes," he replied, forcing down the unpleasant memories that reared their heads.

"How do you cope with that?" she asked.

Her voice may have remained perfectly casual, but there was definite confusion and desperation to understand in her words. Sirius thought very carefully on his next words. "Listen Kid, there isn't an easy answer to that, I'm still sort of coping with it to this day." He sighed tiredly. "We're in a war, as hard as it is, you have to kill or you'll end up being killed yourself, being able to understand that is a part of coping with it," he continued, he glanced at her apprehensively before adding. "And from what I've seen, you seem like a pretty decent kid."

"Well I'm not a homicidal maniac, if that helps settle any disputes," she remarked, attempting to humour the situation.

"Don't be a smartass," he chided, flexing his muscles as the feeling in his leg started to return. "But in all seriousness, this is war, not some fight on a Quidditch pitch, so never let your guard down," he advised, she nodded faintly, eyes downcast.

"Yeah, I already have friends on the opposite side, and I'm not looking forward to that confrontation," she sighed.

Sirius inwardly winced, remembering him being in a similar situation when facing off against Bellatrix and Regulas during the first war. And telling her to screw it all and join the order wasn't going to solve the problem either, the opponents reversing as she faced off against her family instead. Besides, he doubted the order would be enthusiastic to have her on, they barely tolerated Snape as it was, also he understood her situation seemed complicated, unlike him she hadn't got out in time and had declared her loyalties to Voldemort, and if she defected now, he very much doubted her family wouldn't pay the price. Not that he wouldn't mind to see Lucius dead, but he had a strong feeling Lyrisadora would mind, even if she seemed to dislike her father. Seeing how she had stayed loyal to her family so far. "I think I can walk properly now," he mentioned, deciding to change the subject, flexing his leg. She carefully helped him gain balance as he stood up straight, he buried a wince as he took a couple of steps, looking like he was walking with a limp, which was better than nothing. "Huh, guess you were right."

"You sound surprised," she retorted, as they continued to walk down the tunnel. Sirius glanced at her.

"Didn't I warn you about being a smartass?" he remarked dryly.

She was barely paying him any attention. "Did you? I wasn't listening," she replied, he wondered if she was always like this or if he had simply caught her on a bad day.

"Anyone ever told you you're rude?"

"One person has, but I don't give a personal shit about what he thinks," she answered in amusement, he noticed a visible smile had found its way on her face. "Besides, I've been up from 4am, I'm allowed to be vulgar-now shut up, because I may have just found our way out," she added pleasantly, eyes focusing on a dim ray of sunlight.

Sirius had to fight the urge to transform and to a runner towards the light, in both excitement and relief. "Then let's get the hell out of here!" he exclaimed loudly, a little too loudly as a low hiss echoed throughout the tunnel, followed by a clawing sound.

"Idiot!" Lyrisadora hissed, grabbing his arm and hastily dragging him towards the light. "You couldn't keep quiet for five minutes could you?"

"Oh shut up and run," he snapped, forcing his legs to keep up, his stomach turned unpleasantly when he looked behind him to find a bloody face Fafnir emerging from the shadows, crimson blood looking black against the blue light. The feeling didn't leave him when they found the source of the light. It was a broken sewer grate leading to the high street alone above, the bars melted off. However there was an issue with it being too high up and not a ladder in sight. But hey, he was wizard, he could fix this. He rattled his brain, he hadn't done seven years of Transfiguration for nothing. "Stand back," he instructed, but Lyrisadora was a little busy sending a stunner at the Fafnir, two more appearing from behind.

"Just hurry up," she snapped.

She seemed very impatient, but considering the situation, he couldn't really blame her. He aimed his wand at the bricks, rearranging them into a stairwell, briefly wondering if Dolohov did the same, or wasn't just a dead body underwater right now, he hoped for the second assumption. "Come on," he said, grabbing her arm and pushing her to the stairs.

She looked up at the grate, before back at Sirius. "You transform and go first," she instructed, he was about to protest, after all, he was the one who should be doing the noble sacrifices, Lyrisadora clearly didn't understand how things worked in the Gryffindor house. "Go!" she snapped, hauling him to the steps and pushing him up, before stunning an advancing Fafnir.

He transformed into his dog form, giving her a snapping bark before running up the stairs and out into the open, narrowly avoiding traffic. He barked down at her from below, his anxiousness growing, she quickly ran up the stairs, the Fafnir gathering around like vultures, snapping at her feet. He grabbed at her black hood and pulled as she quickly scrambled out from the sewers, pulling her legs up before blasting the stairs away, killing one of the Fafnir in the process, the rest scattering.

He followed her as she hastily ran into a back ally to avoid the curious looks from oblivious muggles. "I can't be seen with you," she muttered, her back arched as she leaned her hands on her knees. "I have to get back," she murmured, her face appearing gaunt and sickly. Sirius cautiously stepped closer and rubbed his head against her hand in a small offer of comfort. She forced a small smile and stroked him behind the ears, he had always been a sucker for that, as he closed his eyes. "I'm glad I met you," she admitted. "But the Order can't know about this," she added, her tone turning cold, his eyes opened just in time to see the wand pointed at his head. "_Obliviate_." God he should have seen this coming.

When he woke up alone in the ally two hours later, the last thing he remembered was a bad breakfast and leaving to follow Lyrisadora Malfoy down into an alleyway before getting stabbed in the thigh and then stunned.

His head was throbbing, he knew her, he couldn't explain it, but somehow he felt that he knew her.

Broken up conversations and images whirled around in his memory like a long forgotten dream.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora didn't like obliviating her cousin, but she couldn't exactly trust him to keep his trap shut about meeting her, Dumbledore had said only a select few where allowed to know about the mission, so she didn't need the rest of the Order getting any impression that she was less than a ruthless Death Eater, plus the less Sirius knew about her the better, he already had his own problems without worrying about her. She doubted she did a thorough job though, she had sort of been in a rush to get back, but she'd deal with that later.<p>

Her problems were her own, and right now they had escalated vastly. The mission was a failure, Miller was dead, Dolohov and Halkirk had got out but had then been tortured for their failure. As expected the Dark Lord was not pleased, the look he was giving her right now was enough to make her wet herself and throw up.

And up to the point where he had locked the doors, she had been composed, but now she was at her breaking point. Hands shaking and skin clammy from terror. She wished he would just get it over with.

"You failed," Voldemort stated, rhythmically tapping his wand against his side, red eyes penetrating her mind, the occlumancy stopped him from delving too deep, however the nasty painful stinging he inflicted felt very strong, making her wince and clutch her head in pain, her ears wringing to the point she could barely hear. He stepped closer to her, she peaked up meekly to find him towering above her, like something from a nightmare. The pain in her head briefly died down for a moment, allowing her to catch the change of tone in his voice, from deadly coldness to something frighteningly soft. "I don't like people who waste my time."

He pointed his wand at her, causing a new wave of pain to begin.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys liked the Sirius and Lyra interactions, personally I thought some of it dragged a bit, I couldn't get the flow right. <strong>


	68. Eggs in the Basket

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Lion, Hollywood Undead **

* * *

><p><strong>Forget about tomorrow, tomorrow is today<br>You were born a lion and a lion you will stay**

**I am a lion and I want to be free  
>Do you see a lion when you look inside of me?<strong>

**Chapter: Eggs in the Basket **

* * *

><p>Lucius found it hard to swallow the lump in his throat when he saw Lyrisadora, she appeared semi-unconscious in Rodolphus' arms, the two alone in a rundown looking library, on a couch. Lucius had to do a small back track when he saw the eldest Lestrange brother looking so paternal, especially since he had seen the man do things that made even Lucius feel sick to witness.<p>

Lucius stepped closer to get a better look at his bruised up daughter, causing Rodolphus to look back at him. "How long did she last?" Lucius asked quietly, a bad taste settling in his mouth, forcing his tone to stay even.

"Two hours...she started vomiting before she passed out," Lestrange replied, there was a pause before he added. "I didn't let Bellatrix see her."

"Good," Lucius muttered, the last thing he wanted was that bitch to make things worse, he looked at Lyrisadora, debating whether to take her straight home or fix her up here, he couldn't let Narcissa see her like this. He had told the Pucey's that she was nursing a hangover from the party, a quick lie that had done the trick, but of course Narcissa had been more persistent to get the truth out of him when they were in private. She hadn't been happy by the simple idea of their daughter's task, he didn't want to know how she'd react to finding out Lyrisadora had been tortured. "Thank you. I'll take it from here."

Rodolphus nodded, carefully moving Lyrisadora properly onto the coach before getting up, Lucius didn't move from his spot until he heard the door close. Cautiously he sat down next to her, examining her injuries and inwardly winced when he saw the damage.

A long diagonal cut rand down her left arm and an ugly gash was on her neck, he had a bad feeling there were more bruises and cuts under her robes, he'd have to get the house-elves to tend to those, he'd also have to give her a couple of healing potions to help speed up her recovery.

He worked silently as he healed up the visible injuries, some of them not fading entirely, instead scarring. The healing must have prickled as he saw Lyrisadora stir. "Dad?" she murmured, eyes still half closed. She never called him dad, Lucius stopped and eyed her intently, she never had, the word was so….unfamiliar. He decided to ignore her and carried on sealing up the wounds. She blinked, still looking very much out of it. "…hurts…" he heard her mumble as she gripped his arm tightly. He felt himself turn paler as he stroked her hair back soothingly, attempting to calm her down.

It seemed to work well enough, as her hold loosened and her pained frown softened. He was starting to feel sick, this shouldn't be happening, he should have prevented….he should have prevented a lot of things. He Squeezed her hand reassuringly, a tad cautious, afraid of a rebuke. But she seemed too worn out to protest or half acknowledge it.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora's mind felt like a blur, everything hurt and her head felt like it had been pounded into a wall multiple times. She remembered seeing her uncle steady her to her feet, remembered briefly seeing her father and mumbling a sluggish 'dad' in her nauseous state.<p>

The rest was snippets of being transported by a loud crack, being fussed over by anxious house-elves, a few potions being shoved down her throat, a majority of their contents dribbling down her mouth. Before she was stripped, healed some more and guided towards a steaming bath.

Her mind was clearer now, as she lay in the bubble bath, her injuries healing quickly, though she suspected some would scar. "Sadistic bastard," she slurred, the words barely comprehensible. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and sighed, absently wondering what time it was, looking around the quiet immaculate bathroom.

She leaned her head on her shoulder, both arms resting on the bath's sides. She had failed, how the hell was she meant to come back from this? She was in dis-favour, which was a very dangerous situation to be in, she was replaceable. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her mind, she needed to remain focused, there was still Dumbledore's mission, she needed to get the money sorted and seek out Snape to go over the plan.

And then there was Adrian, she still needed to keep him in the dark. She also needed to update Snape on the whole 'elope in America' plan she had going with Adrian, because getting the timing of it all was necessary. She knew Snape saw Adrian as a complication to the plan, going on ranting about how she was an idiot, fool, naïve and so on, they had all sort of mushed together to convey that he 'wanted to throttle her' , or something close along those lines.

She rubbed her leg in restlessness, before scratching her head, time wasn't something she could afford, she had two weeks off Hogwarts, time that needed to be used orderly. Deciding she had enough time for her wounds to heal, she stepped out of the bath, water dripping onto the plush grey rug.

When she checked the clock in her room, the time was 3pm, the sky still bright. The house-elves were no-where to be seen, but there were fresh black and turquoise robes laid out on her bed, her wand on top, fabric finely pressed. She tightened the thin dressing around her waist, her eyes catching sight of a silver whistle on her dresser.

She swiped it up, examining it critically, eyes flickering to the small strip of paper peeking out of the nozzle. She carefully removed the paper, squinting her eyes to read the writing.

_Blow the whistle, go to Garfield's antiques Knockturn alley. Tell him 'Blue Unicorn.'_

She looked back at the whistle in her hand, hesitating before blowing it, no sound came out, nothing happened. She looked around the room, expecting a ghost or fairy to pop into the room. Wasn't it how these things went? She tried it again a good three times, until she heard a ringing in her ears, as clear as a whistle from the wind.

She blew the whistle again, no sound came out, but the reply was immediate, a faraway whistle. "Merlin, this is weird," she muttered, staring at the plain looking whistle. Shaking her head and deciding to just roll with it, she hastily got dressed, grabbing a thin dark hooded robe to cover the light colours of her robes underneath and strapping a belt around her waist and tucking the whistle in her inner robe pocket.

She didn't know if her parents and Draco were out, or simply hidden away in their rooms, either way she was thankful she didn't have to confront them, quickly hurrying out of the manor like it was a prison and apparating once she was off its grounds.

* * *

><p>The world around her shifted, Knockturn alley emerging into view, Lyrisadora's hand rested on her wand, pulling her robe hood up as she walked down the alley, ignoring a few undesirables along the way. Before she found the place, <em>Garfield's Antiques<em>, the sign faded, a few of the red letters rubbed away.

The shop bell rang when she stepped inside, her eyes widening when she found herself staring at hundreds of varied cat themed antiques. "Hello?" she called warily, wand still concealed up her sleeve as she stepped further into the store, door shutting behind her.

She examined the array of feline sculptures, paintings, piggy banks, coins, bowls and cutlery, with a strange fascination, even if Umbridge gave cat lovers a bad name, Lyrisadora still liked the furry animals in general, and that mug in the corner looked pretty nice…..

"May I help you?" came a voice from behind her, stropping her from reaching out to examine the mug with an image of a bundle of moving kittens on it.

She turned around to face the man; Garfield Collins was short but well built, having large arms and legs, his skin a dark brown and eyes a distinct hazel brown, his black curly hair slicked back. She smiled politely. "I'm looking for a 'blue Unicorn'," she replied.

He stared at her blankly. "A blue unicorn?"

"Yes," she replied evenly, wondering if this was a test. "A blue unicorn."

There was an apprehensive silence. "You do know they don't exist?" he spoke cautiously.

"Of course I know they don't exist," she snapped in impatience. A burst of laughter echoed from another room. Realisation dawned as she recognised it. "Fucking prick," she muttered. "Get your ass out here! Before Mr Collins ships me off to St Mungos," she called.

"Love you too, Princess!" Adrian called from the back room.

Collins arched an inquisitive eyebrow at her before shaking his head. "I'm guessing you're with the other guy," he assumed, gesturing her to follow him into the other room. "He mentioned you'd be coming," he added.

She hummed in response, stepping into the back room. The back room looked like a hybrid of a kitchen and an office combined. Adrian sat at the table drinking a cup of tea. "Hello," Adrian greeted pleasantly.

"You're such an ass," she muttered, flicking his cheek, pleased to see him frown in discomfort. "Is it all done?" she asked, addressing Collins, the man nodded.

"It's sorted," he replied, searching through a messy draw to take out a brown folder. "The border control in America is barely existent," he began to divulge, tossing the folder on the table in front of them. "You'll only need to the passports when using Floo to travel internationally. It's the quickest way."

Adrian opened it, finding two dark blue passports inside and fake birth certificates. Lyrisadora picked a passport up, opening it, the picture section was blank for a brief second, before a black and white image of her emerged, and the contents had a birth of date that had her two years older than she actually was, with nationality and name below. She frowned when she saw the name she had been given. "Sydney Louise Perks," she exclaimed, she gave Adrian an annoyed look. "I said I wanted to be called Sarah," she accused.

Adrian grinned. "But Sydney Perks sounds more chipper," he argued.

"What does yours say?" she asked irritably, Adrian held his up. "Sam Duncan," she read. "So you sound like an average joe, while I sound like a hyperactive schoolgirl," she complained, rolling her eyes. Maybe she was overreacting, but she really hated it when he did things like this to wind her up.

"If you want it changed, it'll cost extra," Collins stated.

"I'll leave it how it is," she sighed, picking up her birth certificate. "So how does this passport work exactly?" she questioned.

Mr Collins seemed to straighten up more. "The passports are the genuine article, I have a trusted supplier who provides them, and the border controls will pay less attention to the contents-you see that silver stamp in the right bottom corner?" She nodded, noting the sun shaped mark. "That's the only thing they care about."

She exchanged a brief glance with Adrian, everything seemed in order. Adrian finished off his tea before grabbing the money from his bag, unshrinking it. "Best be for the amount of money we're paying," he muttered.

Collins started to count it. "Quality over quantity," he argued.

"Speaking of which, why exactly do you sell cat antiques?" Lyrisadora wondered aloud.

There was an amused smile playing on Collins lips. "Just a distraction to keep the Aurors' out," he replied brightly. She shrugged, it made sense, she paused as her mind lingered on the mug again, Collins placing the money away in a safe before leading them back into the shop. "How much is the mug?" she questioned out of the blue, earning some confused looks as she picked up the cat mug she had been eyeing earlier.

"Uh…a Galleon?" Collins suggested. "Like I said, this isn't really my business, nobody really buys this stuff," he explained, accepting the Galleon nonetheless. Lyrisadora smiled a little to herself, shrinking the mug down to place in her pocket.

"I'm pretty sure I know a woman who would," Adrian protested amusingly. "Be wary of a toad faced woman with a pink bow," he warned, before following Lyrisadora out of the shop.

When safely outside, she gave him a firm look that said, '_we need to talk, now_.' Walking briskly down the alley.

Adrian seemed to see that as an advantage to go get lunch, which considering the weather, ended up grabbing milkshakes at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, she had opted for banana while Adrian went with mint, he had said lunch was on her. "So I'm guessing the charm you put on the whistle works similarly to how the shells worked in Bulgaria," she assumed, using a spoon to eat some whipped cream.

"More or less, I've been working on this idea for a few weeks now, see all I had to do was link your magical signature to that specific whistle like I did with mine, we can hear the whistle noise because our magic is linked to it," he explained.

She recalled what a magical signature was, it wasn't really very important in everyday life, you couldn't even properly distinct it between a person, and a person could technically feel their own, if they meditated enough. It was vital when identifying if a witch or wizard was thoroughly dead, if the magic was still there than the person hadn't fully kicked the bucket yet. "What's the magical wavelength capacity?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Two hundred miles," he answered.

She nodded, impressed, before frowning. "How did you get my magical signature?"

He was giving her that smug annoying smirk again. "There is a reason sex is considered an intimate thing," he answered. "Don't worry though, I showered you off after I used most of it to make your present."

She didn't like how he phrased it. "Don't be a twat," she scolded, rolling her eyes. "With the amount of people you've slept with, I might as well be scrubbing the whole of Hogwarts off for a whole month," she retorted.

"So I'm guessing you didn't have a nice day today?" he remarked. "Your father said you had a hangover, but we both know that's bullshit."

She forced herself not to tense. "Well it wasn't the hangover, I assure you," she replied curtly, her stomach feeling sick, her banana milkshake looking less appealing.

"Was it bad?" he asked, looking at her intently, she almost didn't notice his eyes flicker to her left arm.

"Yes," she answered uncomfortably, not wanting to have this conversation. "Obviously it was," she added, her tone sounding harsher than she intended. "Which is why I'm not in the best of moods."

"You seemed chipper enough to buy a cat mug," he pointed out.

She shrugged. "Sometimes, People buy things when their upset," she replied automatically, focusing on her drink, stirring it with her spoon.

"You're upset?"

"I said _people_," she corrected. "_I'm_ not upset," she argued, she wasn't upset, she wasn't sad, she was hardly ever disappointed, sad, unhappy, because everything was shit to begin with.

He arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm going to call bullshit on that," he countered dryly, leaning in closer, moving her drink away from her, forcing her to look up at him in frustration. "Don't get all moody on me, I'm trying to help, I even let you pay for lunch."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're a true gentleman, also I doubt milkshakes count as lunch," she argued.

"Details," he said dismissively. "Listen, if you're upset, then tell me what you want?" he urged.

She looked at him oddly, he sounded pretty genuine and considerate. "Are you serious?"

"Of course," he answered, shrugging. "We could go for a walk, do things….couples do, like maybe have sex in a broom cupboard," he suggested awkwardly.

"Have sex in a broom cupboard?" she repeated slowly, looking at him as if he was more of an idiot than she originally thought he was.

He leaned back and frowned. "Loads of people do it."

"Like paedophiles and perverts?" she remarked lightly.

He gave her a frustrated look, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. "It was just a suggestion," he exclaimed.

She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped, actually finding herself considering it. It was very risky but, it seemed…fun and juvenile. And it would be a hell of a distraction. "Alright then, let's do it."

Adrian's face was priceless, looking at her as if she had lost her mind. "What?" he questioned. "You…you want to have sex in a broom cupboard?"

She nodded, her determination growing. "Yeah why not? Let's be wild," she encouraged, smiling brightly, standing up from her chair. "You coming or not?"

Adrian paused for a moment, probably wondering if she was joking, but he seemed to shrug away his argument against it. "Okay." Getting up to follow.

It didn't take long to sneak past Tom in the Leaky Cauldron, heading to the broom cupboard. "This is insane," she muttered, wondering why the hell she thought this had ever been a good idea, feeling on edge, suspecting the landlord would jump out and catch them.

Stepping into the cupboard, Adrian turning on the light before shutting the door behind him, it was tight squeeze, leaving just enough room for them to turn around on the spot. "It was your idea," Adrian grumbled, pushing a broom handle out of the way, locking the cupboard door. "Let's hurry this up then."

She gave him a look, he sounded like it was a chore. "If you don't want to-"

"I never said I didn't want to-I'm doing this."

"Well it's just you sounded like this was a compulsive shag."

Adrian looked at her in irritation. "Compulsive? I don't gain points for this, this isn't 'ten points to Slytherin for doing it in the flipping cupboard'," he remarked, shoving the same broom handle out of his face. "So less of the accusation please."

Her brow creased in annoyance. "What exactly was I accusing you of?-I was just checking you were alright with this-"

"-Okay, okay I get it. Sorry," he tried to defuse any further arguments.

She calmed down more, deciding she was getting a little too worked up. "Well alright then. Sorry. This is just weird for me," she tried to explain, the cupboard cramped, her foot trapped in an empty bucket. "This is meant to be, fun. So come on."

"Okay, alright," he sighed, kissing her and undoing the belt around her waist. She returned the kiss, unbuckling his belt, as he pushed her against the closet wall, the shelf jamming into her shoulder, knocking some cleaning sprays off. "Ah, sorry," he apologised, moving around away from the shelf.

"It's fine," she murmured, continuing to kiss him as she tried to get her foot out of the bucket, while he tried to take off of her robes, the sleeves getting stuck. "Shit," she muttered. "Hold on a sec," she whispered, breaking away to try and get enough room to take her robe off.

"Lift your arms," Adrian tried to help.

"There's not enough room-forget it-I'll just take the tights off," she decided, pulling her robe back on and kissing him again. "Ow!" when she banged her head on the shelf as she stood up, breaking away from the kiss.

"Careful," Adrian commented mildly, she glared at him as she clutched her head, violently pushing the broom handle away from her face.

The two stood in silence, both looking fed up, Lyrisadora groaned in exasperation. "Fuck this, let's just go," she sighed, not feeling in the mood anymore.

Adrian pulled up his pants as she crouched down to find her belt. "Yeah, I'm not in the mood," he concurred, running a hand through his hair.

He unlocked the cupboard as she fastened her belt around her waist, carefully having a look around the deserted hallway before stepping out.

Lyrisadora stumbled out, the broom falling onto the floor.

* * *

><p>When she got to Snape's house, it was nearing 6pm in the evening. Having ditched Adrian around half five, when she saw the potion Professor's Patroness skim by across the street, which signalled her to get her ass over to his.<p>

When he had first given her his address before Easter break, she was instructed to make sure she had the money converted into the desired muggle currency, so she had followed orders and got it sorted. Which meant tonight would be the night the first step of faking her death would occur, it left an anxious feeling in her stomach.

Nevertheless, she didn't waste any time when finding his house and knocking sharply on his door, soon greeted by the grumpy hook nosed professor. "Hi sir, enjoying your holiday?" she greeted cheerfully, smiling brightly, because she knew he hated overly cheerful sods.

"Wipe that stupid smile off your face and get in," he instructed sharply, stepping asides to let her in.

_Guessing that's a no then_, she thought to herself, stepping into the gloomy looking house, Snape closing the door behind him and leading her to the living room. "I brought the first half of the money, I assume that's what you called me for, with the plastic surgeon," she guessed.

"Yes, among another thing," he replied, heading towards a drawing cabinet. "The second involving meeting up with Dumbledore regarding the mission." Taking out a small piece of paper, giving it a read before placing it in his robe pocket. "We'll also need to be dressed appropriately," he added, pointing his wand at his black robes, she watched as they transfigured into a sort of weird looking suit, lacking any bellowing cloak, just simple pinstriped trousers and blazer, with a grey shirt and tie.

Lyrisadora followed suite, a tad unsure for a moment how a muggle girl would look, trying to recall the usual clothes she had seen muggle-borns' wear. She decided on a dress she had seen one of the muggle-borns' wear at the Yule ball, it had looked conservative enough at the time. A turquoise dress with a black netting over it, adding the belt around her waist, changing her black robe into a black trench coat she had seen a couple of muggle woman wear in the street. Tucking her wand into the long inner breast pocket. "Let's get a move on."

"We'll go out through the back," he said.

"Is the surgeon a he or a she?" she questioned, following him out back.

"A he," Snape replied.

"How should I behave around him?" she questioned, she had never properly interacted with a real Muggle before.

"If he references something you don't understand, pretend you do, try not to look awe-also pictures don't move, electricity powers a majority of things. Try not to look gormless, " he drawled, before grabbing her arm and apparating away.

* * *

><p>The plastic surgeon's home was peculiar, for one thing it was in a glass tower, an apartment complex Snape had called it, everything was new and shiny, and the lifts only went up or down and they didn't even jolt, they just ran smoothly.<p>

The music in the lift was weird as well, it was fast and chime like, the doctor's home was office like, all neat and tidy, everything having a place, carpet a clean cream colour and walls decorated in a regal patterned black and white. The furniture was sleek and smooth, a lot of the tables made from glass, his desk included. There was even a machine in the living room which had a grey glass screen on it.

She supposed in all consideration his home seemed cold and impersonal, but she'd be lying is she said she wasn't dazzled by it all.

Despite that, Lyrisadora kept her face unreadable when she met the plastic surgeon, he was a man who looked to be in his mid-forties, the hair line of his auburn hair receding, himself looking thin. Dressed in a well-fitting green suit that indicated his profession paid well, his fingers thin like wires and constantly steady.

His name was Dr Ray Pemna and he was talking about things called 'scanners', which she assumed was related to eyesight.

"….So the order details will have to be done under the radar, I'll have to import the prosthetics from China," Dr Pemna explained, his accent having a faded American twang to it, he placed the money in a safe across the room, before closing it and turning back to them.

She wasn't sure if Snape understood, or was just a great actor. "Of course," Snape drawled.

Dr Pemna then turned to Lyrisadora. "I'll need the right measurements, so you'll have to remain the same weight for a good couple of months," he said. She nodded stiffly, not trusting herself to speak. "So if you make any big changes, notify me, through phone, email is too traceable." Lyrisadora had no idea what that was, but nodded anyway, assuming it was to do with letters. He nodded, before looking back at her. "And don't dye your hair," he added.

She assumed this was muggle slang for cutting hair. "I won't cut it," she replied.

The man stopped and looked at her oddly, glancing at Snape. "That's nice honey, but I meant don't _dye_ it; like changing the colour," he explained, sounding a bit patronising.

Lyrisadora tried to recover. "I know," she said a tad too quickly, judging by the doctor's reaction. "I was just adding-that I wouldn't cut it-I was letting you know…." She tried to brush it off.

"…Right," Dr Pemna said warily, briefly glancing at Snape, she tried to hide her embarrassment. "Well anyway, I'll need your measurements," he continued.

"Alright then," she responded. There was silence, for some reason the doctor was looking at her expectantly.

"Would you like to do it in private? I have a paper screen you can go behind," he suggested, gesturing to the oriental paper screen near the corner of the room.

Lyrisadora's eyes widened in realisation, looking over at Snape in indignation, he looked back as if to say, '_well what did you expect?_' "Of course," she finally replied tightly, following over to the screen as the doctor took a tape measure from his pocket.

He turned to Snape. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable," he told the professor, gesturing to the leather couch in the corner. "It'll only take a moment," he told her once they were behind the screen. "Can you lift your arms up," he instructed, measuring her chest.

"Sure," she replied awkwardly. "Will you need anything else? Like replicating my skin tone."

"I can upload a scan," he replied, barely paying attention, moving onto measuring her left thigh. "Can you shift your legs please," he instructed nonchalantly. She tried to keep the blush from her cheeks, _pull yourself together Lyra_, she thought furiously, she was going to murder Snape for this. _Bloody bastard_. "I'll need your prints as well."

_What the bloody hell were prints?_ "Okay," she replied evenly.

"Also, does the government have any of your DNA on police record?"

"…No…" she replied hesitantly, hoping that was the right answer, wishing she had never started conversation in the first place.

"Good," he said simply, noting down the measurements on a notepad. "That makes things less complicated."

She let out a sigh of relief when he finally said they were done and left her to get changed. While changing she heard Dr Pemna and Snape speak, straining her ears to listen. "So I can guarantee your confidentiality?" Snape's voice oozed.

"Lots of people like to make themselves disappear, I just don't ask why," Dr Pemna reassured lightly. "Her body shape is pretty standard, the only thing that'll be a hassle to replicate will be her tattoo," he added. She stole a glance at her arm before pulling her dress over. "I'll need a scan of it, I'll also need her to come in in a month or two, just to make sure everything is in the right places, which means I'll need a body-"

"I'll have my people sort out of the body," Snape interjected.

There was a pause. "Have it your way. The size and design of the parts need to be done, as well as a scan for that tattoo and a few moles on her back, so I'll need you to bring her in-"

"I can bring myself in, thank you," she called, a snap to her tone, flinging her coat on and coming out from behind the screen. "Just give me a time and date." Giving the doctor and artificial smile as she walked back over to them.

The doctor looked a bit peeved by her tone. "May 24th?"

"How about June 18th?" she suggested instead, seeing how she wouldn't be finishing school since June 17th."

"It would delay finishing the replica by a good month or so," Dr Pemna protested, giving her a quilling look.

"I'm afraid the date is non-negotiable," Snape argued. "If this is a problem-"

"It's fine," he interrupted. The doctor looked between them, before shaking his head in impatience. "Fine, June 18th it is," he agreed.

"Is that everything?" Snape questioned.

Dr Pemna waved a dismissive hand as he walked over to his desk. "Yes, I'll call if there are any complications," he answered, leaving them to show themselves out.

Once outside Lyrisadora exclaimed. "He seems like an ass," she commented dryly, transfiguring her clothes back into their original state as Snape did the same, his bat like robes returning.

"And he thought you were brain damaged, so for first impressions it went as well as it could," Snape countered.

"My family aren't exactly renowned for their knowledge of muggle society, it's a miracle I even know what an aeroplane is," she snapped.

"Yet you didn't know what hair dye was?"

She glared at him. "I had no idea what he was talking about-what the hell is DNA anyway?- and how is he going to call you?" she argued,.

"I have a telephone."

"What the hell is that?" she exclaimed.

"A form of apparation."

She looked at him in alarm, before narrowing her eyes at him. "Very funny," she sneered, rolling her eyes; and he had the gall to have a go at her being sarcastic. "So, where to next?" she asked as they turned down into a dead end of an alley.

"Dumbledore," he answered, before grabbing her arm as she was dragged along.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Dumbledore wasn't the only one she was meeting with, she realised when she stepped into the rundown looking cottage to find a very disgruntled Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt in the living room with Dumbledore.<p>

Moody's magical eye fixed to her direction, as she forced a smile. "Hello," she greeted brightly, giving them a small wave.

Moody grunted and stepped towards, before a loud crash was heard from another room, causing the ex-Auror to groan. "Do you want the bloody neighbours to come knocking, Tonks!" he yelled, making a majority of the room flinch. Lyrisadora's eyes widened in realisation.

"They can't hear, you've got a silencing charm around the whole place Mad-Eye!" Tonks yelled back, marching into the room, hair a flaming red. "Besides someone has to clean that dump of a kitchen," she added in a matter of fact tone.

"Dora?" Lyrisadora interrupted, grabbing the hippie dressed young woman's attention.

Tonks abruptly turned to her, looking taken aback for a moment. "Lyra? Shit I didn't even recognise you," she said.

She shrugged, unsure how to proceed next. "It's been a couple of years," she replied casually, unable to brace herself for the incoming hug. Tonks promptly started to squeeze the life out of her, Lyrisadora wondered if this was a normal thing families did in attempt to murder each other.

"You're all grown up," she murmured, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry I stopped writing," the now pink haired woman apologised. "Auror training was a bitch and….you started writing to me less, so I kind of got the impression…." She trailed off.

Lyrisadora winced. "I never was good at keeping in touch," she responded, thankful when Tonks loosened her hold, smiling at her cousin fondly.

"Can we leave the family reunion for later, ladies," Moody cut in, looking more disgruntled than usual.

Tonks rolled her eyes at him when she thought he wasn't looking. "Of course Mad-Eye."

Dumbledore cleared his throat as they all gathered around the table. "All you here are bound by secrecy to keep this mission secret, from public as well as the Order," he began. "I open our first meeting," he continued, before turning to Snape. "Severus, I assume the meeting with the surgeon went well?" he inquired pleasantly.

"It should be completed by the end of July," Snape replied.

"Good," Dumbledore replied, before turning to Lyrisadora. "Did the money take much difficulty to arrange out?"

"No, sir," she responded.

"And the situation with Mr Pucey?" Dumbledore inquired.

She hesitated, this was all Moody needed to jump her. "The lad is a bloody complication, he could ruin the entire plan," Moody argued. "You should have dumped his behind months ago," he snarled.

Lyrisadora met his fierce gaze with coldness. "He's useful," she snapped.

"Oh I bet he is," Moody retorted bitingly, causing her eyes to narrow.

"Lay off her Mad-Eye," Tonks snapped, coming to her cousin's defence. "She's putting her life on the line for us, so give her a break."

This seemed to shut him up. "She's only getting upset because I'm talking sense," he said gruffly.

"Can we please get back to business," Shaklebolt's reassuring voice calming the tension. "Miss Malfoy," he prompted.

"Thanks…Adrian is still in the dark about the mission, he still thinks I'm using the money to run away with him to America," she explained, shoving away any apprehension she had with the subject. "We received the fake identification today, so next will be convincing him to leave the country before me."

"It would be less suspicious if you left at different times," Tonks suggested.

"I know, it's just a matter of convincing him of that," Lyrisadora replied. "Meanwhile, I'll use my passport to sneak out of the country after my supposed death."

Dumbledore nodded. "You may have to find alternative ways after a while, Italy and Germany's border control are thorough," the bearded man headed.

"Remember Malfoy, constant vigilance," Moody warned, mismatched eyes narrowing on her, Tonks looked at her mentor in exasperation.

"I'll bear that in mind," Lyrisadora responded mildly. "So what's the next order of business?"

Shacklebolt pulled out a large map from his purple star like robes, unfolding it out on the table, before taking out a fat black marker. "Voldemort already has the giants and a majority of the werewolves on his side, and he's trying to get the vampires on his side as well," he began to explain, Lyrisadora stiffened. "A lot of these allies are in France, Germany, Romania and Spain," Shacklebolt explained, marking out the countries with the marker pen. "So the main problem he has is getting them all over to England undetected," he explained. "We're using this to our advantage, he's still building up his army, which gives us the time we need to counteract his forces."

"Okay," Lyrisadora spoke carefully. "So where do I go first?"

"Paris," Shacklebolt answered. "For the past three months, a number of Death Eaters have been gaining illegal passage into France, allowing them to transport and gather their allies, we need you to go in and find out who it is whose helping them and shut them down."

"Nothing too hard then," Lyrisadora remarked, swallowing her apprehension. "Any leads or suspects?"

"Dung's our man on the inside," Moody explained, Lyrisadora didn't know who that was and assumed they probably wouldn't tell her either way. "Has a friend who's a smuggler, goes by the name Hugh Dayne, and considers Paris a second home."

"He sounds interesting," Lyrisadora muttered, as she leaned in to examine the map. "A smuggler huh? How willing is he when giving up information?"

"He's pretty guarded," Tonks answered. "I don't think him and Dung are as close as he lets on." She looked at Lyrisadora with interest. "So it's likely he's holding back information."

A faint amused smile played on her lips. "I'll find out soon enough."

* * *

><p><strong>Finally got around to churning this one out. Hope I got everyone in character, sometimes it's hard to keep track while juggling characters. <strong>


	69. The Wicked

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril**

* * *

><p><strong>It is very difficult to make one's way in this world without being wicked at one time or another, when the world's way is so wicked to begin with.<br>**

**Chapter: The Wicked**

* * *

><p><em>8th April 1996<em>

Hugh Dayne's favourite pub was the fairly unknown _Poison Apple,_ nestled deep in Knockturn alley, however he often frequented the Leaky cauldron, but mainly when he was doing business or trying to find customers. If people wanted something that wasn't exactly legal, he got it. Even if the product was legal, he'd give them a better price, he wasn't infamous but he had a good reputation of getting the job done and also getting along with nearly everybody, a lot of people said he was a people person.

This is what Lyrisadora had been told and she had found out herself, she found that people were more talkative when they were drunk and you were pretty and charming. It was also how she found out that Hugh Dayne liked brunettes with brown eyes, and knew how to handle their alcohol, apparently his four ex-girlfriend's had all been this.

It was why she had used a glamour charm to change her blonde hair to brunette, the holding her alcohol thing was a bit tricky, she wasn't so much of a light weight she had used to be, but her endurance wasn't at heavy drinking level. And there wasn't a quick fix potion for it either, though there were other means. A potion to make the consumption of liquids go slower was one thing that would keep her sober/borderline tipsy, another was simply to make sure she ate a whole heap of food beforehand.

Which made her stomach bloat, as she let out a burb, quickly regaining composer as she stepped into the pub, the sound of a piano playing filling her ears. The pub was warm, a number of candles giving it a soft glow, the smell of cigarettes filling her nostrils, the place didn't have many people in it; Monday seemed to be a slow night.

There were two less than savoury looking men playing cards in one corner of the room, a haggard looking woman passed out at one end of the bar. A balding man with flappy skin sat at the piano playing.

The red haired woman was at the bar, hair as red as the shiny lipstick she wore, the candles showing the olive touch to her skin. Hugh Dayne sat at the bar, a drink in his hand as he sat quietly, he looked to be in his late thirties, with thick light hair and tanned skin that said he was often outside in the sun. He looked sluggish looking, not handsome, but not ugly either, hard faced. She remembered that he liked confident woman, so she made sure she didn't look lost as she walked over to the bar.

The barmaid eyed her suspiciously. "You lost hun?" she inquired.

Lyrisadora smiled ruefully. "Just looking for a stronger type of drink," she answered casually, sitting down, Hugh Dyne looked over at her. "Think you can help me out?"

The woman smirked. "Coming right up, love," she replied, going off to get her a drink. Lyrisadora felt Dayne's eyes on her, she glanced down to check there wasn't too much cleavage showing. She had bound her hair in a messy bun, painted her lips red and added eye shadow to bring out her eyes, wanting to make herself look older than she was, Dayne's didn't like them too young. She had opted for dark brown robes, the dress made from a thin material and reached down to her knees, she wore a collared plain dark robe with cuffed sleeves, her knife hidden under her left sleeve, just to be safe. Her robes feeling tight around her waist, hugging her figure.

The barmaid soon returned with her drink, the liquid was pink and fizzed, and stunk, the portion was half a glass. "This one packs a punch," she commented slyly.

Lyrisadora smirked back, mirroring Adrian's cockiness, closing her eyes as she took a swig of it, it burned her throat and felt disgusting in her mouth, she forced the smirk to remain on her lips, as she forced bile down her throat, before downing it all in one, blinking away her tears. "That did it, thanks," she said evenly, her face the picture of pleasantries as she swallowed some vomit in her mouth, lightly licking her lips. "But it tasted like shit," she added bluntly.

The barmaid looked amused. "It's meant to get you pissed, it isn't meant to taste nice," she laughed, taking the empty glass away. "Another?"

"Think I'll settle on a Firewhisky," Lyrisadora responded in bemusement.

"Suit yourself," the barmaid replied, wondering off.

"Feeling better, beautiful?" Dayne questioned, next to her.

She glanced at him. "A little," she replied evenly, making her expression look amused.

"Any particular reason you came to this dismal abode?"

"I heard that you little shit!" the barmaid yelled from where she was pouring the Firewhisky.

Dayne's shot her a grin. "You know I love this place, Elsa," he tried to reassure, the woman rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath as she served Lyrisadora a drink.

"Fifteen sickles," the barmaid Elsa said, looking disgruntled as Lyrisadora gave her the money.

"Any chance of another round?" Dayne spoke innocently.

"Piss off," Elsa growled, summoning a mop to clean the pub floor.

"She loves me really," Dayne laughed, turning back to Lyrisadora.

"I can tell," Lyrisadora retorted in good humour, taking a sip of her drink, glad it washed away the bad taste in her mouth.

"Surprised you didn't throw up, most folks do," he continued. "And I don't mean to cause offence, but you don't look like much of a drinker," he added.

She smiled coyly. "I get that a lot. Been drinking since I was fourteen, Pa insisted," she joked. "Said I'd need to give those neighbourhood boys a run for their money," she lied pleasantly.

"Sounds like my type of man," Dayne commented. "Was he a good man?"

"He was," she responded, making her sure her voice sounded soft and sad.

"You got a name beautiful?"

"Eva," she answered.

"You got a last name?"

"Only when it suits me," she replied.

He grinned. "Smart girl. Name's Hugh Dayne," he introduced.

"Sounds French," she commented.

"Grandparents came to England in 1920's, never looked back," he explained. "Me on the other hand, love the place," he took a gulp of his drink. "You travel a lot?"

"Never had the money," she answered.

"You're missing out," he assured.

"I'll live," she retorted. "But you got a point and this country looks like it's going down the shit hole."

He grinned. "True, Merlin knows I won't be sticking around to find out."

She smiled. "What's France like?"

His face seemed to brighten. "Beautiful, though it has its ugly side, like everywhere else. But it's a good place, has good business to," he divulged.

She smirked. "Like the black market? A friend once told me he managed to get a dragon egg and all," she stated.

"Your friend must have been a rich man."

"I never said he paid for it," she retorted coyly, teeth emerging from her grin.

He laughed and ordered another round and another drink for her. "I'd do the same. You often hang about with thieves?"

His tone wasn't mocking or sneerful, but the question made her feel uneasy, so she hid it with a relaxed smile. "They're interesting people, doesn't mean I stick too close," she answered. "Who wants to live in a bubble all their life," she added.

"Only the rich and stupid," he responded.

"Exactly." She finished off her drink as he finished off his. "So what kind of work do you do?"

"I'm transporter," he answered.

"The legal or illegal kind?" she asked, adding a hint of wariness into her tone.

"Mostly both," he said, wiping his mouth. "Depends on what people want."

"I suppose that's why you travel a lot," she assumed, he nodded, he looked guarded on the subject, she tried to think of a way to lower it. "It a risky job?"

"Not really, you get the odd bastard, but it's a part of life," he argued.

"You ever had to transport….you know human cargo?"

He looked at her in alarm, she was afraid she had come on to strong, panic settling in as she masked it over with a curious look. "No, people ain't cargo."

She feigned realisation. "Shit, I didn't mean that," she protested, looking sheepish. "I meant like you know immigrants, who choose to move country," she tried to smooth it over.

He seemed less tense and smiled meekly. "Nah, not my line of work, that's more Syndicate work," he replied, before freezing, eyes widening a little, as though he revealed too much.

Lyrisadora hid a smile. "You okay?" she asked in concern. "The drink hasn't gotten to you has it?"

"No, just…nothing," he tried to brush it off with a smile. "Want another drink?"

"You've already bought me one," she laughed.

He grinned. "Let me buy you another then, not often I meet many pretty ladies as yourself."

"Cheesy much?" she chuckled. "You trying to get me pissed?" she asked, her tone teasing.

"Can you blame me?" he retorted.

She smiled at him playfully, hiding her uneasiness. "No, I suppose I can't….alright then, I'll have another one." His grin widened. "As long, as you get one to, let's see if you can outdrink me," she teased, her mind racing as she formed a plan.

Her endurance may not be able to endure too much alcohol, but she did have one trick up her sleeve, she had brought along a small vile, a tasteless clear potion that would weaken a person mind, impair their judgment and make them more talkative and increase their body temperature, as well as having amnesic after effects, a spiker to be more specific, it acted slowly, so the effects weren't immediate, she just needed an opportunity.

"You've got yourself a deal," he replied cheerfully. "Elsa, another round! For me and the pretty lady,"

"You'll be broke by the end of the night," Elsa replied in exasperation, but nevertheless started to pour two more drinks, seemingly used to this type of behaviour from him.

"It'll be worth it," he argued, before turning back to Lyrisadora. "So what kind of line of work are you in?"

She tried to turn the conversation back onto the smuggling information. "Right now? Just a hairdresser, but I don't plan on staying there too long, they're all a pack of bitches really," she answered, he looked amused. "Not really sure what I should do with my life, which is pretty sad seeing how I'm twenty four."

"Bullshit, you're still in your prime," he protested. "Plenty of time to figure your life out."

Elsa served their drinks, Lyrisadora looked for the right moment to make her move, her purse resting on her lap, the two men playing cards were leaving and the woman at the end of the bar was still asleep, the sound of the piano still rung. "Speak from experience?" she asked cheekily as she carefully took the vile from her purse, concealing it in her hand.

"Sort of, I started out after I left school, couldn't wait to leave, didn't have the grades to get a high end job, so worked my way up another way," he explained. "Worked under someone for a while, gained some experience, got some connections, then started smuggling on my own." He took a sip. And idea struck her, when she saw the barmaid was distracted, she took a sip of her drink, before frowning. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's too warm, can you ask her for more ice?" she asked. "I don't want to sound like a stuck up bitch, so could you ask for a bucket," she whispered, smiling at him charmingly.

"Sure thing," he replied, turning away. "Elsa, can you bring some ice over?"

Lyrisadora undid the vile's lid and rested her arm on the bar counter. "How much?" Elsa asked, looking up from her cleaning.

"A bucket," he replied, not noticing as Lyrisadora slipped the potion into his drink, before resting her chin on her fist. He turned back to her a second later.

"Thanks," she said. "So, does it bring in good money?" Smiling once she saw him take a gulp of his drink, she lowered her hand back onto her lap, slipping the vile back into her purse.

"Sometimes, depends on what I'm transporting," he answered, more or less repeating himself.

"You ever had to compete with other smugglers?" Keeping her tone innocent curiosity.

He swallowed a dry lump in his throat, taking another gulp of his drink. "Not many, except for the big guns, they tend to try and intimidate me," he answered.

"They sound like bastards," she commented.

He grunted. "They are, bloody sadistic ones and all," he confessed bitterly.

"You ever get scared?"

He scoffed. "Nah, wouldn't let those garlic shits get the better of my pride," he replied, starting to become more talkative. "Besides I'm careful, they'd never catch me."

"They sound pretty powerful," she said, looking at him with concern, noticing his pupils had dilated more, she smiled, the neckline of her dress lowering. "Is it a group of them?" Daring to be more forthright, keeping her eyes locked with his, using some of her occlumancy to be a little persuasive with his weakened mind.

"Yeah," he replied, looking a little dazed, having to blink.

"They sound dangerous," she whispered, quickly glancing up to see Elsa disappear into the back room to get the ice. She licked her lips. "I like a bit of danger," she added, drawing him back in.

"Do you?" he questioned quietly, looking confused.

"Life's so boring, yours seems so fascinating," she complimented. "You have to deal with people like the-what did you call them earlier?"

He blinked rapidly. "S-syndicate," he muttered, looking away, she slipped a smooth hand under his chin, drawing his gaze back to her.

"They sound dangerous," she whispered.

"They are," he murmured, his face hot, his body temperature having risen.

"How did you meet them?"

"Friend…Freddy introduced me, they beat the shit outa me."

"You're tough for putting up with that," she spoke softly, placing hand on his thigh. "The leader must be sadistic."

"He is," Dayne assured, eyes locked on hers.

"What's his name?"

"Jenik,"

"That's a strange name to call your child," she lied, trying to see if the name was fake.

"I don't know his real name," he replied. Elsa came out of the store room with a bucket of ice. Lyrisadora removed her hands and took a sip of her drink.

Dayne seemed to try and shake out of his daze. "Thanks Elsa," he said dazedly when she placed the ice on the counter..

Elsa frowned at him, before glancing at his half-finished drink. "Looks like the drink's getting to you hun," she commented, shaking her head as she walked off.

"Yeah," he replied quietly to himself.

"You alright there Hugh," Lyrisadora asked warmly.

"Yeah, looks like you out drank me," he laughed,

"I told you I could hold my drink," she cooed. "It's getting late, you want to walk me home like a gentleman?" she teased, noticing how his eyes brightened at the thought.

"Wouldn't be right if I didn't," he agreed.

She nodded. "Let me just go freshen up first." Getting up to make her way over to the toilets.

He still looked dazed. "Okay."

She didn't come back.

* * *

><p>She escaped out of the window into the street, streetlamps the only source of light, dark clouds covering up the stars, she removed the glamour charm from her hair before placing her wand back in her inner robe pocket. She quickly gained some distance from the pub, escaping into a back alley. When a hand grabbed her from behind, muffling her scream as he held her tightly.<p>

"Don't you look nice," a gruff voice whispered, as he forced her into the shadows under a side alley, his arms beefy and strong, a wand pointed at her stomach. She panic when she felt his hardness pressing into her but. Her chest heaved as she tried to think rationally, recoiling in disgust when she felt him smell her hair. "Stay still," he muttered, his hand moving to the clasp of her robe, while still holding his wand against her.

Her fingers clasped the air desperately for the knife hidden on her left wrist, her right arm trapped behind her back, her wand in the inner part of her robe and out of her reach. The man opening her outer robe, and lowering his hand under her dress. She bent her arm to force the knife to pop out. Eyes scrunched up in disgust.

She felt her capture stiffen, catching sight of a red light from the corner of her eye. When his grip slacked she whipped around, knife drawn as she went to slice his face, but she missed and slit his throat in a swerving motion, knife already by her side by the time she realised.

She froze, eyes wide like galleons as she watched the bald man fall to the floor, her blow knocking him against the wall as he slumped down, blood splattered up her left sleeve. "Are you okay?" a familiar voice rang in her ears, she jumped and swirled around, knife drawn and her eyes frantic. Stopping when the figure backed off, her eyes widening to an impossible size once she realised it was Adrian. "Hey, it's okay," he reassured hastily, hands raised.

"Adrian?" she squeaked, lowering her bloody knife.

"Yeah, I...stunned him when I saw…," his voice took on a hard edge, as he swallowed. "I didn't want to hit you by mistake, so I played it safe," he added coldly, stepping closer.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned, adrenaline still pumping through her veins as she refused to look at the dead man slumped behind her, hidden by the shadows. The man she killed. She felt bile in her throat.

"I had a meeting with someone," he replied curtly, looking over at the dead man, walking past her to get a better look. "Glad to see my gift came in handy."

She watched him apprehensively as he went to get a closer look. "He's dead?" Wanting clarification as she stepped closer.

"Yep," Adrian said, looking over him in grim satisfaction. "Impressive work to, a little too clean though," he added idly. "I wanted to castrate him first."

She paused, fully aware that he wasn't joking, and at the same time not feeling surprised. In fact not feeling much of anything anymore, her adrenaline fading, replaced by a thick hollowness and lack of empathy. "Thanks," she murmured.

He looked over at her, before taking her hand. "How do you feel?" The words sounding a little artificial.

"I'm not sure," she replied quietly. There was a silence, the evening air feeling damp.

"He wanted to rape you, you shouldn't feel guilty," Adrian pointed out.

She was annoyed that he assumed she was. "I don't feel guilty," she corrected, her voice a little more firmly. "I'm not even mad," she added.

"Good," he replied, giving her hand a comforting squeeze before letting go.

"What now?" she asked him, not sure if they should just leave the body.

"We'll need to dump the body, come on," he instructed, rolling up his sleeves.

Lyrisadora thought for a moment. "The sewers, we can dump him there," she advised, remembering the Fafnir.

"Alright then, the sewers it is."

So they did, they took the dead man who had no name and apparated to the sewer entrance. The familiar dank smell filled her nostrils, but she ignored it, both of them silent as they dumped the body, before heading back the way they came, pausing at the exit to listen.

As if on cue, there was a series of hissing, biting and slurping, they didn't stay to hear the rest.

* * *

><p>She burned her blood stained outer robe, before they headed to the Leaky Cauldron, where Adrian bought her a hot chocolate. She wore his outer robe as a replacement for hers, her wand, purse and ,now spotless, knife resting on her lap. "Thanks for being there," she muttered, looking down at her drink. "He probably would have….you know…" Refusing to say the word.<p>

Adrian shrugged it off. "You would have managed to kill him before that, bastard would have got a right shocker," he reassured.

"Maybe," she mumbled.

There was a pause. Adrian looked at her thoughtfully, before taking her hand, lifting it from her lap. "It'll be alright," he said placidly, his thumb rubbing soothingly into her hand.

She looked at him, managing a small smile. "Hopefully," she said.

Adrian smiled reassuringly, before something seemed to occur to him. "Why were you out wondering around Knockturn alley in the first place?" His thump stopped rubbing her hand.

It was hard not to tense, the control over her body weakened from alcohol and her shaken up state. "It was a mission for…._him_," she answered quietly. "Information gathering," she added, making sure to look him in the eye.

Adrian's eyes narrowed the tiniest bit, before he shrugged dismissively. "Typical. He didn't make you have sex with anyone did he?" Adrian questioned, eyeing her attire suspiciously.

Lyrisadora forced a chuckle. "No, not his style," she assured, taking a large sip of her hot chocolate, it burned her tongue.

"Good," he responded, removing his hand. "People should respect our relationship."

She frowned. "So what you're saying is that I'm not allowed to sleep with other people?" she inquired irritably. "Yet you're allowed to sleep around as much as you like?"

"Exactly."

"Fuck off," she spat, eyes narrowing. "If you're allowed to sleep around, then so am I."

Adrian pouted. "But you're _mine_." Her eyes narrowed more. "Do you even want to have sex with other people? I thought that wasn't your style."

She folded her arms, eyeing him sternly. "I might want to in the future, just like I'd like it if you were more careful when you sleep around, I don't want to catch something," she argued.

"I use protection, more than recommended actually," he protested.

"I'd still feel better if you cut down more."

He looked like he was having an inner struggle, she didn't understand why sex was such a big deal in his life, and it seemed borderline addiction at times. "If I did…I'd need you to support me through it."

"Of course I-"

"By support, I mean have regular sex at least four to five times a week," he explained, making her stop.

"Oh, well….okay," she replied cautiously, it had been nice sex. "I can work with that. But if I'm tired and don't want to some days, then you have to respect."

"Well it wouldn't be any fun if you just laid there," he retorted. "Okay it's a deal. So we're in agreement," Adrian decided.

She nodded warily, taking another sip of her drink. "Whatever works best."

* * *

><p><em>9th April 1996<em>

"When can I join?" Draco asked at breakfast, the meal having been previously a quiet affair.

Lyrisadora froze, as did her mother and father. "Excuse me?" she inquired quietly, raising her gaze to her brother's.

Draco seemed a little more subdued by their reactions. "I mean I'll be seventeen soon enough, and I want to join the cause," he continued.

Her father seemed to have finally found his voice. "You'll join when the time is right," he tried to reassure.

Her brother frowned. "Lyra's a member and she isn't even out of school yet," he argued.

"That was a different….situation," Lucius replied, his tone taking on more of a demanding one. Draco looked like he was about to protest. "This isn't the time to discuss this, Draco," he reprimanded, narrowing his gaze warningly.

Lyrisadora kept her gaze focused on her brother, her shock slowly turning into anger at his stupidity and ignorance. Her mother had turned a deathly pale. "And you shouldn't be so eager," Narcissa argued coldly, a concerned frown on her face. "You're still too young."

"Lyra-"

"Draco shut up," Lyrisadora interrupted coldly. "Mother's right."

Anger radiated from her brother's gaze. "You're only two years older than me," he continued to argue. "What makes you more capable to join than me?" he snapped, his voice holding a hint of bitterness and a drop of jealousy.

"Draco," their father warned.

"No let him speak," Lyrisadora spat. "Let's see how stupid he really is," she rebuked angrily. "I mean Merlin, just hear him, so eager to murder." Hot tears prickled her eyes as she forced them back.

"Shut up," Draco spat, his eyes narrowing.

Her glare didn't waver. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"Enough!" Their mother yelled, her sharp gaze fixed on them both. "Stop arguing at once," she instructed sternly, effectively silencing them both. "If it was up to me none of you would be a part of it," she confessed bitterly, refusing to look at any of them.

Draco looked at his mother in surprise, while Lucius eyed his wife anxiously. "Narcissa…" he said, indicating that she should be careful what she said.

A brief look flashed across her mother's face, something that resembled hatred and anger. "I know," she replied tightly, focusing her annoyed gaze at the wall opposite.

Lyrisadora held her fork tightly, feeling Draco's gaze on her. The atmosphere feeling suffocating. "I'm going out," she declared dully, her chair screeching as she got up.

"We're having breakfast," Narcissa exclaimed, looking up at her daughter in indignation. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be back later," Lyrisadora replied quietly, already walking out of the dining room.

Narcissa looked like she was about to get up and drag her back to her seat, until her father spoke up. "Just let her go," her father interjected tiredly.

And he must have looked it, as Narcissa paused, before picking up her knife and fork as the sound of the front door shutting echoed.

* * *

><p>Diagon alley was quiet when Lyrisadora walked down the street, she supposed it was because it was still early in the morning, the sun still low in the sky and the shops only just beginning to open their doors.<p>

Her anger still present, as she thought of her family, she paused as she passed Flourish and Blotts. She hadn't read a good book in a while, it would be a good distraction, something to take her mind of Voldemort, the mission, and the whole becoming a murderer thing. The bell chimed when she opened the door, the familiar smell of books offering comfort. The shop assistant seemed occupied with putting out new stock and barely spared her a glance.

Lyrisadora examined the fiction section of the store, scanning the array of books lined up in alphabetical order, a certain title caught her eyes, a white book called _The Van_ in bold red letters, by a Mr Roddy Doyle. She picked it up and examined the blurb on the back, it was a book about a couple of friends who got laid off from work and decided it run a chippy van together, it was listed as a comedy.

The book was Muggle, so she doubted she'd get all the jokes, but it would serve as a proper distraction, besides she might even learn something.

Once she paid for the book, she ended up having another milkshake inside _Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour_. She would have preferred a cup of tea, but the only tea shop available in the street was _Rosa lee Tea bags_ and it's over use of frills and pinks gave her unpleasant reminders, plus their tea was always too overly sweet and milky. The cake was good though.

She sipped her mint milkshake as she read the book in her hand, the owner Mr Fortescue busy cleaning the tables. There wasn't any other customers, so it was quiet, she found herself relaxing as she read, the book was even funny, she didn't get all the jokes, but she go the gist of a lot of them, she actually found herself smiling after she finished the first chapter.

However her peace was short lived when she caught sight of ginger hair and the opening of the shop door. "Lyra my girl," Fred exclaimed brightly, George beside him as they exchanged wide grins, both looking more chipper than usual.

"Never took you for a milkshake loving girl," George stated, walking over, before looking to Mr Fortescue. "The usual hazelnut supreme for me," he stated.

"I'll have the Raspberry explosion," Fred said, handing George the money before sitting down opposite Lyrisadora.

"That'll be One Galleon and two sickles," Mr Fortescue replied, drawing it up on the cash register.

Lyrisadora sighed quietly and folded away her book. "So, what brings you two down here?" she questioned, watching a George came back from paying and pulled up a chair next to his brother.

"Business," Fred answered.

"Since when do you two have business to attend to?" she inquired.

"Since we realised our true genius," George responded cheerfully. "We're going to be moving up in the world my dear. The business world to be exact."

"Business in what? The criminal underworld?" She questioned.

"Ever the charmer," Fred remarked. "But no, we're opening a joke shop a couple of doors down. _Weazy Wizards Galore_."

She raised an eyebrow at the name. George caught the look. "The name is still a working process," George argued.

"I see," she replied slowly, the twin's ice cream appearing on the table.

"Thanks, Fortescue!" George exclaimed, before he dug in.

"Well, I'm happy for you, and it sounds like a good opportunity," she praised sincerely, a joke shop was something that they'd be good at, after all they already sold most of their merchandise around school anyway. "So when are you thinking of opening it?"

"After we graduate," Fred answered, swallowing a mouthful of ice cream. "We've already bought the shop, just have to spruce it up, we've already got a good heap of our own merchandise ready."

"Just need to get some orders from America sorted, but we'll get those imported when business starts building," George explained.

"Seems like you know what you're doing," she commented.

"You sound surprised, I'm hurt," George pouted.

"It was meant to be a compliment," she retorted dryly, her lip tugging upwards. "So stop being so dramatic."

George smiled. "Thanks," he responded.

"So now that news is out of the way," Fred exclaimed, looking at Lyrisadora curiously. "Let's talk about a little engagement we heard about through the grape vine," he added, leaning in.

"To a certain capital A-hole," George quipped, leaning in as well.

She sipped her milkshake in feigned disinterest. "What about it?"

"Don't try to be cute," Fred retorted.

"Did you get brain damage at some point or were you forced into this?" George replied, trying to make it all sound light-hearted.

"It was entirely consensual, I assure you," she argued, looking at them firmly, an amused smile forming from their concern. "I've got that prat wrapped around my finger," she reassured.

"He's still a tosser," George stated. "You could have done better," he added, before freezing, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks, making him frown in frustration. "You know what I mean," he continued irritably.

She pretended not to notice his embarrassment, shrugging in response. "We have an arrangement," she replied, sounding vague, they looked at her with interest, she didn't want to explain further. "Besides, I like him," she admitted, something she'd never admit to Adrian in person. "He's never boring." The twins didn't seem to know how to respond to this, looking at her in confusion, she didn't really expect them to understand.

* * *

><p>When she next saw Draco, she had been in the library, sitting in the armchair she usually occupied, while a large candle provided light.<p>

"You don't even believe in the cause," he had said, a frown on his face, as he kept a distance between her.

Her face remained blank as she looked at him, wondering what he hoped to gain from this. "Don't you think you should just let this go?" she spoke nonchalantly.

He bristled, his jaw tightening. "You think I'm too stupid don't you?" he accused.

"Among many other reasons," she drawled, pausing when she saw a flash of hurt appear on his face, before he brushed it away. She sat up straighter and sighed, she really didn't want to have to deal with him while he was like this. "Look, being a Death Eater isn't all it's cracked up to be, it's one thing to admire their actions and another to actually be them," she tried to explain. "You have to torture and kill a lot of people."

"I could handle that," he tried to argue, but failed to sound genuinely confident. "Mudbloods need to be taught their place."

_Why was she even bothering? _She thought miserably. "You're not a murderer Draco," she said firmly. "You couldn't do it."

"And you could?" he sneered.

She felt herself go cold inside, her eyes looking dead. "I already have," she replied, icy gaze locking with his. Her brother tensed, his eyes widening. "And I don't feel any regret, which I'm not quite sure to take as a good or bad thing, but I suppose morally it's bad." She sighed. "I'm a murderer, father's a murderer, and it changes you…makes you realise things."

"I could handle it," he persisted, his voice shaking a little, Lyrisadora shakes her head in doubtfulness. "I could," he speaks firmer, his anger returning. "I'm not useless, I know father thinks I am, but I'm not," he protested.

"Why would you think father thought you were useless?" she questioned, her brow furrowing.

Draco's cheeks were blotchy pink, his eyes narrowed and jaw tight. "Because….because he thinks you're better, at everything," he spat enviously, before storming off, the revelation kicking in.

Her eyes widened in realisation.

* * *

><p><strong>I felt more uncomfortable writing about Lyra using a rape potion that her actually murdering someone, I'm not sure which is more morally wrong. <strong>

**Thanks for the reviews!**


	70. Curiosity killed the cat

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Lemony Snicket, horseradish **

**WARNING: Torture, swearing, sexual implications, death**

* * *

><p><strong>It is difficult, when faced with a situation you cannot control, to admit you can do nothing.<strong>

**Chapter: Curiosity killed the cat**

* * *

><p>She didn't see Draco for the remainder of the evening, until dinner. Like how breakfast started out, it was a quiet affair, none of the Malfoy's were properly engaging in conversation, the breakfast fiasco still reeling.<p>

She stabbed at her potatoes with her fork, occasionally glancing up at Draco opposite her, he looked like the equivalent of a kicked puppy, which was unusual seeing how he normally couldn't keep his mouth shut. "So," she spoke cautiously, moving her potatoes around her plate, mixing them with her roast duck. "The weather seems nice," she commented.

Her father arched an eyebrow, her mother managing a polite smile, Draco didn't even look up. "Yes, summer should be wonderful," Narcissa replied evenly. "I had the house-elves re-plant the roses near the east wing," she continued.

"They'll brighten up the yard," Lyrisadora said, smiling pleasantly.

"I know," her mother replied, taking a sip of her drink. "Have you heard news on Adrian's father?"

"No, he doesn't like to talk about it," Lyrisadora answered, forcing a smile.

"Well his mother has returned to Italy again," her mother informed. "Which is a tad, peculiar, but apparently she had a family affair to attend to," she divulged, tone sceptical.

"Shame, she seemed so friendly," Lyrisadora retorted, catching a slight amused look from her mother, before it quickly disappeared.

"I know," Narcissa concurred, there was a pause. "When his father is well enough, we should discuss your living arrangements for the future," her mother added, looking at her a little more seriously. "Also, I think it best if you visits with Adrian were supervised."

This was something Lyrisadora most definitely did not want to discuss. "Mother," she sighed warily, rolling her eyes.

"You don't want people talking," her mother continued, looking over at Lucius. "Your father and I both agree that certain…etiquette should be practiced."

Lyrisadora raised an eyebrow at this. "I see, beg my intrusion mother, but was said etiquette used when you and father courted?"

Her mother bristled and her father shot her a reprimanding look. "_Lyrisadora,"_ he warned.

"I was just making a point," Lyrisadora protested, shrugging as she took a bite of her food. "Besides it's like you said, we shouldn't discuss this until later."

"I just don't want you making a mistake," her mother sighed.

Lyrisadora couldn't help but wince at the labelling of her conception as being a 'mistake'. "Just…trust me, mother, I know what I'm doing," she reassured, offering her mother a warm look.

Her mother sighed. "You're as stubborn as your father," she muttered, frowning in annoyance.

Lyrisadora tensed a little at the comparison. Her mother looked over at Draco in concern, her face softening. "Sweetheart, are you not hungry?"

"Just not feeling well," he replied reluctantly, dropping his fork on his plate. "May I be excused?"

Her father's eyes narrowed. "No, dinner is family time," he replied evenly, which Lyrisadora thought summed up their family beautifully. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she watched her brother's reaction. His fist visibly clenched, he was quiet for a moment, as if he was undecided in what he wanted to say, she was curious to see if he would have the guts to point out the blatant hypocrisy. Her father seemed to notice this to, as he looked at Draco like he was a misbehaving child. "Is something wrong?" Lucius inquired callously. Lyrisadora eyed her father coldly, he could be such a dick.

"No," Draco replied lowly, briefly glancing up at him, before taking a bite of his food.

And that pretty much killed the atmosphere.

* * *

><p>She hesitated when she reached the door to Draco's bedroom door, taking a deep breath as she tried to re-run in her head what she was going to say. But this was uncharted territory, her and Draco rarely ever spoke about their feelings, they hadn't since they were children.<p>

So how exactly was she meant to tackle this? She had no idea how long this had been building up, especially since she had chosen to ignore it for a good six years. Draco was the favourite, it was obvious, he was the youngest, he was a boy and most importantly, he hadn't been a mistake.

Draco was the one father taught to fly a broom, the one he had taught to play Quidditch, the one who was spoiled rotten. He never had to be the responsible one, the one who had to lead by example and shrive for perfect behaviour, father never had demanded he study in his spare time, but…. he had compared Draco to her more and more once she attended Hogwarts. And her brother had only occasionally witnessed their father reprimand her or express disappointment in her.

"I know you're there," Draco's muffled voiced called from the other side of the door.

This jolted her out of her musing, releasing a deep sigh, before she opened the door. Draco was sat at his desk, scribbling messily onto a piece of parchment. "Hi," she greeted quietly, closing the door behind her, he didn't look up. She looked around his room, stepping towards the centre, noting the unmade bed, slightly pulled out draws, grey curtains drawn. It seemed her mother had redecorated his bedroom while they had been at school, the usual emerald green colours more metallic, wooden floor replaced with a lush grey carpet. Her eyes lingered on a small pile of older looking newspapers near his bedside. "Starting a collection?" she commented, frowning in distain when she realised they were newspapers documenting the Death Eater attacks from the first Wizarding war.

Draco actually deigned to look up at her this time. "If you're here to lecture me, you can piss off," he retorted.

"No need to be rude," she replied mildly, watching as he stood up to face her. "I wanted to talk, it seemed overdue," she continued, stepping closer to him. "Mainly about what you said in the library," she breached the subject carefully. His eyes darted away from her, his body language guarded, but he remained silent. It looked like she'd be doing most of the talking, she tried to think of a way to get him to understand. "I know father is distant, among many other things, but I think you have him misunderstood."

"That's rich, coming from you," Draco spoke up, his tone biting. "I know you two don't get along anymore."

She paused. "True, I'm angry with him for.…a great many things," she confessed. "But I do understand him, and I understand why he treated us how he did, now more than ever."

"Go on…" Draco urged uncomfortably, glancing at her.

She swallowed. "I always knew I was smart, father did to, and it's why he pushed me so much. I was his little genius off to outdo all the other children. And when you were born he told me I had to set an example, that I had the responsibility for being the oldest," she began to explain, forcing the hurt out of her voice, making sure she kept her tone even. "Everything he taught me I soaked up like a sponge, he mostly treated me like I was a mini-adult. Don't get me wrong, I liked spending time with him, but he felt more like a teacher for most of it. And then I'd see him teaching you how to fly, having fun, and I was…..jealous."

Draco frowned. "He still respected you, he actually believed you could achieve something," he exclaimed. "The only thing he thought I was good for was a thief and a blunderer, remember?"

She looked at her brother sadly, stepping closer to him. "The thing is though, it often felt like he treated me more like a protégé than his daughter," she spoke. "I know he's demanding and I'm sorry if I made things worse, I want to fix this." Draco didn't respond. "Talk to me, Draco plese," she found herself getting desperate.

There was a pause. "You know, when you got sorted into Slytherin, he wouldn't stop going on about it, it was even worse when he got your grades after Christmas," he said quietly. "Said you'd set a standard," he added bitterly.

"Well he always was a patronising ass wasn't he?" she remarked bitterly, frowning at her father's actions. When she looked at her brother her face softened, reaching out to touch his arm. "You don't need-" she was cut off when she felt the dark mark burn, a shiver running down her spine. "I have to go," she said, forcing her voice to stay even, making her way towards the door. "We'll finish this later," she promised, looking back over at him, noting the deflated look he gave her. "_Promise."_ Shooting him a reassuring smile before leaving.

* * *

><p>"Welcome back Ly-Ly," Bellatrix cooed, when Lyrisadora joined the rest of the Death Eaters in the meeting hall.<p>

Lyrisadora gave her a contemptuous look, before standing next to her uncle Rodolphus, at least he seemed semi-sane. The Dark Lord eyed them intently, she recognised the rest of the Death Eaters in the room, seeing how none of them were wearing their masks at the present time, and there were five of them all together, Lyrisadora included. Dolohov, Bellatrix, Rabastian and Rodolphus.

And then the Dark Lord spoke, voice demanding their entire attention. He told them they were to go to Landing lane, an isolated house near the fields of Haxby in York, The Willow family lived there, a family of three, a man and a woman along with their son. She felt a sick sensation in her stomach, knowing what would come next. "…Find out how much they know about our plans with the prophecy and then kill them," the Dark Lord explained lightly. "Make sure to make it look like a Werewolf attack."

Lyrisadora swallowed a nasty taste in her mouth, her stomach aching in disgust, the rest of the Death Eaters didn't seem perturbed at the thought of it, more curious as to why their master was letting them loose for the first time in months, he had been very clear that he had wanted them to be covert until he properly infiltrated the ministry. The Dark Lord seemed to sense their collective confusion. "Auror Augustus Willows believes in my return and has started gaining evidence of my activities of late, and unfortunately he seems very good at his job. I want him removed," he explained. "Have it done by the end of tonight."

Throughout the entire meeting the Dark Lord had barely looked at her, which she decided to take as a good thing rather than a bad. The tone of his voice made it very clear that another failure would not be tolerated. So they didn't have to be told twice, once they received a map of the location and the perimeter of wards surrounding the place, they were off.

They arrived half a mile away from the house so they wouldn't trip any wards. Lyrisadora slipped her mask down along with the others, minus Rabastian who had lit up a cigarette, his mask pulled over his head, much to Bellatrix's frustration. "Put it out before we're seen Rabastian," she hissed.

"I doubt they have ultra-night vision Bella, so I think we'll be fine," he remarked patronisingly. Rabastian took a leisurely drag and eyed the woman callously. "I haven't had a good drag before a mission for over fourteen years, so piss off."

Her aunt's eyes narrowed under her mask. "You little shi-"

Rodolphus sighed, clearly this was usual business. "Rab, just hurry it up, we don't have time for this," he reprimanded in exasperation.

Rabastian took another long drag, much to everyone's frustration, before stamping the cigarette bud out and pulling his mask down over his face. "Right, let's do this." When they came to the borderline of the wards, Rabastian let out a low whistle. "This man knows his wards."

Dolohov examined the invisible magic. "It stretches from here to the other side, looks like a perfect circle," he divulged. He looked over at Rabastian, who appeared to be the expert in this. "How many layers?"

Rabastian held out a bare hand, as if tracing the magic. "Three, this one sets off an alarm, Middle one electrocutes us and….hm, not sure what the inner one does, I'm guessing it knocks us back."

"How powerful?" Bellatrix asked.

Rabastian paused, scrutinising the air. "Decent enough, looks like it was done by one man, so we can break them easy enough. Only problem is the alarm being set off when we break through the first one," he explained.

Lyrisadora's brow furrowed, despite the fact they were about to commit a heinous act, the fact they couldn't get through the wards was a problem that needed solving. "We'll wait until they're asleep then," Rodolphus decided.

Bellatrix didn't seem pleased by this. "It'll take too long, what if he pulls an all nighter?" she argued. "Fat lot of good you turned out to be," she rounded on Rabastian in frustration.

Rabastian's eyes narrowed. "I don't see you sprouting out any useful suggestions," he retorted.

"I'm not the one who's meant to be a ward specialist," she countered.

"I don't have _all _the answers," Rabastian snapped. "Even magic has its limits."

"Will you two shut up," Rodolphus groaned, massaging his temples, their arguing appearing to give him a headache.

"Wait a second," Dolohov spoke, halting the quibbling Lestranges. "The wards recognise dark magic users, right?" he asked Rabastian.

Rabastian nodded. "They used to use them a lot in the old days," he said.

"But _she's_ not a dark witch," Dolohov pointed out, looking over at Lyrisadora.

Lyrisadora felt a painful sinking feeling in her stomach, as all eyes turned on her. "You're right," Bellatrix murmured, eyes lighting up with malice. "Her magic's _grey_, she reeks of it."

Lyrisadora swallowed a lump in her throat, caught off guard that they could actually tell what type of magic was within her, she wondered if it was something only a Light/Dark magic user could do. "Yes, what of it…" she questioned warily, fully aware of what they were getting at.

"Will it work?" Rodolphus asked his brother.

"It should," Rabastian mused. "She should be able to dissolve it from the inside, without triggering the alarm."

"Then let's do it," Bellatrix said firmly, eyes narrowing at her niece. "Think you can handle that blondie?" she cooed.

Lyrisadora eyed her aunt challengingly "Piss off," she murmured, walking towards the ward, hesitating as the rest of them watched her intently, perfectly ready to go for plan B if she failed. One way or another, the Willows family were going to be killed by the end of the night.

When she passed through the first ward it was the same feeling she had felt when routinely passing through her own family home's wards. Swallowing a deep breath as she lowered the first outer ward, struggling a little as she tried to find a weak spot. The wards burning up, letting them pass through. "Nice job," Rodolphus told her as they continued on, shooting her a brief smile.

She paused at the middle ward, looking over at her uncle Rabastian. "Now what?" she asked.

"Leave the rest to us honey," Bellatrix remarked, blasting a spell at the second ward, Dolohov and Rodolphus did the same. The ward dissolved silently, burning away like satin cloth.

The house was right behind the hedge, one last ward remaining, Rabastian looked it over intently. "It's a _globe_," he told his brother.

Rodolphus nodded in acknowledgement and pointed his wand at the ward. "_Voc Dis_," he hissed, a jet of dark green light shooting out, causing the last ward shattering.

"Go," Bellatrix growled, in one swift motion they all got over the hedge and advanced on the house, the five Death Eaters taking flight, kicking the door off its hinges, landing in the parlour area, the glass of scotch dropping from Mr Willows hand.

Lyrisadora ducked when the Auror shot a curse at her, his wife screaming. "Connie get out!" the fierce looking Auror screamed.

Bellatrix was shaking in excitement as she ran after the wife. "Lyra, deal with the son," Rodolphus instructed sharply while he and his brother duelled the Auror. Dolohov helping Bellatrix take down Mrs Willows in the living room.

Lyrisadora dodged a curse as she made her way out of the room. Mr Willows' eyes were ablaze. "Andy! Andrew run! Get out!" he screamed, voice echoing throughout the house.

"Get a move on!" Rodolphus yelled at her.

She ran, deflecting a deadly curse from Mrs Willows while she made her way upstairs. Her mind was in shambles, body operating on autopilot. Should she let the child go, pretend he slipped away? Then what? Just watch the child get hunted down and killed, or by some miracle he gets away and reports the crime to the ministry and have Voldemort torture her to insanity? Either way he was a loose end. She felt physically sick. One way or another the whole family was going to die.

She heard a scream from downstairs, then her aunt's laughter. The son's bedroom was decorated with stars on walls, the wallpaper enchanted with a series of shooting stars. Clothes littered the floor, toys as well, she shut the door behind her.

She listened out, hearing the faint breaths of another in the room. She walked over to the window, the handle looking like it had been budged, taking note that it was locked. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Come on kid, you need to come out," she said tiredly, there was silence. "I'm going to find you either way, trust me, it's better I do then the others."

There was the sound of a shift coming from the closet, she walked over and opened the door. She looked down to see the boy curled up, in flannel pyjama bottoms and a grey t-shirt, grey eyes wide like tennis balls, he barely looked eight years old. "Who are you?" he muttered fearfully.

"Malfoy get a move on!" Dolohov yelled from downstairs.

"Give me a minute!" she yelled back, catching the boy; she believed was called, Andy? Flinch at the yelling. "Come on," she said, attempting to be as gentle as possible.

"No," he protested, trying to wriggle out of her hold, she pulled up her mask, feeling he'd respond better to a more human face.

"Malfoy!"

Andy stilled for a moment when he saw her face. "It's going to be okay," she lied, forcing him to his feet, gripping his shoulders tightly as she got down to his level. He looked at her with wide eyes, straight brown hair dishevelled and worried creases etched on his round baby like face. "It won't last long, it'll be over before you know it," she tried to reassure, feeling vile inside, he looked at her in confusion.

"What's happening?" he murmured.

She swallowed a painful knot down her throat, pulling her mask back down before standing up and grabbing his hand, taking him away.

"Well it's about time," Bellatrix snapped when Lyrisadora and the boy entered the living room.

Lyrisadora squeezed Andy's hand tightly when she saw his beat up looking parents bound on the living room floor, Rabastian, Dolohov, Bellatrix and Rodolphus standing around them in a circle. Mr Willows caught sight of his son, his gaze turning frantic. "N-no, no just let him go!" He started to struggle. "Just fucking leave them alone!" he cried, his wife silently screaming at them through the silencio charm.

Bellatrix kicked him to the ground. "It's a little too late for that now isn't it?" she chimed sweetly, before she turned her icy stare to Lyrisadora. "Bring him over." Her voice turning hard.

Lyrisadora hesitated, but complied when her aunt's eyes narrowed warningly, gently pushing the boy over to his mother. "Mom what's happening?" he whispered in panic, wrapping his arms around her neck as she cried, snuggling into her son's embrace.

Bellatrix seemed to relish in it all. "There we go, all the family together," she laughed.

Something animalistic flashed across Mr Willows face, as he lunged for her. "I'll-"

Rodolphus knocked him back. "_Crucio_," he cursed tonelessly, watching the man scream in agony.

Bellatrix squealed with joy. "My turn!" she exclaimed, aiming her wand at Mrs Willows. Andy's mother pushed him out of the way as the curse was fired at her. "Lift the silencio Rabastian," Bellatrix instructed brightly.

Mrs Willows and Mr Willows screams combined were so piercing, that it physically hurt, Lyrisadora flinched violently as she watched. Their son watched in horror, tears streaming down his face. "Stop it!" he yelled, rushing over to try and help, Lyrisadora levitated him by the ankle, Bellatrix would not take kindly to any interruptions. Her insides twisted in self-loathing when she saw his terrified expression. She propped him back down to bind him.

Rodolphus released the Crucio, expression terrifying. Bellatrix followed his lead and released her curse on Mrs Willows, albeit reluctant. "We know about your investigation into the prophecy Willows," Rodolphus began, circling the man like a predator. "Tell us what we want to know and we'll make this quick, I'll even make sure the little one doesn't suffer," he bargained, Mrs Willows let out a heart wrenching sob.

Augustus Willows shook violently. "I didn't tell anyone about the investigation," he confessed.

"What about The Order?" Rodolphus persisted.

"I don't know about-" Bellatrix shot another Crucio his way, making him scream.

Rodolphus smiled at him grimly. "Hurry up, before my wife starts getting creative," he warned over the agonising screams.

"I-I-DON'T-Ahhhh!" the Auror screamed. Rodolphus shot his wife a look, she took the hint and removed the curse, allowing the man to speak. "I don't know-about any Order!" he ground out.

Rodolphus didn't look convinced. "_Adolebit_," he uttered, Mr Willows started screaming again, his body contorting. "Even so, I find it hard to believe that no one approached you about the subject….not even someone in your department? A slip of the tongue?"

"I-I-no one else knew!"

"He's lying," Bellatrix revealed chillingly, grinning to herself.

Rodolphus lifted the curse, leaving the man moaning on the floor. "Dolohov, Rabastian, sort out the son and wife," he instructed coldly.

"No! j-just leave them! They don't know anything-" he was cut off when Rodolphus sliced his arm off, the amputated limb rolling across the room, blood staining the carpet. Mr Willows howled, eyes wide in horror.

"Augustus!" Mrs Willows cried hoarsely, her sight blinded by tears. Rabastian muttered a spell in French, the woman's eyes scrunching up in pain as she appeared to have a seizure on the ground.

"Mom!" their son cried out when Dolohov put him under the Crucio.

Mr Willows wailed as he watched his son and wife scream in agony. "There was a man," he sobbed, finally breaking down, the stump of his arm bleeding heavily. "He mentioned believing You-know-who was back-please just stop!"

Rodolphus ignored his request, as Rabastian and Dolohov continued to torture his wife and son. "What did you discuss?" Rodolphus question curtly, bending down, wand pointed against the man's cheek.

"He-he….AHHH!-OK! He had information-a-a-about rumours he'd heard-the prophesy."

"Who was he?" Rodolphus questioned sharply.

Another howl escaped Auror's lips. "He was an ex- Death Eater!" he screamed.

Everyone stopped, the torturing coming to a halt as they looked at the man in astonishment, before their gazes hardened. Lyrisadora watched in detachment, a disgusting taste in her mouth. "Who?" Bellatrix questioned softly, making the room feel twenty degrees colder. When Mr Willows didn't answer straight away, she aimed her wand at his son. "I said-_who_?" Andy screamed.

"Igor Karkaroff!" Mr Willows hastily yelled.

Rabastian sneered in distain. "Typical," he commented.

Rodolphus looked over back at his wife, she lifted the curse from the hysteric child, her eyes having never left the Auror's. "He's telling the truth," she answered the unvoiced question.

"Then let's finish this," Rodolphus said, standing up, looking over at his pale niece. "Probe his mind, just to be safe, Bella, do the same with his wife."

Bellatrix complied straight away, roughly the grabbing the woman by her hair and forcing her way into her mind.

Lyrisadora was more jittery as she made her way over, her hands shaking as she lifted up the man's face to her. He looked half dead and felt it to, he was losing too much blood. When her eyes met his, she looked at him apologetically, fully aware that nothing she said would atone for what had transpired this night and what was yet to come.

She moved past the childhood memories, bad dreams, mistakes, regrets and scanned over the event of 1995 to 1996. The memories racing past like voices in a crowd.

_"…lies…"_

_"Not safe!...family!"_

_"Sorry!"_

_"…I'm sorry connie-"_

_"Igor-"_

Mr Willows tried to push her out, but she pushed through, trying to find what he was so desperate to protect.

_"Don't say…name!"_

_"Press..Daily Prophet.."_

_"…Run-away!"_

She tried to get a clearer memory.

_"….**Jenik**….**France.**."_

She stiffened, hastily trying to latch onto the memory.

_"...who are the **Syndicate**?..."_

_"...(laughs) Mafia?...shitting me right?.."_

_Karkaroff's grim face. _

_Daily Prophet headline of Broderick Bode's death."…Devil Snare?"_

_Augustus Willows looking over a map of Paris_

_Walking down the street, noticing a man following him._

_"Augustos it's not safe! You need to stop and think of the family!"_

_"….right thing to do!….people need to know…"_

_"…**Bd Diderote** is where they transport them….."_

_"….Where?"_

She pulled away when she caught up with present, releasing his head. She looked up to find her uncles looking at her intently. "There was nothing of use, he's given us all he had," she lied evenly, getting to her feet, meeting their piercing stares, her lie seeming to convince them. "And he doesn't know where Karkaroff is."

"Neither does the Half-blood," Bellatrix added, dropping the dazed woman like she was trash.

Rodolphus looked between them both. "Bella, Dolohov, take care of the parents, then kill the child. And remember what the Dark Lord said," he instructed. The two Death Eaters raised there wands, the Willows family crying in anguish.

"Don't let the kid watch," Lyrisadora found herself speaking up, she rose her eyes to meet uncle Rodolphus cold stare. "Just finish it quickly."

There was a pause, her gaze never wavered from her uncle's, almost pleading. He looked over at Dolohov and Bellatrix, giving them a curt nod as he raised his own wand. Lyrisadora looked over at Andy who was shaking violently, she lifted up her mask and called his name, his eyes darted to her, confusion and fear etched in them. "Close your eyes," she ordered kindly. And to her surprise he actually complied, scrunching up his eyes as the killing curses were fired simultaneously.

"Avada kedavra."

"Avada kedavra."

"Avada kedavra."

The Willows family was dead on the floor.

Lyrisadora remained silent as the rest of them mutilated the Willows family's bodies, smearing the blood against the wall.

Rabastian removed his mask, taking out a cigarette as he watched Bellatrix, Dolohox and Rodolphus work to set the scene.

Lyrisadora didn't notice the youngest Lestrange brother eye her carefully, before walking over to her, offering a cigarette. She looked up at him with momentous confusion. "Here," he said, she eyed the nicotine filled stick with apprehension. "It'll settle your nerves," he reassured.

The smell of blood was in her nose, she felt like she could taste it. So with a shaky hand she took the cigarette and held it to her lips, as Rabastian used his wand to light them both.

The strong smell clouded her senses, giving her a moment of relief.

* * *

><p>By the time they got back to headquarters her hands were no longer shaking and she had already smoked through three cigarettes, her clothes stinking of tobacco. The Dark Lord seemed pleased, which meant none of them received any punishment.<p>

When they were dismissed, Rodolphus placed a hand on her shoulder and took her to a quiet corner. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

"Fine," she answered tonelessly, eyes fixed on his chest.

"Sometimes the first torture is the hardest," he began to assure. "Rab had a hard time at first, so did Regulas, but they understood the necessity."

Her throat was dry, her eyes lifting up to meet her uncle's with undeniable hatred. "Just a necessary evil, right?" she retorted, her voice as hard as stone.

Her uncle's gaze didn't waver. "Wars aren't won without sacrifices."

She stepped out of his hold. "No, there just about seeing how many people each side can kill," she argued bitterly, pushing past him, the sickness in her stomach growing.

When she was outside the headquarter's wards, she leant against the rusted gate that lead to the cemetery, hand squeezing the rusted bar tightly, her skin starch white. Not knowing where to go and what to do.

The new information she had gathered about the Syndicate made her feel nauseous, her head ached and she couldn't think properly. She felt the pressure on her shoulders increase as thoughts of Dumbledore's mission, Voldemort, her family and the deception with Adrian, crowded her head. She threw up on the pavement, taking a moment to calm down and try and sort out the series of plots, schemes and worries that were tangled up in her head.

She didn't want to just go home and sleep, she didn't think she could if she wanted to. So, not knowing who else to turn to, she apparated to the one place that came to mind.

* * *

><p>Adrian was fast asleep when he heard the familiar whistle noise in his ear, causing him to frown as he stirred, the noise persisting until he finally jolted awake. He grabbed the whistle from his bedside and blew it, the reply was immediate, and it also sounded deafly close.<p>

Turning to his bedroom window he made his way over, his eyes widening when he saw a familiar blonde figure standing at the gate. Hastily grabbing his wand, a pair of trousers and a long sleeved top before slipping on some shoes, he made his way downstairs as quietly as possible,

He unlocked the gate with his wand, using the family spell, looking at Lyrisadora in confusion. She looked like hell, literally, her robes were splattered in blood and her face was gaunt. "Rough night?" he inquired playfully, receiving no response, not even a flicker of emotion. "Come on then," he sighed, guiding her in as he closed the gate behind him.

She kept her head lowered and arms folded as they walked to the house in silence. He didn't think it wise to make conversation, plus he was a little concerned that she stunk of tobacco. When they got to his bedroom he tossed her his dressing gown. "The bathroom is through that door," he said, pointing to the door in the far corner.

"Thanks," she said quietly, accepting the robe as she went to go wash.

When he was left on his own his mind started racing, wondering what was wrong with her, having a fairly positive idea what it was, but not liking it, mainly because she now seemed borderline lifeless, as if all her emotions were shutting down at once.

The sound of running water was heard, Adrian idly paced his bedroom as he waited for her to finish. It wasn't until fifteen minutes had passed when he heard a noise that sent his alarm bells ringing. Wrenching the door open, he saw her curled up in a ball on the shower floor, water still flowing. "Lyra?" he spoke warily, rushing over and opening the shower door, feeling completely out of his depth, she was crying, well to be more accurate she wailing, her body jittering back and forth. "What's wrong?" he questioned, hesitantly reaching out to touch her back. "Lyra…"

She looked up at him with puffy red eyes, face scrunched up miserably. "I-I…"

"Ssshhh, calm down, just wait there," he reassured, getting up to grab the robe. "Come one, I think you're clean enough."

"I'm not," he heard her whisper, the sound barely audible. Her bottom lip wobbled as her crying quieted to pained whimpers, but thankfully she forced herself up and put the robe on. He turned the shower off and led her to the bedroom, sitting her down on the edge of the bed, she hugged him tightly, while he awkwardly stroked her wet hair. How the hell did this happen? He questioned to himself. The last time he had seen her like this was when Diggory had broken up with her.

He noted with concern that she appeared to have punched the bathroom tiles if those marks on her right fist were anything to go by. "You wanna tell me what's wrong?" he asked quietly.

He felt her shiver, he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or a recollection of events. "It was a mission…we killed a family," she croaked, her eyes having a far away look to them.

What the hell was he meant to say to that? He licked his lips. "Go on."

Her throat bobbed. "They tortured the husband and wife, the son to….they were so loud. I just…I just watched." Fresh tears brimmed in her eyes as she buried her face into his chest. He kissed her head gently.

"There's nothing you could have done," he said softly.

She breathed heavily as she tried to get her sobs under control. "We had orders to make it look like a werewolf attack," she sniffed, swallowing, her breathing gradually returning to normal as she tried to calm down. "So after we killed them, they mutilated them, spread blood on the walls, cut them open and took parts out…it stunk, I c-could taste the bloodinmymouth-"

"Ssshhh, calm down," he soothed, softly running a hand through her hair as she calmed down. "It's over now," he assured.

She gripped him tightly. "No it isn't," she replied mournfully, her voice quiet. They sat in silence for a while, neither making any attempt to move. "I'm sorry…for intruding in the middle of the night," she apologised faintly.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Don't be an idiot," he sighed, he was pretty sure they were past the stage where intrusiveness was an issue, he had agreed to run-away with her for Merlin sakes. "Just promise me you won't go into self-loathing, you're no fun when you get like that." He tried to lighten the mood.

He looked at her face and was pleased to see her mouth twitch upwards. "Can't promise that," she murmured. She seemed more relaxed now, he was glad the worst of it seemed over, he heard her inhale deeply, before she strained her neck upwards to meet his eyes. "I want to forget….just for a little while.

His eyes narrowed. "I'm not obliviating you," he said firmly, she winced.

"Not like that," she protested, detangling herself from him to sit up. "I…you remember that night when I found you in my room?" He nodded. "When we had sex, it helped me forget about everything, even just for a short while." There was a pause, he looked at her in curiosity. "I want to feel like that again," she explained, bringing her hand up to run a hand through his hair.

And for once, he was a little hesitant, he scrutinised her. "Are you sure?" he questioned, his eyes noticing the dressing gown had come undone, revealing her hanging breasts. "You're not going to give me shit in the morning for this are you?" His gaze returning to her face.

"You know what therapy is?" she questioned, he nodded. She gave him a small smile, before kissing him deeply, easing out of robe with ease. "This is my therapy," she murmured in his ear, receiving the returned kiss, robe falling to the floor.

He squeezed her breast and leaned in further, kissing her shoulder blades as she slipped off his trousers. He placed his mouth over her nipple, making her moan. "Thank you," she breathed, burying her face into his shoulder as her hand took hold of his penis. He wrapped an arm around her waist, both tossing and turning on the bed, she dug her nails into his shoulders painfully, trying to force him on the bottom, and he pushed her back, breaking away from the kiss to take off his shirt, amused to find her frowning at him in annoyance.

She let him be on top until the covers had been kicked away, before promptly trying to push him back down beneath, it wasn't until he lowered his mouth to in-between her thighs and heard her gasp, did she finally stay laid down.

She wanted to forget, then he'd help her forget, his father always said woman were complicated.

* * *

><p><strong>Gonna try and update twice a week if I have time, hoping to finish this in the next 30 chapters. Seeing how the interlude is chapter 51, I think the epilogue should be chapter 100, mainly because I don't count the interlude as a chapter.<strong>

**Anyway, drop me a review!**


	71. Silhouetted

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Aldous Huxley **

**Warning: Sexual implications. **

* * *

><p><strong>Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored<strong>

**Chapter: Silhouetted **

* * *

><p><em>10th April 1996<em>

Lyrisadora stirred under the covers, Adrian's chest pressed up against her back and his arms wrapped securely around her waist. Her eyes blinked open, the harsh light from the window stinging her eyes, her face scrunched up in displeasure. She slowly craned her neck to glance at Adrian, whose face was nestle in her loose damp hair. To her discomfort, he was sprouting a morning erection, the wood prodding her in the behind. She felt heat rise to her cheeks.

She tried to pry his hands off her waist, frowning when they instead tightened around her even more when Adrian stirred. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Cut the crap, Adrian," she murmured, noticing his smirk as his eyes slid open.

"Well, you do have a tendency to bail in the morning," he argued innocently, loosening his hold as she turned around to face him.

She propped herself up on her elbow and smiled coyly at him. "Insecure much?" she retorted, meeting his gaze, his look communicating that they needed to talk. "Listen, I'm sorry about last night," she sighed. "I know it was a lot to spring on you." A look of irritation flashed across his face, she apprehensively wondered if he was about to agree.

Instead, though, he just rolled his eyes at her as though she was being stupid. "Why are you so convinced that you're an inconvenience?" he questioned in annoyance, brow furrowing. "If the roles were reversed, would you care if I showed up out of the blue in hysterics?"

"No," she replied, after a moment of thought. "It's just…..I was a complete wreck. It was embarrassing," she added, avoiding his gaze as she felt a bile of shame.

"You just witnessed a family getting tortured and their corpses getting mutilated. I think you're entitled to be a complete wreck," he said dryly. Shame turned into guilt; he seemed to pick up on it, as he let out an exasperated groan. "Please don't start going into self-loathing," he sighed, pulling her in close, their faces inches apart. "It's depressing to watch, and we had such a good night last night, sobbing and trauma aside," he cooed, kissing her lightly on the lips.

She forced back an amused smile. "Glad to hear it wasn't a total loss," she replied sarcastically, her eyes wondering away from his face to his alarm clock on the bedside table, noticing that it was approaching six in the morning. "I should probably head back home," she murmured, looking back at him. "Besides, your father will probably want you downstairs for breakfast soon."

Adrian looked at her as if she was joking, before he let out a laugh that made her frown in confusion. "I haven't had breakfast with my family since I was thirteen," he told her amusingly. "Occasionally, the odd dinner when mother is in the country," he added. "Father and I did used to have dinner together, before mother upped the poison dosage," he offered, as an afterthought, looking away as if pausing on the memory.

There was a pause, she shifted in discomfort. Adrian's family situation always made her feel uncomfortable. "How long do you think he has?" she questioned gently.

"Not sure, probably a few months," he said nonchalantly, shrugging, any hesitation he had disappearing.

"But…isn't your mother worried she'll get caught?" she questioned. _Aren't you_? She thought silently.

He didn't look concerned. "Mother's clever, did I ever mention she was good friends with Zabini's mother?" he commented, smirking. She rolled her eyes at the inside joke. He moved his hand to stroke her cheek. "I'm touched at your concern, princess. But, don't worry, I've got it all taken care of," he reassured.

"But, won't it be suspicious if you leave so soon after his death," she pushed, wondering what Adrian was planning, perhaps she could use it to her advantage.

"Have you ever wondered what type of poison she uses?" Of course, she had, she just never was forthright enough to ask. So, she nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on his stare. "It weakens his immune system," he explained pleasantly, holding her close. "See, my father's illness is very much genuine, and, under normal circumstances, he might have actually recovered by now."

"How did he become ill…?"

"Well, my mother did play her part in that," he replied. "He tended to have sex with prostitutes, the expensive kind, and, unfortunately, he developed a certain favouritism to one woman in particular, which gave my mother an opportunity she just couldn't resist," he continued, Lyrisadora tensed a little. "She infected the whore first, which in turn infected my father."

"How did she infect the woman?" Lyrisadora asked quietly.

"Gathered swabs from a couple of cheap whorehouses, then used a polyjuice potion to sneak in as a lesbian client, and contaminated the dildo," he said flippantly. "She always was determined."

"Dildo…?" she questioned in confusion.

Adrian grinned. "Oh, you're adorable," he cooed, kissing her forehead. "I gather Diggory was never exciting in bed?"

"Piss off," she hissed automatically. She sighed. "Back to the matter at hand," she reminded. "How do you know all this?" Adrian's mother didn't seem likely to keep him in the loop of her plans; it seemed too risky to confide with anyone about her plans. "Why would your mother tell you, and, more importantly, how did you even find out?"

"I noticed her slipping in the odd vile, but it didn't properly become clear until I intercepted a distressing letter from my dear father's whore," he continued, tone ever carefree, as she watched him with growing alarm.

"What did the letter say?" She questioned, the woman could still be a threat.

"It seemed father had cut her off, as far as he knew she had given him a disease, which wasn't a very smart idea, seeing how he was an idiot enough to let loose some sensitive information about his sympathies to less than legal causes," he sighed, closing his eyes. "And, mother only made things worse by attempting to murder her when confronting her. God, it was a clusterfuck," he continued, frowning in frustration, as his blue eyes looked back at Lyrisadora. "So, I asked mother how she infected the girl in the first place. I didn't mention what the letter said; she was pretty guarded."

"Surprised she didn't obliviate you."

"She most likely contemplated it, but I made her a deal," He answered, leaning back. "Promised to fix both our problems." She forced herself not to shift in discomfort. "So, I got rid of the whore," he confessed.

Lyrisadora felt her eyes widen a fraction. So, he had killed her… that was… honestly, she really didn't know what to think or do at this point. She supposed a normal person would have jumped out of bed or raced to think of a plan to get away from him. She remained silent for a moment, staring at him unblinkingly. But, it didn't seem to faze her; a part of her had suspected he had already killed in the past.

"You killed her," she said tonelessly.

He remained relaxed, continuing to smirk at her. "Yes, it was pretty easy actually. You pay the right price and those girls will tie themselves up with no problem," he continued, running a hand down her back and holding her close. She stiffened, which he noticed. "Huh, it bothers you, doesn't it…?"

"Well…" She swallowed, letting out a calm breath. "…I've killed as well."

"Well… yours was in self-defence, so you have the moral high-ground," he said playfully.

"A murder is a murder," she murmured, looking away.

"Stating the obvious, much," Adrian countered teasingly, considering her for a moment. "Does it really bother you that much?"

"…Not as much as it should," she admitted slowly, an emptiness in her stomach. She often wondered how it was so easy for him to just not care, at all, about other human lives… even his own parents. Her stomach churned. "I… so, if I ever betrayed you, you would kill me?"

The playful expression on his face vanished, removing his hand from her back as he looked at her intently and sitting up in the bed. "No," he said.

Lyrisadora searched his eyes to see if he was lying. "But… what if I hurt you, humiliated you, lied to you?" she pressed, sitting up so she was back at his eye level, knowing she was stepping on dangerous ground, the question might make him suspicious. But she needed to know. "Wouldn't you hate me….?"

She counted a five second pause, before he replied. "Are you really scared I'd hurt you…?" he questioned, brows furrowing as he looked at her inquisitively.

"No, I'm not scared," she answered. She wasn't afraid of Adrian. Sometimes he creeped her out, making her either feel a little uncomfortable or a little sick, but she wasn't afraid to push back and tell him where to go.

"But, you think I'd hurt you?"

"You stabbed me with a fork once."

"Completely different. Besides, you stabbed me first," he countered, completely ignoring the fact that was the basis of revenge. "But, back on topic: you honestly think I'd hurt you?"

"I think you're capable," she said evenly, pursing her lips. "Am I wrong?"

"No," he answered firmly, gaze never wavering. "But, I'd never hurt you."

She felt a flash of anger at the guilt he was making her feel. However, in a moment, she snuffed it out, considering what bastard he was. "What if I deserved it?"

"I never took you for a masochism," Adrian commented coldly.

She semi-consciously bit her lower lip. "If I hurt you… betrayed you. I think I'd deserve it."

He was silent for a moment, and she was worried she had gone too far. "Doesn't matter what you did, I wouldn't hurt you. I respect you… you're… special," he admitted reluctantly, as if he was embarrassed to tell her. "Hmm, caring about you is the closest thing I'll ever get to love, remember?"

She remembered; that conversation had stayed stuck in her head for over two years now. But, so much had changed since then, and even though he acted otherwise, she knew she had a hold over him and she was afraid that her disappearing would do more damage than good. Subconsciously they had grown closer and it was starting to get harder to let go.

"I remember," she replied.

He smiled reassuringly. "Then, can we cut the boring serious talk already?" he questioned, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. "I'm hungry, and you most likely are to, so let's go get breakfast!"

"What if your father sees us?" she wondered anxiously. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to find out where she was and start putting all those chastity charms on her that she'd learn from Witch Weekly.

"He's practically dead to the world."

"A poor choice of words," Lyrisadora sighed.

"I know. If it makes you feel better, we can just eat in the kitchens. The house-elves won't say anything," he suggested.

"Okay, then," she agreed, believing it would take her mind off her current dilemma. She moved to get out of bed, but felt his arm wrap around her waist. She frowned at him. "What is it…?"

He gave her a sheepish smile. "Just wondering if you could help me out, down there," he suggested hopefully, looking down at his still active endowment under the covers.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "Can't you sort yourself out?"

He pouted, deliberately widening his eyes. "You said you'd be supportive," he whinged. "_Princess_-"

"Oh, shut up," she sighed, rolling her eyes at him, reaching down to grab his penis. She had done this with Cedric on his bad days, so she supposed Adrian was entitled to receive the same treatment as well. "We could have bacon and eggs, if you want?" she suggested, her mind wondering to what to have for breakfast.

"Way to go talk dirty to me," he remarked, kissing her on the lips. "For the record, I like my eggs pouched."

"Then, you can make them yourself." Lyrisadora leaned more on his chest to get more comfortably, feeling his body temperature rise. She remembered what Adrian had said about 'the closest thing to love', at the time she had bene uncomfortable to hear that, but now she seemed a little touched. "Closest thing to love, huh?" she murmured as she kissed his neck. His skin was flushed, as her hand moved faster and there was a ghost of a smile on her face. "Sentimental much, thought you'd write a sonnet," she murmured in his ear.

She caught him smirk.

"Piss off," he retorted, his breathing rising as he eloped her mouth in a deep kiss.

She found herself smiling coyly. "Love you too, _darling_," she cooed, she felt him tense, burying his head in the crook of her neck.

"Yeah… love you too."

* * *

><p>Narcissa looked out of the manor grounds through her bedroom window, the day was fast turning into evening. Her brow was furrowed and her hands were twitching from nerves. She was dressed in simple silver, smooth, flattering dress-robes, with a flowing trim of the sleeves.<p>

"'Cissy, Draco's all set to go," her husband called from behind her.

Narcissa turned to look him over, her hawk-like eyes scanning his appearance. She frowned slightly when she noticed some stray fluff on his right robe shoulder.

"I'm ready," she said absently, walking over to him in order to bat the fluff away, smoothing down his robes. "Lyrisadora hasn't returned," she muttered, stealing a glance to read his expression, which was unreadable.

"I'm sure it's just a teenage act of rebellion. She'll return soon," he reassured, smiling at her warmly.

Did her husband honestly think she was that much of a fool? Narcissa bit back a sigh. "Of course," she concurred, smiling at him cheerfully as she pretended to buy his lies to keep his mind at ease. "I'll just tell the Higgs that she's ill." She dusted off her dress-robes. "Although, I'm curious why she's disappeared so suddenly?" she continued, wondering why she was asking when she already knew the likely answer. "It doesn't have anything to do with _him_… does it?"

Lucius stiffened for a moment, before composing himself. "Not as far as I know," he said smoothly, in a tone that once again promised her that everything was fine. But, she knew it likely wasn't. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, reassuringly. "'Cissy… she's of age now. She can take care of herself."

Narcissa couldn't help but frown at her husband's callousness. "She's still only eighteen," she snapped back. "She's our daughter, and we _were_ meant to protect her," she argued, as her anger grew.

She felt his grip on her shoulders tighten. "Narcissa, calm down," he tried to placate, although it was more of a command than anything else.

She shoved his hands away, stepping back and fixing him a look. "I never wanted her to join, Lucius. I never ever wanted her to risk her life every day and wonder off to Merlin knows where, even if it was for the cause," she exclaimed, trying to regain hold of her temper; he wouldn't take her seriously if she started raving.

He eyed her coldly, as his lips thinned. "The Dark Lord commanded it-"

"Did he though…?" she cut in icily, her suspicions over the last couple of months finally showing through. "Can you honestly tell me you didn't, at least, suggest it…? I know you like to boast," she accused, her fists beginning to clench.

"I was doing it for the family," Lucius snapped.

"And, when she'd dead and buried, will Draco be doing it for the family next?!" Narcissa hissed, lurching forward so she was almost right up in his face.

It was dead silent.

He looked into the sorrowful pools of his wife's eyes, before she backed off and looked away. "We should discuss this later. We're going to be late," he said finally, trying to change the subject.

"Fine," she conceded grudgingly. After all, appearances must be kept, now more than ever. "We'll discuss this later."

More lies.

They both knew they wouldn't be discussing this later.

* * *

><p>"Malfoy, are you paying attention?" Moody's gruff voice rang out, sharply drawing Lyrisadora's attention from her musing about her time with Adrian.<p>

Lyrisadora swallowed, quickly focusing her gaze back on the map and files laid out on the table. "Yes, sorry, I'm just tired," she said. Moody grunted, before turning back to the rest of the group. Snape, Tonks and Dumbledore were looking over Janik's file, as well as files documenting recent crimes committed by any underground organisations in Paris. "So, what do we know about the Syndicate?" she asked, watching as Shacklebolt pinpointed the perimeter of the area of Bd Diderote in Paris.

"They tend to keep out of sight," Tonks began to explain, tossing her a dusty file. Lyrisadora held back a cough as she caught it. "These are only copies and they aren't very detailed. We've only managed to gather the basic information."

Lyrisadora opened the file. Inside was a black and white image of a lumber-mill factory. "What have they been known to deal in…?"

"A few pubs, gambling rings, illegal werewolf fights; but, there isn't enough evidence to back it up," Tonks explained. "However, the charges that were shown to hold considerable evidence, were the trafficking of prostitutes."

Lyrisadora skipped a few pages, finding the highlighted crime. It appeared that a few Hit-witches and Hit-wizards had found six girls and one boy aged 15-18 years, in a rundown townhouse, being transported through France from Milan to England. The owner of the house had been taken into custody, which had resulted in a few slips of the tongue, which brought a few of the Syndicates underworld dealings to light.

The man in custody was found dead five days later in his cell, unsurprisingly, from what seemed to be a poisoned 'rat' bite. "What do we know about this Jenik-person? We know he's high up, but have we found out his real name, if he even has one?" Lyrisadora questioned.

"Regrettably, _no_," Snape oozed. "He was never taken into custody, and the file we have on him only has an estimate of his age, as well as just assumptions on the crimes he's been involved in," he elaborated.

"In other words, we're grasping at loose straws," Mad-Eye summed up, gruffly. "And, we don't have enough connections to find out what's really happening in the Paris underworld."

"I still have some holiday time not cashed in yet," Tonks divulged, looking slightly unsure. "I could go over there and try and find out something out. I know French, too."

Mad-Eye made a doubtful sound in his throat. "The Ministry is still watching you like a hawk," he argued. "Also, you're a horrible liar."

Tonks scowled. "I've done undercover work before," she protested, changing her hair to a fiery red. "Remember when I infiltrated that illegal potions factory?"

Mad-Eye groaned. "All too well. You nearly blew up the damn place!"

Tonks tried to hide a blush of embarrassment. "I tripped! It wasn't even my fault. This janitor, I mean, leaving the damn mop out like that for all-"

"Let's not get side-tracked," Dumbledore interjected calmly. "I think Alastor is just concerned because of your track-record, Tonks."

"I've been disguised before," she argued, jutting her chin out in defiance.

"Yes, but you've never had to act, just change your appearance," Mad-Eye sighed in exasperation, shaking his head.

Tonks wasn't going to let this go. "Okay, so… maybe I'm not the best liar out there, but I can be subtle enough. Besides, I could just be your eyes and ears, I don't even have to engage with any of them," she reasoned.

"It could work," Lyrisadora said, earning a grateful smile from Tonks. "It wouldn't look too suspicious if she went for a holiday. Three to five days wouldn't look suspicious… Maybe, say it's a surprise early birthday gift from your parents," she reasoned.

"See!" Tonks exclaimed, pointing at Lyrisadora. "Listen, Lyra won't be able to get out of the country till July. The more info we grab now, the less time she's going to waste playing catch up," she argued.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, a twinkle in his eye. "Miss Tonks does make a very good point." His bright eyes surveyed the rest of the room, settling on Mad-Eye. "Alastor?"

Mad-Eye looked reluctant, but looking over at Tonks, who was giving him an imploring and slightly threatening look, he let out a grudging gruff of consent. "Alright, fine," he conceded, as Tonks face burst into a bright smile.

"I'll make the arrangements," Shacklebolt informed briskly, placing the file he was holding back in the pile. "We'll have to work on your cover story a little more. We might have to involve your parents to a degree, but we can just claim it's official Order business and that'll save some hassle," he added.

And, that was that.

The meeting lasted for another hour to discuss the finer details of the operating, before it was officially closed and the group parted ways.

"You really need to get that kitchen sorted, Mad-Eye," Tonks said, whipping her long, maroon punk-like trench-coat. "I mean, I know I'm messy, but you even put my dad to shame," she quipped.

Mad-Eye rolled his eyes. "Mind your own business, besides this place is rented," he retorted, shoving a pot full of Floo powder in her hand, turning her around and practically nearly shoving her into the fireplace.

She stuck her tongue out at him when his back was turned.

Dumbledore apparated out first, followed by Shacklebolt, and then Snape. Tonks turned to Lyrisadora just before she was about to leave. "Hey, you free tomorrow?" Tonks whispered, even though Lyrisadora was sure it was loud enough for Mad-Eye to hear.

"Yes," Lyrisadora said.

"You wanna meet my mum?" Tonks asked, grinning.

Lyrisadora looked at her cousin hesitantly. "I don't think that would be wise…."

"Oh, come on, she doesn't even know you're a Death Eater. She tends to stay out of official Order business. But, I've told her a lot about you and, since you can apparate, sneaking away should be easier," Tonks rambled.

"Are you sure?" Lyrisadora inquired, frowning to herself. "She might not even like me."

"Bullshit," Tonks said bluntly. "Mum'll love you. Just pull out all those pleases and thank yous, and she'll never let you leave," she claimed, rolling her eyes.

Lyrisadora contemplated it. It would be nice to finally meet her estranged aunt. She looked at her cousin's pleading gaze. "Alright, fine, just write down the address," she sighed, a small smile tugging on her lips.

Tonks grinned widely, quickly placing the Floo powder down, much to the ever-silent Mad-Eye Moody's annoyance. She quickly scribbled down the address on a torn off piece of newspaper, practically shoving it in Lyrisadora's hands. "Be there at eleven in the morning. Mum wants a full on fancy luncheon," she explained, rolling her eyes. "Used to force me and my dad all the time, when I was little," she elaborated, wrinkling her nose in disdain. "Still though, it'll be a nice change having someone new there."

Lyrisadora looked at the address. The Tonks family seemed to live in a fairly isolated area, a cottage in the country near London. "I'll make sure to be on time," she promised, an unfamiliar warm feeling forming in the pit of her stomach.

"Will you lot get going already? Or, you'll be stuck helping me do a lockdown of the place," Mad-Eye yelled grumpily.

Tonks grinned, grabbing a hand full of Floo powder and giving Lyrisadora one last smile, before stepping into the fireplace and letting the flames engulfing her. Lyrisadora made her way over to the door to apparate out.

"Remember Malfoy," Mad-Eye called, stopping her dead in her tracks. He gave her a wiry grin. "Constant Vigilance."

Lyrisadora frowned, nodding curtly before exiting the house. Absently wondering if he had meant that as a warning or a threat…?

* * *

><p><strong>Managed to convince my brother to proof read this chapter. (Love him :D) Which is why the grammar and spelling is somewhat improved. <strong>

**So excited for Lyrisadora to meet Andromeda! Too much family fluff! **

**I'll try and make sure no one is OOC though. **


	72. Sweet Lullabies

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Michael Crichton**

* * *

><p><strong>It's better to die laughing than to live each moment in fear.<br>**

**Chapter: Sweet Lullabies **

* * *

><p><em>11th April 1996<em>

Lyrisadora arrived at the Tonks household at 10:55 am, spending a good five minutes building up a resolve to knock the door, her heels sinking into the soft ground. The cottage looked old and the roof looked recently refurbished, it had two floors, flowers sprouting from every nook and cranny, the bricks painted over white.

It had been a little bit of a hassle to find, hidden behind a great hill that cast a shadow over the town opposite. From what Lyrisadora could gather the nearest neighbour was half a mile away.

Before she could finish up gathering her nerve to knock, the door opened, Tonks looking at her in exasperation. "How long have you been out here for?" Tonks sighed.

Lyrisadora hid a sheepish smile and shrugged. "You said eleven," she argued, walking into the house when Tonks let her passed.

"Not literally," the purple haired young woman protested, carelessly slamming the door shut, shaking the pictures on the wall.

"Nymphadora, don't slam the door!" yelled a female voice from the kitchen, who Lyrisadora assumed was aunt Andromeda.

"Sorry mum!" Tonks yelled back, not sounding sorry in the least, plopping down on a cosy looking coach.

Lyrisadora remained standing, looking around the living room, the colours were mostly old and brown, giving the place a warm touch, it looked like someone was constantly battling to keep the place tidy, attempting to keep the clutter at bay. Her eyes locked onto a familiar black box with a grey glass mirror, similar to the one in Dr Penma's apartment, but more fatter and with two bent wires coming out from the head.

"What's this?" Lyrisadora said, walking over to the object to get a better look.

Tonks grinned. "Press the red button," she instructed, nudging her head to the red button underneath the screen.

Lyrisadora bent down to get a better look, underneath the glass screen was a row of small knobs and two switches, a red button located at the end. When she pressed it, a buzzing noise rang, catching her off guard, the screen lighting up before a mass of colours popped up, showing moving images, like from a portrait.

And Snape had gone and said paintings didn't move. Lyrisadora leaned in closer, the images on the screen were fuzzy, as well as the sound. She touched the glass, but the images on screen didn't react. "It's called a Television. Wicked isn't it?" Tonks explained cheerfully, scooting up next to her to join her on the floor. "You use these buttons to change the channels," Tonk's continued, pressing one of the switches, the image changing to a coloured drawing of a cat and mouse chasing each other around a kitchen. "Dad says muggles invented video, which is lots of images piled on top of each other," she continued to explain.

"Why don't they react when I touch the screen?" Lyrisadora questioned, trying to process the information as quickly as possible.

"It's recorded….like in the passed," Tonks tried to explained, scratching the back of her neck, frowning to herself. "Like old radio broadcasts and music, except with images," she summed up.

"Interesting," Lyrisadora murmured, staring at the array of colours in front of her. The Television started to buzz louder, the screen flickering grey.

Tonks groaned. "Stupid thing," she muttered, getting up to adjust the wires on top. "Been on the fritz since the last Order meeting," she said. "Mum said it was too much magical interference, Dad looked like he was gonna cry," Tonks added, a grin creeping onto her face.

"Turn that bloody thing off, Dora," Andromeda's voice instructed in a exasperation, Lyrisadora whipped around to find her aunt coming into the room, carry a tray with a clay tea pot and cups on it.

The screen went blank when Tonks twitched it off, looking between Lyrisadora and Andromeda excitedly. Lyrisadora swallowed any remaining apprehension and stood up, the similar resemblance her two aunts shared, unnerving her. Lyrisadora smiled politely. "Hello, I'm Lyra," she greeted, she stopped when she realised she probably should have said her full name first, her aunt may not have wanted to know her nickname. "But my full name is Lyrisadora," she hastily blurted out. She chastised herself for losing composer.

Andromeda set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the television, looking at Lyrisadora blankly. "But I'm assuming you like to be called, Lyra?" her aunt said lightly.

"Yes," Lyrisadora replied, there was a pause, Tonks failed to hold back a laugh. Lyrisadora racked her brains to remember her manners, Tonks had said her mother liked manners, and Andromeda had been raised the same way and Lyrisadora's mother, so it seemed the right way to go. Besides, her aunt probably was wary of her. "Is there anywhere I can put my coat?" she asked.

Andromeda gave her a small smile, holding her hand out. "I'll hang it up in the cupboard," she answered.

Lyrisadora quickly took it off, handing it to her aunt, Tonks eyed her cousin's attire in surprise. "You look nice," Tonks commented. "What's the occasion?"

Lyrisadora looked over her long sleeved dark silk blue dress, that she normally wore for tea related occasions such as this, the material sleek and having a shine to it, the dress reaching just above her knees. Lyrisadora briefly looked over at her cousin, noting that Tonks looked far more causal than her, dressed in faded ripped jeans and a red t-shirt. Lyrisadora quickly realised she was overdressed. "….You said it was fancy," she argued weakly, instantly regretting her words, what if her aunt thought she was criticising her home?

"Lyra, you look fine," Andromeda interjected, closing the cupboard door. "But, I'll need you to take of the heels, I just cleaned the carpet," she added, looking at Lyrisadora's mud stained heels.

Lyrisadora quickly complied, feet now bare on the soft carpet. "Sorry, I suppose I am overdressed," she said, forcing a relieved smile.

"It doesn't matter, you look nice, nothing wrong with that," Tonks reassured confidently, plopping back down on the coach. "Hey mum, where's dad?" she asked, looking over at her mother.

"He just nipped out to grab some biscuits," Andromeda replied, sitting down on the coach opposite, setting the tea cups out. Lyrisadora took the hint and hastily sat down next to Tonks.

"You have a nice home," Lyrisadora complemented, knowing now was a good time to slip one in.

"Thank you," her aunt said, giving her a smile.

Just then the door banged open, making Lyrisadora flinch at the noise, hand resting on her wand. A middle aged man with a slightly overflowing gut, stumbled in, a plastic bag in one hand and a plain muggle coat in the other. "I'm back," the man she assumed to be Ted Tonks greeted cheerfully, his smile identical to his daughter's. "Oh, hello," he repeated in greeting, taking note of Lyrisadora. "Ted Tonks, nice to meet, you," he said, closing the door behind him and plopping the bag on the table next to the tray of tea.

Lyrisadora hesitated, should she stand? He was holding out his hand….so probably. "My name's Lyrisadora, but you can call me Lyra," she responded politely, shaking the hand.

"Did you get chocolate ones, dad?" Tonks inquired, already searching through the shopping bag.

He let go of Lyrisadora's hand. "They were all out, think you can settle for custard cream?" He answered, tossing his coat over the armchair, causing Andromeda to frown faintly, he sat down next to his wife and planted a kiss on her cheek, making her small frown disappear.

Lyrisadora sat back down next to Tonks. "I'll survive," Tonks sighed dramatically, placing the biscuits onto a plate.

Andromeda flicked her wand, a plate full of sandwiches zooming out of the kitchen and onto the table. "Lyra, do you take sugar?" her aunt asked.

Lyrisadora nodded. "Just one."

Andromeda started to pour the tea out, Tonks grabbed a neatly cut ham sandwich and dived in. Ted poured some milk into his freshly brewed tea. "Did you have any hassle getting here, Lyra?" Ted said.

Lyrisadora shook her head, accepting the tea from her aunt. "No, it was easy enough to find, besides my father was at work and my mother was off organising an event with the Parkinsons, so it was easy enough to get away," she explained, when there wasn't an immediate reply, she continued. "And the weather was only a little chilly, so it was easy to apparate." She took a large sip of tea, stopping herself from rambling.

No one looked bothered by it though. "So, Dora says you got engaged," Andromeda said, looking at her thoughtfully.

Lyrisadora glanced up at her aunt, swallowing a gulp of tea. "Yes, his name's Adrian," she answered, there was a pause, which she took as a hint to continue. "It's a long engagement…..We both agreed on it," she added, feeling it was necessary to mention that it hadn't been forced.

"No wedding bells anytime soon then?" Andromeda quipped.

Lyrisadora forced a bright smile. "No, not for a long time."

Her aunt looked at her curiously. Lyrisadora felt her stomach twist unpleasantly, maybe coming here had been a bad idea…

* * *

><p>"Lyra, can you help me wash up?" Andromeda requested lightly, stacking the empty tea pot and crumb layered plate on the counter.<p>

"Sure," Lyrisadora said cautiously, leaving Tonks and her father in their attempts to fix the T.V.

Lyrisadora spared the cosy looking kitchen a brief glance, as she made her way over to the sink. Her aunt flashed her a smile before tossing her a wire brush. "How good are you at cleaning spells?"

"Capable enough," Lyrisadora said, shrugging nonchalantly as she scooted up next to her.

Lyrisadora scrubbed and dried, while Andromeda soaked and cleaned, the two working in silence for a while, plates and cutlery hovering around them. Her aunt looked over at her. "I'm sorry if this is awkward for you," Andromeda sighed.

"It's not awkward," Lyrisadora protested, trying to make her lie sound convincing, but the interactions of the lunch did little to back up her claim. "It's just that we don't really know each other that well," she reasoned, she looked at her aunt reproachable, a question nagging at her. "And I've been told I look like my mother, so I understand if that makes you uncomfortable."

Her aunt didn't reply right away, making Lyrisadora feel slightly ill, regretting her decision to speak longer than necessary. "You do look a lot like Cissy," Andromeda commented mildly, looking back at Lyrisadora. "And you do _act_ like her a little….but it doesn't make me uncomfortable," she reassured, her brow creased after a second of thought. "Though, it would be appreciated if you relaxed a little, you seem more on edge than Mad-Eyed-Moody when he hears a floorboard creak," she sighed, shooting Lyrisadora a fond smile. "I don't bite, so you don't have to force a smile and stay quiet like a mouse in a corner."

Lyrisadora's eyes widened, a blush of embarrassment creeping onto her cheeks at the fact she had let her façade slip, letting her nerves get the better of her. "I just wanted to be polite," she argued meekly.

Her aunt looked at her in amusement. "We're family, dear, politeness can go out the door, it's much too tiring," she announced.

Lyrisadora found herself smiling sincerely. "Agreed," she concurred, she supposed she could allow herself to lower her guard a little. "Where do these plates go?" she asked, when she finished drying the last of the washing.

"I'll deal with that, you can go sit down," Andromeda assured, flicking her wand, the brown cupboard doors flying open, the plates neatly zooming into place. "Nice cleaning charm by the way, Dora's abysmal with those sort of things, same with Ted, bless him," she said fondly, picking up a kitchen towel to dry her hands, leaning on the kitchen counter.

Lyrisadora gave her a small smile. "Dora, mentioned she knew French, which I assume was your doing?" she inquired, sitting down at the breakfast table.

"It wasn't intentional, the only nursery rhythms I knew were in French," Andromeda confessed. "She drove Ted up the wall by singing _Allouette_ non-stop," she laughed, a nostalgic smile on her lips. "She only stopped when she translated the lyrics into English. Did your mother ever teach you that one?"

"She mostly sang English nursery rhythms, but sometimes she sung French ones," Lyrisadora informed, hoping her aunt didn't pry too deep into her family life.

Andromeda grinned. "Cissy, never was that good at French," she commented amusingly. "Don't get me wrong, she picked it up reasonably enough, but she lacked the tongue for it," she continued. "Also, not wanting to sound vain, but I was always the better singer," she remarked, a hint of a smile on her lips. "So, this fiancé of yours." Her aunt's tone turning serious. "He make you happy?"

Lyrisadora held back a groan, the question having been asked an irritable number of times. "Well, it's never boring," she found herself repeating to her aunt, her aunt gave her a firm look. Lyrisadora sighed. "Yes, he makes me happy."

Andromeda didn't look convinced, Lyrisadora swallowed a bile of frustration. "Then why did you look so sad when you started talking about him?" her aunt asked softly.

The questioned caught Lyrisadora off guard, was she really so on edge she let herself slip? "I…it's not like that, it's a complicated situation," she tried to explain, eyes flickering away from her aunt as she tried to think of what to say without giving away too much information, while also correcting her aunt's assumptions. "He's not the problem…well he is, but…it's me and….." Lyrisadora trailed off, biting down on her tongue, afraid she'd reveal too much in her emotional state.

Andromeda pulled up a chair opposite her and gave Lyrisadora a reassuring smile. "And you don't feel comfortable telling me?" Andromeda suggested gently. "I understand, I'm just…I know it isn't any of my business, but I'm just concerned, I have experience with the whole complicated love life situation," she sighed, shooting Lyrisadora a weak smile.

Lyrisadora glanced up at her aunt, feeling calmer. "I wasn't forced to get engaged to him, we respect each other," she told Andromeda. "We sort of…need each other," Lyrisadora divulged, taking comfort in the fact her aunt wouldn't be able to tell Adrian.

Andromeda was quiet for a few seconds, before a faint smile slid onto her lips. "Sounds like love," she hummed.

Lyrisadora looked sceptic. "It's not exactly a fairy tale," she, commented dryly.

Andromeda's eyes flashed with amusement. "There's many different types of love, dear."

Lyrisadora found herself pondering on this. "Hm, you're probably right, but it's messed up either way," she found herself half agreeing. "You were young when you married, weren't you scared?" She questioned, effectively changing the subject.

Andromeda's eyes shifted away, appearing to recall the memory. "Terrified, I thought my sister Bella would kill us before we could make it to our honeymoon," her aunt replied, half shrugging at the past danger. "Thankfully, she decided I wasn't worth the trouble." Andromeda paused. "It wasn't easy, and I didn't feel brave by running away, but I wanted to be happy and Ted made me happy," she disclosed.

Lyrisadora swallowed a lump in her throat. "Was it worth hurting your family though?" she said quietly, because she was pretty sure her family weren't going to be hunky dory when she faked her own death. True, Andromeda's circumstances had been different, but she had still upset her family and caused them grief, so right now she was the best person to breach the subject to.

"Yes," Andromeda confessed reluctantly. "It's selfish, but at the end of the day, I have my own life to live," she explained, when Lyrisadora kept silent her aunt continued, gently squeezing her hand. "I didn't want to spend the rest of my life being miserable and pretending to be someone I wasn't."

"…They'll never forgive me," Lyrisadora stated miserably.

She looked up at her aunt, the woman remained silent, and her eyes downcast. "I don't have any right answers, dear," Andromeda said plainly, giving her a sad smile and her hand a reassuring squeeze, before letting go. "Doing what makes your family happy isn't going to do you any good in the long run, just keep that in mind."

* * *

><p>After realising she had been overdressed for lunch with Tonks, Lyrisadora apparated home to change into something more casual.<p>

On the way to her bedroom Lyrisadora had tried to be as quiet as possible, but this was in vain, as her mother was alerted of her presence; she pinned it on the portraits, they always were slimy sneaks.

Narcissa was looking at her daughter in a controlled pleasant fashion, masking whatever parental concern with cool indifference. "Where have you been?" her mother asked evenly, stopping her in the hallway.

"Out with friends," Lyrisadora answered lightly, making sure to look her mother in the eyes, turning to her fully. "I did tell you I was going out."

Her mother's face twitched in irritation, her smile clearly forced. "That was yesterday, when you disappeared all night," Narcissa argued, her tone a little more colder.

Lyrisadora shrugged nonchalantly. "Father, didn't seem to mind," she said, knowing the answer would irritate her mother.

Her mother's second tick was right on cue. "It doesn't matter if he did or not," she retorted. "_I_ minded," she protested, her tone rising.

Lyrisadora stared at her mother blankly. "Sorry," she responded plainly.

Her mother pursed her lips, appearing tongue tied. "Well, next time could you please keep me more informed?" her mother instructed firmly. "I don't like it when you disappear like that."

_You'll have to get used to it,_ Lyrisadora thought to herself. She debated on what to tell her mother, whether to make a promise she wasn't going to keep, or brush her concerns off like a spoiled brat, she tried to find a middle ground. She gave her mother a reassuring smile. "I didn't mean to make you worry, I just like my space, I am eighteen mother," Lyrisadora said warmly.

"…I just worry about you," Narcissa replied, hesitantly reaching out to take her hand, Lyrisadora kept her occlumancy shields up high, her mother's gaze having not wavered. "I can understand wanting to get away from it all, you've had to deal with so much this past year," Narcissa continued. "Just…just know that, if you want to talk to me, you can," she reassured.

Lyrisadora felt an unpleasant knot form in her stomach. "I know," she said, giving her mother's hand a reassuring squeeze. "But, you don't need to worry about me, I'm doing fine."

The look her mother gave her, made the knot in her stomach tighten painfully.

* * *

><p>It was approaching eight in the evening when Professor Snape finally lost his patience with Lyrisadora. The two were hauled up in the kitchen, a bubbling cauldron resting on the cooker, as the two practiced non-verbal spells. The ugly looking vase on the kitchen counter remained intact, the opposite of the intended want.<p>

"Are you even trying?" Snape finally snapped.

Lyrisadora pursed her lips, her stomach growling in hunger. "It's been two hours, sir, don't you think we should call it a night?" she implored.

His eyes narrowed. "Is the vase still intact?" he retorted lightly.

Lyrisadora felt a flare of frustration, pointing her wand at the vase, watching as it exploded five seconds later. "No," she stated in a carefully controlled tone, lowering her wand to her side, shooting the unperturbed potion's professor a wire like smile.

Snape's eyes narrowed down at her, his mouth set in a thin line. "You're deliberately being difficult," he said coldly.

She shrugged. "It's just one of those days."

This did little to placate his mood, he eyed her dryly. "Then next time mark it on the calendar, so I don't have to waste my time attempting to teach a few non-verbal spells to an arrogant ninny," he responded evenly.

She kept her expression blank, shrugging his reply off. "I'm sorry…I'll make sure to tell you beforehand next time," Lyrisadora told him lightly, she noticed his jaw clench tightly, his fingers twitching towards his wand, she forced a dramatic sigh. "I'm sorry about my behaviour, you're right, I should be trying harder," she said placidly, looking at him apologetically, his mouth twitched, as if he was about to lecture her again, she decided to beat him to it. "I know you're trying to help me, because if I don't take this seriously I'll probably end up dead," she continued, hoping he didn't think she was being condescending. "And, I should act my age and listen to you. I'm being immature and stupid," she finished tonelessly.

"Are you done?" Snape drawled.

"Yes. Did I miss anything, or would you like to yell at me instead?" she wondered innocently, looking at him inquisitively.

He looked at her for a moment before he sighed and shook his head. "What latest drama has you distracted this time?" he inquired, turning to the broken vase and lazily repairing it.

She ignored the condescending tone, instead appreciating that he cared enough to ask what was wrong. So she pulled up a chair from the kitchen table. "Faking my death is going to hurt my family, they most likely won't ever forgive me for it…if I even make it back from the war alive that is," she began to tell him, an anxious frown creeping onto her face. "I understand it's necessary to protect them, but it's become harder to be around them…and avoiding them isn't helping things. But I don't know how to deal with them, I mean how is my mother going to deal with losing her daughter? What if the Dark Lord targets Draco?" she rambled, running a hand through her hair. "Things have been so messed up lately, with Draco…and my mother's, I don't even know how to move on with my father-"

"Calm down," Snape interjected lightly. Her tone had started to become more frantic.

She swallowed and inhaled a calm breath. "I… I wish I could just hate him, but he's my father," she continued, making sure her voice remained even. "And, I thought that maybe if I stayed away from home, then Draco and my mother would eventually get used to me not being there and just give up on me like father has, but it's just made things worse….."

If Snape felt anything, he didn't let any of it show. "I see….it is a difficult situation to be in," he spoke in a measured tone. "Letting your family go is not the same as disliking them or ignoring them," he began say in consolation. "You just accept that there are bigger issues that need your attention."

"How do I do that?" she asked unsurely.

He paused, offering comforting advice was not his forte it seemed. "It does help when a person has come to a resolution with said relatives," he answered.

Lyrisadora mulled over his advice. "Alright, I'll try…"She could try and fix things, she owed Adrian and her family that. "Thanks sir, for listening," she said warmly, giving him a small smile. "I appreciate the effort."

Her smile widened when she saw him visibly bristle in annoyance. "Just make sure to leave your teenage woes at the door, next time," he sneered.

She made her smile extra bright in response, just to aggravate him more. "Of course, sir."

"Good," he replied gruffly. "Now are you still hungry?"

She looked at him gratefully, her stomach grumbling. "Starving," Lyrisadora answered.

His eyes narrowed. "Then go home and leave me in peace!"

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora protested when Snape more or less shoved her out onto the streets, she realised that she may have gone too far with her remarks earlier.<p>

Sighing to herself, she debated whether to go home or not, she was aware that Snape had a valid point about resolving the conflict between her family, and coming up with the nerve to do it was difficult. She needed to sort her emotions out, clear her head and just relax. So she decided to spend the night at Adrian's.

* * *

><p><em>12th April 1996<em>

There was a bump in the night.

Lyrisadora's eyes eased open, awaking from the noise, her vision was blurry as she looked around the dark bedroom, sneaking a glance at the clock, it barely five in the morning.

Adrian was still fast asleep next to her, snoring and drooling into his pillow, his arm still wrapped around her shoulder. She frowned in confusion, listening for any noise, it was silent for a moment, before she heard another sound.

She tensed, hastily sitting up, grabbing her wand from underneath the bed. "Adrian," she hissed, shaking his shoulder. "Wake up," she whispered, shaking him harder.

He mumbled something incomprehensible, roughly stirring away, looking at her irritably. "What?" he snapped.

"I heard a noise," she said abruptly, already sliding out of the bed.

"It was probably the house-elves," he yawned, but nevertheless started to get out of bed, grabbing his wand.

Domesticated house-elves were not prone to wake their masters. "Doubtful," she commented tonelessly, hastily pulling her dark cotton dress on.

He rubbed his eyes and groggily pulled some trousers on. "Come on then," he mumbled, walking towards the door. The hallway was pitch black, the only light being at where the hallway intercepted at the stairs and the windows across provided a faint light.

They walked quietly down the hallway, both listening out for a sound. Lyrisadora sniffed, a foul smell filling her nostrils, making her tense more as she neared the stairs. "Do you smell that?" she whispered, voice barely audible. Adrian didn't reply, instead she just felt him draw closer to her.

When they reached the floor of the stairs, vomit, with chunks in it, was on the wooden floor. When Lyrisadora peered down the stairs her eyes widened when she saw Mr Elatus Pucey at the bottom of the stairs, his body completely still and he wasn't breathing.

* * *

><p><strong>I've been busy! Funnily enough I was almost finished with this chapter on Wednesday...but then I lost my purse and spent the next 24 hours freaking out. Anyway it's been a busy month, I had to finish off this animation project I've been working on, started learning Japanese, stress from work, hanging out with my friends and family. I had stuff to do. <strong>

**So I'm going to try and update weekly, but if I fade away for a bit, it's just because I got stuff to do. **


	73. Circling like Vultures

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Luthor episode 1 series 1**

* * *

><p><strong>Innocence is a negative. It's the absence of guilt<br>**

**Chapter: Circling like Vultures**

* * *

><p>This was an inconvenience, was what Adrian first thought when he saw his father dead on the floor, at the end of the stairs.<p>

His father was meant to die peacefully in his sleep, let the poison reduce him to a fragile shadow of his former self. This wasn't meant how it was meant to happen. He only realised he had been staring into space when he heard Lyrisadora run down the stairs to his father's dead corpse.

He followed slowly behind, stopping on the second step, watching as she examined him, taking note that she was smart enough not to touch him. "Shit, Adrian…." He heard her whisper, looking up at Adrian in alarm. "I'm sorry, but-"

"He's dead? I already gathered that," Adrian interjected impatiently, he felt a little guilty when he saw her wince, but only a little, because she was being annoying and he needed a proper diagnostic. Maybe he should have just checked himself.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed at him. "He broke his neck and died, he most likely threw up on the landing and lost his footing," she stated evenly.

There was a pause, as Adrian began to process everything. This meant it was highly likely Aurors would have to get involved, if he was fortunate, they might not turn it into a big thing. He looked back at Lyrisadora, it wouldn't do to have her involved. "You should leave," he said.

She stood up to face him. "You'll need an alibi, being seen by house-elves won't hold up in court, not with the whole, being 'sworn to secrecy to their masters' factor," she argued.

She had a point, but she was too linked to him to avoid suspicion. "But, you being here could cause another complication, think about it, two newly engaged lovers off daddy to gain ownership of the fortune, the Daily Prophet will have a field day," he pointed out.

She appeared to actually take this into consideration. "You have a point, but if I leave, I'll have to lie to them about where I was, and if they find out, then it could make things worse," she reasoned.

Adrian held back a sigh, why did she have to be so difficult? "Your parents won't be happy," he said in a vast understatement.

"That'll give them more reason to help cover it all up," she argued. "Listen, I know what I'm doing," she reassured.

"Famous last words," he retorted.

"It's my choice," she said firmly, putting a hypothetical foot down.

"You make horrible choices," he remarked, rolling his eyes.

"No, I make _questionable_ choices," Lyrisadora corrected.

Adrian thought it was still the same thing, but decided to just let it go. "Frankly, I don't care, just try not to make this into a shit storm," he bit back, his eyes fell back on his father's corpse, there was an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach that he couldn't place, and for some reason he was more angry than he should be. Logically it wasn't his father's fault he had fallen down the stairs, his father hadn't wanted to die after all. But falling down the stairs just seemed like the wrong way to go.

He didn't notice her slipping to his side. "We should alert the Aurors," Lyrisadora said gently, placing a steady hand on his shoulder.

He frowned at her, her gentle tone irking him. "I know," he replied, shrugging her shoulder off and stepping over his father's body.

* * *

><p>The Aurors' private investigation team arrived sluggishly.<p>

The Aurors didn't take kindly to being woken up at 4am in the morning, the unspoken irritation displayed with six rounds of coffee, two exhausted looking Aurors and clip worded questions. Among the two Aurors' was Tonks, she and Lyrisadora made sure to act as if they were strangers to one another.

Lyrisadora had her arms folded, the concealer and glamour charm placed over her Dark Mark as she observed the scene before her. The undertakers were waiting outside for them all to finish so they could remove the body.

Lyrisadora was eyeing Adrian in concern throughout the whole thing, the fact he was more wound up than usual contributed to her theory that his father's death affected him more than he was letting on. The idiot probably was only half aware of his own grief.

Tonks was the one asking Adrian the main questions on what had happened, a Hit-Wizard taking photos of the scene around the stares, while a Hit-Witch finished securing the manor.

Lyrisadora looked over at the bald dark skinned Auror who had introduced himself first, his name was Alexander Orsan, a well-built man in his late thirties who had a piercing gaze, long overdue five O'clock shadow, and a shabby brown suit. He was currently examining the body, bending down close to the corpse.

She arched an eyebrow at him when he sniffed the corpse. Perhaps he was checking to see how fresh it was. "Need another coffee, Mr Orsan?" Lyrisadora questioned, stepping towards him.

Mr Orsan's brown eyes looked up at her, he got back to his feet. "No, thank you," he answered, his voice having a gruff working class London edge to it, he looked at her with an inquiring curiosity. "We'll be out of your hair soon enough," he reassured. "If anything comes up, we will have to bring you in for further questioning, standard procedure," he added.

She gave him a short nod, looking back at him. "As long as it doesn't interrupt my schooling, that should be fine," she replied, there was a look in his eye, she turned looked at him intently. "Unless, there's a problem?"

He gave her a half-hearted confused look. "No, you're cooperation is more than helpful," he replied evenly. "I'm guessing this wasn't how you planned to spend your morning." Mr Orsan briefly glanced behind his shoulder at the dead body.

She wondered if he was trying to be funny. "No, not really," was her flat response.

"Are you sure that's everything?" Tonks questioned Adrian. Drawing Lyrisadora's and Mr Orsan's attention.

Adrian's face was unreadable. "Yes, unless you'd like any further details on my sex life?" he replied dryly.

Lyrisadora sighed quietly, she noticed Mr Orsan's eyes flicker between them both. "We'll pass," Mr Orsan responded lightly. "But it would be appreciated if you could get in touch with your mother before we do. You said your father had been ill for a long while?" he said, Lyrisadora picked up on the slight change of tone, her curiosity growing.

Adrian nodded coolly. "He's be-he was ill for two years," was his answer, recomposing himself. _Definitely in denial_, Lyrisadora thought grimly.

"That must have been hard on your mother?" Mr Orsan assumed.

A flicker of amusement flashed across Adrian's eyes, but it was gone within seconds and was barely noticeable. "She's strong enough to cope, always have been."

"Is she always away?" Mr Orsan asked, his tone innocently curious, Lyrisadora watched the exchange intently.

"Is it a crime to travel?" Adrian retorted angrily, something she recognised as being forced. The Hit-witch and Wizard, as well as Tonks and Lyrisadora were silent as they observed Adrian and Mr Orsan play verbal Quidditch. "Yes, Mr Orsan, she travelled a lot and was hardly home…you can fill in the blanks," Adrian spat, eyes briefly flickering to Lyrisadora, needing her help with the act.

"_Mr Orsan,_" Lyrisadora warned, shooting Adrian a concerned look, grasping his hand.

Mr Orsan's lips twitched upwards. "I'm sorry if I seem too forthright Mr Pucey, I just like having a clear picture," he said. "So please, humour me, was your father often ill when you were a child?"

"No, but as you can see, age sadly took its toll," Adrian replied, not even attempting to mask his condescension.

Mr Orsan looked at Adrian for a moment, before looking at Lyrisadora and then back at Adrian. "Of course….do you mind if I just do a double check upstairs, standard procedure, just to help clear this all up," Mr Orsan requested casually, placing his hands in the pockets of his muddy brown loose robe.

"Yeah sure," Adrian consented, sounding as if that was the last thing on his mind.

Mr Orsan then looked back at Lyrisadora. "Miss…Malfoy was it?"

"Yes?" Lyrisadora inquired evenly.

"Could you come and walk me through how you discovered the body?" Mr Orsan asked. "I like having the full picture," he repeated.

Lyrisadora gave the Auror a humouring smile. "Of course," she said nonchalantly, before glancing over at Adrian, arching a questioning eyebrow at him.

Adrian looked back at Mr Orsan and nodded in agreement. "Sure," he muttered, his face moulding into the perfect picture of grief.

Lyrisadora led Mr Orsan upstairs, avoiding the vomit. "Seeing how you like a clear picture, we'll start in the bedroom," she said dryly.

"Alright then," he responded curtly, brown eyes surveying the dim hallway. "You seem to be coping well, for someone who's just seen a dead body," he added casually, walking into the bedroom.

Lyrisadora eyed him cautiously. "I'm not easily shaken," she countered curtly.

He turned around and gave her an amused look. "I noticed…Slytherin?" he questioned.

She couldn't help but feel slightly amused. "Great detective work there, did the green give it away?" Briefly examining her light green dress.

He looked underneath the bed, before glancing back at her. "Just a guess," he told her, wondering over to the pile of clothes that had been hurriedly dropped on the floor. "Now, when did you say you heard the noise?"

Lyrisadora held back an annoyed sigh, looking away towards the window. "I heard a noise, it woke me up, so I woke Adrian up and we went to go investigate," she retold, looking back over to find him now looking inside a set of draws. Lyrisadora sat on the window sill and watched him.

"You're not creating a picture," Mr Orsan chimed, his voice sounding patronising.

She looked at him in irritation. "When I got up I got dressed, grabbed my wand, shouted at Adrian and walked out of the door," she explained in a sing-song voice, the twins often used, walking towards the door.

He gave the room a once over, hands still embedded in his pockets as he walked out into the hallway. "You see anyone or anything on your way down?" he asked.

"No," Lyrisadora answered. "I can draw you a picture if you want," she suggested flippantly.

He stopped and looked at her, she gave him a tight smile. "It's a valid question," Mr Orsan said.

"And one I've already answered more than once," she retorted.

He paused, the two stared at each other challengingly. "Did you push him?" he asked.

He really was as blunt as a spoon. "No, I didn't kill him," she told him.

"Some might disagree," he countered, stepping closer.

She stood her ground, giving him a criticizing look. "Because they don't look at the fact, they see what they want to see," she said smoothly. "You saw the body, does he look he was pushed? Was there any traces of magic, you checked our wands, there was nothing there," she challenged coldly, eyes never leaving his. He knew something, she wasn't sure if he believed her or not, hell, she was pretty sure he didn't care if she was innocent.

His face was unreadable, his eyes looking deep in thought. "You a natural blonde?" he inquired.

Lyrisadora did a back track, unable to mask her confusion at the question that appeared out of the blue. "Yes…How is this related to the investigation?" she wondered.

Her eyes were piercing when she looked at him, attempting to decipher what he was getting at. He looked at her innocently. "Just curious," he replied casually, backing away, examining the hallway as he walked over to where the vomit was. "I think I've got a good layout," he finally said looking down the stairs, eyes examining the bannister and the specks of blood on the stairs.

"Glad to hear," said Lyrisadora, following him down the stairs, mind still lingering on his words.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Lyrisadora exchanged a small glance with Tonks, her cousin giving her a faint shrug. Lyrisadora walked over to Adrian, his mask of grief still in place. "After this, I can stay if you want," she suggested.

He glanced at her, taking note of Mr Orsan's return. "I'm not going to slip into a world of despair if you leave," Adrian scoffed, his façade quickly dissolving. "Go home, besides I need to tell mother about what's happened."

Lyrisadora wished he wouldn't be such an ass when she was trying to be nice to him. Realising she was fighting a losing battle, she decided it was best she just left him alone for a day or two. "Suit yourself," she murmured.

"Are you satisfied?" Tonks questioned Mr Orsan, looking a little impatient.

"Yes," Mr Orsan responded simply. "Send the boys in, we're done here," he instructed Tonks. He walked passed Lyrisadora and Adrian, Mr Orsan's eyes meeting hers. "We'll be in touch," he said simply.

Lyrisadora flashed him a polite smile. "Have a nice day," she said pleasantly, giving him a curt wave.

He looked faintly amused, leaving the manor, with Tonks and the Hit-witch and wizard in tow, as the undertakers came to collect the body.

When Lyrisadora and Adrian were finally alone, he went to go make tea, leaving her to get properly dressed, taking off her cotton dress to put on her underwear. When she finished, she buckled her outer robe on, frowning at her light pockets.

She reached into her left pocket to feel the familiar grip of her knife, but it was gone.

She froze, for a second she was completely confused, before the memory of Mr Orsan resurfaced. _We'll be in touch,_ he had said, looking at her directly, the message finally sinking in.

However instead of anger, she felt something quite the opposite, a playful curiosity teasing her brain. Wondering what type or game this Auror was playing.

* * *

><p><em>13th April 1996<em>

When Lyrisadora finally got home, her family had just started breakfast, needless to say, they didn't appear enthusiastic at seeing her walk in wearing clothes from the night before. "Where were you?" Draco questioned, as she pulled up a chair next to him, opposite her mother and next to her father.

She took a slice of toast. "I was at Adrian's," she replied truthfully, seeing how the whole news would get out soon enough.

Her mother looked scandalised. "Lyrisadora that isn't appropriate," Narcissa fussed. "People will talk."

Lyrisadora acted as if she hadn't heard her mother. "Also, Adrian's father fell down the stairs and died," she said, hastily taking a bite of toast.

The whole table froze. "…What?" her father questioned hesitantly, looking at her sharply.

"Elatus Pucey, is dead," she repeated bluntly. "The Aurors were called in."

Her father was silent for a moment, before he let out a frustrated sound. "That's inconvenient," Lucius sighed.

She gave him a look of distaste. "Yes, I suppose it is," she agreed sarcastically.

Her father's eyes narrowed. "Watch your tone. You shouldn't have been over there in the first place," he snapped.

She glared at him. "Well I figured I had enough lies piled up already, thought I'd surprise my conscience and tell the truth for a change," she remarked flippantly.

Her father didn't seem in a good humoured mood today. "For God's sake!" he barked, his temper finally snapping, she levelled his glare with her own. "Grow up and take this seriously," he reprimanded.

"_Lucius_," Narcissa warned, giving him a look.

Lucius looked at her in irritation. "_Narcissa,"_ he retorted bitingly, intensifying his wife's glare. "I'm _trying_ to talk sense to the girl," he argued.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "More like yell at me," she interjected.

Her father's glare returned to her. "Do you even realise how this will make us look, we can't afford that type of attention," he snapped.

"I'm aware," Lyrisadora answered evenly, attempting to keep a lid on her temper, taking a deep breath, before exhaling. "I didn't want Adrian to deal with this alone. And besides, getting everyone here to lie about where I was last night, would just involve the family further, at least this way it's more linked to me and Adrian."

"I still have to smooth things over, that'll cost money and blackmail," Lucius ground out. "You should be grateful."

And she was, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "I'll express it in your eulogy," she responded coolly.

A fierce anger flashed in his eyes. "You little-"

"Can we please just eat!" Draco snapped, finally cracking. "Just stop fighting! We get it, you hate each other, now can we just eat in peace?" he growled, glaring at them both. Lyrisadora was impressed, it looked like he was finally growing a backbone.

And for a while everyone was silent, her father seemed to settle back into his chair, eyeing his son with a hint of, dare she think,_ respect_. Her mother looked at them all with a troubled expression. How the hell did Snape expect her to resolve anything with them? "I'm not hungry," Lyrisadora interjected plainly, pushing her plate away. No one argued or protested to her getting up and leaving.

They just didn't seem to care anymore.

When she got to her room, she noticed a grey owl perched outside her window, how long it had been there, she wasn't sure. She noticed a note attached to the bird's thin leg, she frowned when the owl pecked at her hand when she took it off. The bird tried to take another peck at her when she tried to shoo it off. "Bloody bird," she murmured irritably, before reading the note.

_Nice Knife. I'll buy you a drink. 12pm, Leaky Cauldron._

_See you tomorrow._

Lyrisadora scrunched up the note, now he was just deliberately trying to piss her off.

* * *

><p><em>14th April 1996<em>

When Lyrisadora located Mr Orsan in a corner of the pub, she made sure to keep her face as blank as possibly, slipping into the booth, sitting opposite him as he looked at her with smug amusement. He was leaning back in the booth, legs crossed and one arm resting on the table. "You know it's illegal to be in possession of a cursed weapon," Mr Orsan said lightly.

"The penalty being a 40 galleon fine," she scoffed, giving him a curt smile. "You can send me the bill and I'll give you a tip," she quipped. "Otherwise, give it back."

He gave her a dry look. "Funny," he said, withdrawing the knife from his robe pocket. "I just needed to give you an incentive to come."

"And if I didn't?"

"I would have given you the fine, I could use that tip," he countered.

She couldn't help it, she let out a brief laugh, before smothering it with a polite smile. "I thought official interrogations happened at the Auror office?"

He placed the knife on the table, hand still resting on top of it. "I met Elatus Pucey three years ago at a Ministry gathering, I disliked him the minute he opened his mouth, he was an asshole and a lecher, but he was healthy," Mr Orsan began to retell. "So when rumours began to circulate that he had become ill of his own dodgy dealings, I thought nothing suspicious much," he reasoned, eyeing her intently. "But the thing is, even though receiving the best care money could buy, he kept getting worse and the funny thing is, the illness only turns deadly when the immune system is weak, so how did a perfectly healthy man with no history of severe illnesses, suddenly just fade away?"

Lyrisadora considered her next words carefully, it seemed the Auror liked to explain his theory's allowed, a reckless man. "I don't know," she said in feigned confusion.

He looked at her calculatedly. "He was dying slowly and was suffering, what type of murder is that?"

She pretended to think. "It doesn't sound much like a murder."

He continued. "A calculated vindictive one, by someone who didn't want to get caught," he explained.

Lyrisadora was intrigued by him, he was asking all the right questions. "What exactly are you getting at?" She looked at him questionably. "This is a big leap from a simple bad fall down the stairs."

"A week ago, a high paid prostitute called Melinda Sullvien was found tied up and dead in her room, she had been strangled," Mr Orsan recited. Lyrisadora felt her stomach churn unpleasantly, keeping her face passive. "When we arrested the client, who the brothel had reported had been the last to pay Sullvien a visit _and_ had been a regular customer, he couldn't give us a reason as to why he did it." Mr Orsan played with the knife in his hand. "The thing is though, coincidentally, I had been in Knockturn alley at the time, doing a few patrols. When I happened to see a young woman exit a pub through a toilet window." He stopped playing with the knife. "So are you sure you're a natural blonde?"

Lyrisadora was silent for a moment. "So… let me get this straight, you think I staged Mr Pucey's death over the course of two years, and also somehow helped murder a woman I had never met? How are these linked again?" she questioned slowly, giving him an inquiring look.

"Oh I know you weren't involved, directly," Mr Orsan corrected smoothly. "But you know about them."

"That's a hell of a leap," she pointed out.

"Melinda Sullvien was favourite of Mr Pucey's, up until two years ago when he got ill, the brothel she worked at was renowned for healthy clean prostitutes, the girls were checked regularly, so it was a great surprise when Mr Pucey contracted an illness that was better known to circulate around the cheap whore houses," Mr Orsan continued.

"You've done your homework, am I supposed to be impressed?" Lyrisadora leaned in, resting her arms on the table as she looked at him curiously. "What is this all meant to prove? You sound insane and I doubt I'm the only one who thinks it," she remarked.

"But I'm right," he said confidently, looking at her as if he knew everything.

"Prove it," Lyrisadora said plainly, looking at him expectantly.

"I don't need to," he said frankly. "Mr Pucey died from a fall, but other people may not think that."

"….Are you threatening me?" Lyrisadora questioned amusingly. "If so, don't hold back, let me have it," she taunted.

To her frustration, Mr Orsan looked amused by her response. "I've been personally investigating a murder of a colleague of mine," he began to explain, completely changing the subject. "His family was apparently murdered by werewolves, in his own home."

Lyrisadora couldn't help it, her body reacting instinctively, her face became paler, despite her blank expression. "And?" she questioned, making her voice sound irritated, as if this was all trivial.

"He had been investigating the rumour that You-Know-Who was back," he divulged, watching her intensely. "The Malfoys served You-Know-Who in the first Wizarding war. You know something."

"So, you want information from me, even though I don't know what you're talking about," she spoke placidly. "If you're implying what I think you're implying, you're wrong."

His lips tugged upwards in bemusement. "You don't notice do you?" He looked at her left arm that was covered by her robe sleeve. "I guess it's all in the subconscious, you fold your arms a lot, you touch your left arm and you look at it, as if checking something." He laughed, she stiffened. "Maybe it was a one off, all those Aurors around, has to make you a little twitchy."

She masked her fear with a cold smile. "You're playing a dangerous game Mr Orsan."

He shrugged, looking unperturbed. "So are you," he argued mildly. "Now what do you know about Auror Willows murder?"

"I'm not that close in the circle," she replied, forcing her body to relax. "Whatever he did, it upset the wrong type of people," she lied through her teeth. "That's all I know."

"Find out more."

"Why?" Lyrisadora challenged, looking at him coldly. "I'm not some info broker."

"You are now," Mr Orsan said firmly, looking completely serious. "Think of it as a wager," he reasoned coldly. "You help me and I smooth this whole 'death by stairs' case over, you don't help me and I make this a pile shit and dump it at your door," he warned.

Okay, now she was impressed, and even a tad intimidated. "Frank words," she said heatedly. "A man who swore to uphold his Ministry's laws, ready to abuse them at the drop of a hat," she mocked. "And here I thought I was morally corrupt."

He slid the knife over the table to her. "When I need you, I'll contact you," he said simply.

"I doubt I'll be much use while in school," she said dryly.

He stood up. "You'll be useful," he told her.

She was feeling daring, as she gave him a crooked smile. "And what's to stop me from killing you?"

He looked at her for a moment, before he chuckled and gave her an entertained smile. And then he just walked away.

Lyrisadora watched him leave, her mind buzzing with what had just transpired. Mr Orsan was now a complication, and she couldn't let him find out about her involvement with the Willows family murder, she'd need to keep an eye on him. Or perhaps he already knew of her involvement, she paused, before shaking her head. He probably wouldn't have met up with her if he thought she had helped…unless he was trying to mislead her with false trust.

Nevertheless, she just had to string him a long for a few months until she left the country. And she hoped Mr Orsan didn't wind up dead like his friend for sniffing in places he was unwelcomed, he had peaked her interests.

Though, he could have at least bought her that drink.

* * *

><p><strong>And the Easter holidays are nearly at a close, be returning to Umbridge soon enough! <strong>


	74. Spiders in the Walls

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Willie Nelson**

* * *

><p><strong>The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.<strong>

**Chapter: Spiders in the Walls**

* * *

><p><em>15th April 1996<em>

Lyrisadora resisted the urge to smack Adrian across the head, the two currently in the late Elatus Pucey's study, attempting to sort through the man's personal possessions. Lyrisadora mainly doing the work while Adrian lounged in his father's armchair, skimming through a hardback novel.

Lyrisadora stopped sorting through the vast collection of books and fixed him with a unamused look. "You know, you could help?" she snapped.

He looked up at her from his book. "You seem to have a good grasp of it," he argued nonchalantly. "Besides, you offered."

"I didn't expect to be doing all the work," she told him in irritation, eyes sweeping over the empty boxes that had yet to be filled. "And you still need to decide what you want to keep in storage, get rid of, or keep in the room," she reminded, picking up an oddly shaped tube.

Adrian spared her a glance before returning to his book. "Just leave the books and get rid of the rest; the chair and desk are staying," he drawled. "You can leave, I'll just get one of the house-elves to pack everything up."

She looked over at him, hesitating before dumping the objects in her arms into a box, making her way over to him. "I'm staying," she said plainly, folding her arms. "Or you'll just sit there all day, I mean, have you even started with the funeral preparations," she lectured, grabbing the book from his grasp.

He looked at her in annoyance. "Mother is tending to that, it'll be done in a week, it's not going to be a big affair," he said curtly. "It'll be done by the time we go back to school and as for the household affairs, my mother will be handling a good half of them until I graduate," he explained.

"So, I guess our travel plans will be delayed?" she assumed, walking round the desk to his side, before sitting on the edge.

He looked at her this time. "Afraid so, princess," he cooed.

She saw an opportunity. "We can compromise," she pointed out casually, pretending to think. "You'll be handling half of your family affairs, which would those be?" she asked.

Adrian leaned back in his chair. "Mainly the investments and business management."

"How much money did you manage to get secured in America?" she inquired.

"56,000 galleons, but if we want it to grow, we need to make the right investments," he told her. "And with father dead, I'll need to start organising the dividing of the lands, they'll be some issues with the matter of inheritance," he sighed.

"What about expanding the business you have in England to America, and then sell the business to your false identity?" she suggested.

Adrian looked like he was mulling this over. "Hm, that could work," he murmured, eyes flickering to the desk draws. He opened them up, waving his wand so that the contents inside lay on the desk.

Lyrisadora moved off the desk, scanning the stack of papers. "What are these?"

"Contracts and Deeds," he answered, fishing out a fresh looking piece of parchment. "What do you think of this?"

She scanned the parchment, it was a deed a small casino, which was currently stationed in Manchester. "Not exactly clean cut," she joked. "Think it'll hold up in the states?"

"If I get someone to scout out the right area," he said.

"You could do it yourself. It'd make things easier for me to get out of the country," she reasoned leisurely, reading through the information.

Adrian looked at her firmly. "Something could go wrong," he protested.

Lyrisadora tried to play her cards carefully, giving Adrian an exasperated look. "I can take care of myself, darling, though your concern is heart-wrenching," she oozed playfully. He gave her an unamused look. "Besides, it'll be less suspicious if you leave before me," she reasoned.

"Me going over before you, could make people suspicious, they might realise I'm planning to leave the country," he argued.

"You have a point," she tried to placate, her mind racing. "But, what if we got your mother involved?" she suggested.

He looked at her with interest. "I'm listening."

"Your mother just lost her husband. She's stricken, she needs a distraction. So, she decides to spend the summer in America, to help secure the development of your new casino," Lyrisadora began to sew the tale. "When, suddenly, she gets injured. You have no choice but to go over there and look after her, especially, since you've just recently lost your father," Lyrisadora concocted, giving him a sly smirk.

For a second, he just looked at her, making her smirk nearly falter, before he grinned. He stood up to kiss her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "That might just work," he murmured. "I have to admit, I love it when you start acting like a Slytherin," he complemented.

She returned his grin, cupping his face in her hands. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then," she said, still seeing a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. "Don't coddle me, Adrian, it's annoying," she said evenly, giving him a brief kiss before pulling away. "I can look after myself," she reassured.

"Barely," he scoffed, pulling her in closer.

She looked at him seriously. "You trust me, don't you?"

"Obviously."

"Then everything will work out," she assured.

They were both silent for a moment, the study feeling warm. The moment had a certain tenderness. Realisation must have dawned on Adrian, as he promptly pulled away. "I'll owl Mr Gordon to settle the casino venture," he said, beginning to tidy up the pieces of parchments. "I'll contact you when I need you," he added smoothly, picking up a pen and paper.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at his behaviour.

And, he'd said she had a problem with denial.

* * *

><p>It was approaching late evening when she made it home. Lyrisadora had been halfway to her room, when her dark mark burned.<p>

Her stomach twisted painfully. Summoning her robes, she made her way back towards the front door. Swallowing her remaining nerve aS she walked outside towards the gate, she had started to hope the Dark Lord would leave her relatively alone for the next couple of months.

She heard the door open and close from a distance, footsteps fast approaching. She turned around to find her father hurrying down the path, dressed all in black. Lyrisadora felt her jaw tense, as she quickly turned away. "Do you know why he wants us?" she asked, when her father caught up.

Her father spared her a cold sideways look. "I have my assumptions," he replied.

"Care to share?" she said.

"No," Lucius responded curtly, she rolled her eyes at him as her anxiety faded a little.

"Hopefully he's in a good mood," she muttered, not wanting to be the Dark Lord's punching bag for the night. She noticed her father give her a brief glance, but he didn't comment. The two soon reaching the end of the protective wards, before flying off into the night.

* * *

><p>When Lyrisadora and Lucius arrived at the decaying manor, the door was promptly opened by a short rodent looking man. "Wormtail," her father greeted, looking at the man like he was shit beneath his shoe.<p>

Lyrisadora eyed the man in silent interest, watching Wormtail cower away with a fixed expression of misery etched on his face. "The Dark Lord is in the drawing room," Wormtail divulged as Lyrisadora and Lucius passed him, hastily closing the door behind the two.

"Thanks," Lyrisadora said curtly to the doorman, seeing as her father had blatantly ignored him and kept on walking. "Who was he?" she asked once they were out of earshot.

"No one of importance," Lucius answered dismissively, slowing his pace as they neared the door to the drawing room. He grabbed her arm and looked at her sternly. "….Be careful," he advised hesitantly, before quickly letting her go.

She eyed him curiously, noting that he looked like he was trying hard to mask his worry. "I will," she promised evenly. Her father looked like he wanted to say something, but instead just pursed his lips and continued on towards the door.

She paused before following.

The drawing room remained the same, but this time is held a more suffocating air to it. There was also the fact Bellatrix was there, so Lyrisadora assumed that was an adding factor.

Voldemort eyed them coolly, before looking back at the female Lestrange. "Leave us, Bella," he ordered briskly, Nagini curling around his waist, as he twirled his wand in his hand.

Bellatrix obeyed, but not before giving the two Malfoys a distasteful sneer, to which Lyrisadora could have sworn she saw her father discreetly roll his eyes at. "My Lord," Lucius greeted, bowing respectively, to which Lyrisadora hastily followed suit.

"Lucius," Voldemort replied, watching as they arose. "Lyra," he greeted coldly, tapping the end of his wand.

Lyrisadora forced herself not to flinch, making sure to keep her face blank. Lucius looked at Voldemort questionably. "You summoned us, my Lord?" he pressed.

Voldemort hummed quietly. "I have two tasks for you both," he explained smoothly, rising from his chair, Nagini slithering onto the floor. "I want you to go to the ministry. Lucius you are to locate the head of security, Crux Kershaw, and plant the imperious on him. Runcorn will be there to assist," the Dark Lord began to explain. Lyrisadora listened attentively, she assumed this was part of the Dark Lord's new plan to infiltrate the ministry. She stopped her musing when Voldemort's eyes landed on her. "And, you, my dear, will be acquiring an object from the late Mr Willows office," he continued. "His office has yet to be properly cleared out, and it appears a letter was sent to him a good day or two before his death," he drawled, his eyes gleamed as he eyed them both, before piercing hers. "I'm sure you're capable enough to pull this off?" he sneered, looking at her in contempt.

She felt her father tense a fraction, but otherwise said nothing. "Yes, My Lord," Lyrisadora replied evenly, proud that she had managed to keep her fear from showing. "I won't disappoint you," she assured firmly, making her gaze appear reproachful, looking eager to please.

The Dark Lord's lips curved upwards in amusement, eyes trailing Nagini's form as the giant snake curved around Lyrisadora's legs. "Or your father," he said, drawing in their full attention, Lyrisadora kept her panic at bay, feeling the snake tighten around her feet, hissing. "He spoke such high hopes of you," he sighed, absently tapping his wand against his palm as he watched them passively.

"We won't fail, my Lord," Lucius said firmly, refusing to look at his daughter. "When are we to depart?"

The Dark Lord considered them both before turning away, Nagini following suit. "You will arrive at the Ministry at half ten in the morning, tomorrow," he began to explain. Lyrisadora let out a breath she had been holding. "Now listen carefully, because you're window of opportunity is limited…."

* * *

><p><em>16th April 1996<em>

They entered the ministry through Floo; one that thankfully didn't involve flushing oneself down the toilet. Lyrisadora straightened out her crisp black pinstriped robes, her visitors badge clipped to her blazer pocket, handbag strapped on her shoulder, the skirt chaffing her thighs. She glanced at her father, who was absently swinging his cane leisurely, as this was just another day.

She made sure her expression was subdued. After all, she was still meant to be mourning her fiancé's late father as she "cleared" out his old office; an office that the man had insisted on keeping for the last three years, despite the downward spiral that was his health. Elatus Pucey's office was located two floors below the Auror department. Apparently, Mr Pucey had been the former head of the Spirit Division and secured himself his own private office in his prime, which now no doubt contained dust mites and possibly a Boggart.

At 11.15am, the Head of Security would take his lunch break; he favoured the Ministry Munchies stand on level 8. Lucius and Runcorn were to intercept him on his way down. Meanwhile, she had to sneak into the Auror office by targeting Secretary Assistant Gertrude Hodge and use a polyjuice potion to impersonate her. Considering the dosage would only last half an hour, she didn't have much time to get the stuff from Elatus Pucey's office and meet back with her father at 12pm back on level 8.

"You know where she'll be?" her father asked her quietly, when they were alone in the lift.

"Runcorn said she has a 'bladder problem', tends to go to the toilet every twenty or so minutes," Lyrisadora whispered, before the lift doors opened and a weedy-looking woman holding a small caged stepped in; the wisps of her strawberry blonde hair were charred. Lyrisadora spared her an odd glance, before facing straight ahead.

After sparing her a cool glance, her father got off on level 5. "Don't dawdle," he sighed nonchalantly, barely sparing her another glance as he went on his way. After a few others entered the lift, it began to move again. The woman with the cage, a stern-faced man in a stripped purple suit and a brunette woman exited the lift at level 7. A black woman with a beehive-like hairstyle exited at level 5. And, so on, until soon enough Lyrisadora was alone in the lift with her arms folded.

Lyrisadora patiently waited for the floor number to light up, as bouncing of the lift knocking her slightly. She sighed as she finally reached level 2. The hallway was of a similar glossy stone as the rest of the complex, but unlike most departments it was alive with noise and chatter as people crossed the hallways between rooms.

There was a sign pointing to the different departments. She tried to be as quiet and invisible as possible, tucking her visitors badge into her breast pocket as she made her way down the bustling corridor.

When she finally caught sight of Gertrude Hodge, the woman had just stepped into the Ladies' lavatory. Lyrisadora looked around a bit, before transforming a handful of sickles into an 'OUT OF ORDER' sign, discreetly sticking it on the lavatory door before stepping inside.

A plump woman walked past her as Lyrisadora entered. It was empty, bar one occupant in the second stall, a vase of freshly cut lavender in the sink corner, a large rectangular mirror stretched above the sinks and the light reflecting off the grey tiled floor. She silently locked the door behind her, just in case the sign was ignored.

Lyrisadora took position in front of the mirror, running a comb through her hair as she waited for the woman to finish. When the stall door unlocked, she tucked the comb away. Gertrude spared her a glance before picking up a bar of soap and turning on the tap.

Lyrisadora flashed her a sweet smile, looking for a moment, before morphing her expression into something of an epiphany. "Um, excuse me…" she spoke hesitantly.

Gertrude looked at her inquisitively. "Yes?"

"I was wondering where the Portkey office is. I have an interview," she inquired, looking at the woman earnestly. "Someone said it was on level 2."

The woman's face morphed into something that resembled pity. "No dear, you're a good four floors away. That's on level 6," Gertrude told her.

Lyrisadora swore under her breath. "I'm going to be late…" she murmured frantically, hastily looking through bag, 'accidently' knocking it to the floor. "Oh…" She looked up at Gertrude imploringly, the woman obliged, rather reluctantly, helping her put the off bits and bobs back in the bag. "Thank you," Lyrisadora said, conveniently pressing on the perfume bottle handle, the spraying Gertrude in the face. "Sorry!" Lyrisadora gasped, watching the woman's eyes scrunch up, Lyrisadora steadied her to her feet, plucking a hair in the process.

"It's…ohhh... what was in the perfume?" Gertrude moaned, clutching her stomach, her brow creasing and legs wobbling.

"Just lavender. Are you okay?" Lyrisadora asked in concern. A farting noise was heard, as Gertrude rushed back into the stall and locked herself in, as a bad smell filled the air. Lyrisadora wrinkled her nose, but didn't waste time, quickly transforming her robes to that of Gertrude's, loosening them slightly. She added Gertrude's hair to the potion, watching as it turned a lilac colour and swallowing the liquid whole.

Despite her vague guilt over putting Hodge through this, she felt a swell of relief at Fred and George's concoction working so efficiently. Those boys were like gooses laying golden eggs.

It tasted like old, cold tea.

The mirror showed her skin bubble, as her face became rounder and more moon-shaped. Her thighs narrowing and butt growing. Her skin turning a more pinkish colour, and eyes turning to a deep blue. Her straight hair was now messier and shorter, and her platinum blonde hair was a wispy brown.

She observed her new face for a moment. "Weird," she murmured, before hastily heading to the door and unlocking it. She casted a quick silencing charm, encasing the lavatory in muted bubble.

The hallway outside was less crowded than it had been before, as Lyrisadora stepped out and locked the door behind her for just in case. She began to head towards the Auror office, mentally repeating to herself she only had thirty minutes before the potion she had sprayed Gertrude with and her polyjuice wore off.

She only had one chance to get this right.

Lyrisadora made sure to drag her right foot a little to mimic Gertrude's walk, making sure her face had a faint, pleasant smile stuck on.

When she stepped into the Auror office, it was full to the brim and noisy. Message aeroplanes flying about, Aurors shouting at each other from across cubicles, as the place stunk a mix of pasties, coffee, tea and a hint of Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans.

Trying to blend into the background, she narrowly avoided crashing into Tonks, who appeared to be on a coffee run. Mr Willows' cubicle was located near the far end, it had a bobble-head Goblin near the typewriter. Lyrisadora discreetly looked around, pretending to fix her hair, before leaning against Mr Willows cubicle and 'attempting' to fix her heeled shoe. She smiled at a passer-by as she emptied the shoe of any non-existent dirt, before slipping into the cubicle.

The cubicle already looked like it had been searched, only the typewriter and bobble head really remained on the desk. "Where are you?" she breathed, her voice barely audible, as she quietly searched, ducking underneath the desk when she heard someone walk past.

She held in a sigh of relief, before getting out from under the desk. She opened up the bottom draw, only to find it empty like the first. Lyrisadora felt she was starting to lose her nerve, hastily checking the clock and realising she only had ten more minutes. She felt underneath the draw, pressing upwards, and when the inside of the draw didn't lift up, she realised why she couldn't find it.

Taking a pen from on top of the desk, she lifted up the first panel of wood inside the bottom draw. A secret compartment was revealed as an opened envelope coming into view. She swiped the letter up and carefully placed the wood panel back down.

Lyrisadora quickly scanned the letter, it was written in French.

_'August_

_You're an idiot and a fool. Congratulations on the dual accomplishment. This is my last warning, you need to stop this. There's a reason Karkaroff has flown the coop, follow his lead and get out now. _

_Things are already starting to get worse here, I don't know if the queen knows or not, but everyone seems paranoid lately, more quick to temper. Anyway, you get my point. The Syndicate are growing a little bolder, from what info I've gathered, they've gained access to Portkeys, which I'm guessing means they've started infiltrating the ministry. _

_Either way it isn't good. I'll write to you once I get more info, that's if I make it out alive. _

_July' _

Lyrisadora tucked the letter back into the envelope before placing it in her inside breast pocket. Checking to see if anyone was coming before sneaking out of the cubicle. The Polyjuice dosage had been timed carefully, and the effects were starting to wear off as she felt her clothes feel looser.

"Gertrude!" called a voice from behind her, stopping Lyrisadora in her tracks. She turned around to find a flabbergasted man in a long, brown trench coat coming towards her. "Where have you been!? You said you would be finished filing the report half an hour ago, I go back and it it's still in the typewriter and you're not at your post," he scolded.

Lyrisadora had to think carefully on how best to react, trying to remember and assume as much about Gertrude's personality as fast as possible. "I'm sorry," she apologised, adding some exasperation into her tone, mimicking Gertrude's ringing voice. "Today is not a good day, my stomach feels like it's having a…." she broke off from her sentence to clutch her stomach in pain, the ends of her hair turning blonde. "Sorry…I ….need the loo," she moaned, hurrying off before the man could protest.

Lyrisadora unlocked the toilet door, removing the 'OUT OF ORDER' sign, and slipped inside. The smell was disgusting as she rushed into a stall, Gertrude moaned and then farted with a plop. Lyrisadora removed the silencing charm and covered her nose, transforming her robes back to normal.

"Gertrude?" called a male voice, belonging the one from the man who had stopped. "Are you okay in there….?"

The real Gertrude groaned loudly. "Go away, Flinn!" she yelled.

Lyrisadora ignored them, examining her hands, watching her skin boil and change back. Turning from a healthy pink to its natural pale state. She felt her face become straighter, hearing the door open and then an exclamation of disgust as the newcomer fled the scene.

Lyrisadora opened the stall door once she was confident the potion was worn off, readjusting her hair and smoothing down her robes, as she placed the Visitor tag back on. When she stepped out of the loo, the man, who she presumed was called Flinn, had already left the area. She walked down the hallway, heading towards the elevator-

"You lost, Malfoy?" called a familiar, working-class twang.

Lyrisadora stopped, turned around to find Mr Orsan walking towards her. She remained cool-headed, giving the Auror a sheepish smile. "I seem to have misplaced myself," she said evenly. "I'm looking for the Spirit Division. There are personal possessions that still need collecting from the late Mr Pucey's office," she explained smoothly.

"You're a good two floors off," Mr Orsan said plainly, giving her a sceptical look. "Are the signs difficult to read, Miss Malfoy."

"I didn't see. I was in rush. Anyway, that would explain why I can't find it," she hummed, inside her heart was racing, Mr Orsan could not find that letter under any circumstances. "Good thing I ran into you," she added, patting him on the arm before making her way to the elevator.

"Then, let me make sure you don't get lost again," he said lightly, walking ahead of her and pressing the button to summon the lift.

Lyrisadora considered her options carefully. "Don't you have better things to do? Maybe solving a murder?" she retorted.

He gave her an amused smile. "I can multi-task," he replied. The doors opened with a ping, Mr Orsan stepped aside to let a few people exit the lift, before stretching his arm out to let her pass.

Lyrisadora flashed him a patronising smile, before entering the elevator. Mr Orsan following after, pressing level 4. "Don't you have work to do?" she inquired, sparing him a glance, as the elevator doors closed.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Call it an early lunch break," he quipped, scratching at his morning stubble. "You know, I'm pretty sure the audio tells you what department you're at," he remarked flippantly.

"Well, considering you have loads of divisions mixed with other divisions, it gets confusing," she argued, shooting him an earnest look. He looked back at her, clear scepticism radiating from his glance.

The voice of the lift called the departments name and level, Lyrisadora smiled pleasantly at Mr Orsan, before exiting the lift as he trailed behind her. "Spirit division is on your left," Mr Orsan told her, coming to her side as they entered the hectic looking department. "It's been a little upheaved since Pucey was taken ill," he explained quietly, as they walked past a wizard getting pelted by a series books by seemingly invisible attacker, most likely a poltergeist.

The division's security checked her visitor pass before unlocking Pucey's office. "Yell if you need anything," the security guard advised, before leaving them be.

Mr Orsan watched her calculatedly as she started to examine the dusty old room. "Just thought I'd let you know, the investigation should be cleared up in no time," he told her. He paused before adding. "Shouldn't Adrian be the one doing this?"

Lyrisadora looked through the desk draws. "He was busy, so I agreed to do it," she answered. "Is it really that hard to believe?" She teased, picking up an empty waste paper bin and placing it on the desk.

"You're a consummate liar," Mr Orsan stopping in front of the desk. "Enough said," he added.

She smiled at him, trying to think of a way to blow his scent off. "You must have me all figured out then?" Stuffing an old porn magazine into the bin. "Fine, you want to know what I was doing on level 2?" she questioned.

"It would satisfy my curiosity," Mr Orsan, his brown eyes piercing hers.

She stepped closer to him. "Alright then, let's call it information for information. I want to know what you know about what Mr Willows was investigating?" she offered.

She saw him visibly chew the inside of his cheeks in frustration. "Besides what I already told you? Just that he started getting letters from France," Mr Orsan told her.

She looked at him carefully. "Did you manage to trace the source?"

"Only the stamps-well two of them-he was sent maybe five letters, I managed to recover two from the rubbish, the stamps were bought from villages that were a good hundred miles apart," Mr Orsan divulged. "Looking to buy some?" he inquired dryly.

She eyed him blankly. "I just want to know what I'm up against," she argued. "Were the villages known for some significance?"

There was a pause as Mr Orsan eyed her cautiously. "No, they were mainly in the countryside, isolated areas," he said. "Now, why were you on level 2?" Changing the subject.

"Investigating why Mr Willows was killed, I told you, I like to know what I'm up against," she lied. "Needless to say, the place was already scrubbed clean," she added, making sure she looked visibly annoyed, folding her arms as she looked at him callously. "I don't care if you don't trust me, all I want is to survive this mess, and whatever my father has got himself involved in...it isn't good," she divulged, moving away from him to pop a pack of tissues into the bin. "Did you find anything?"

"No, nothing of use," he replied.

"Then, if that's all, I need to get going," she said, stuffing a few books and diary notepads into the bin. "My father will be waiting for me in the Atrium, and I've already wasted enough time," she said firmly, stuffing the bin under her free arm. "If you need me, I'll be in school," Lyrisadora added, walking past him. "I'm done here!" she called out to the security guard.

Mr Orsan kept a steady pace with her on her way to the lift. "Don't contact me, I'll contact you," he said quietly. "Try and keep a low profile."

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at him. "So, no blackmailing then? Only you're allowed to pull that stich?" she drawled.

"Just do your job," he groaned in exasperation.

She looked at him in amusement. "And, since when was this my job?" she questioned.

He sighed. "An off the books investigation of mutual gain, then?" he corrected.

"Hm…I'm still mulling it over. Next time buy me that drink, then maybe I'll be more cooperative," she teased, stepping into the lift with other occupants, but by this point he was already walking away. She resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief.

One final thing had to be done she regrouped with her father, taking a tissue from inside the bin, she silently moved behind a corner to the entrance of the Atrium. Pulling out her wand to copy the words from the letter onto the tissue paper, before folding the tissue up and placing it in her bra.

* * *

><p>She still felt tense even after the Dark Lord declared the mission a success, his red eyes gleaming as he examined the letter. "I'll have Yaxley and Nott tend to the rest of the matter with Mr Willows," the Dark Lord told them, pacing the letter to the side as he came closer towards them.<p>

Lyrisadora kept her expression as blank as her father's, as the Dark Lord neared them. "It's seems you're not a waste of time after all, my dear," Voldemort praised smoothly, a thin smile stretched on his lips.

"Thank you, my Lord," She replied tonelessly, keeping her mind guarded as she maintained the Dark Lord's stare. Her mind stung a little, making her left eye twitch as the Dark Lord's eyes gleamed with amusement.

He patted her on the cheek, before turning to her father, waving a dismissive hand at her. "Lyra, leave us. Lucius, you and I have further business to discuss," The Dark Lord instructed.

"My Lord," Lyrisadora murmured, retreating towards the door.

"Oh, and give Adrian, my regards," Voldemort added lightly, making her hand tighten around the door knob.

"Of course, my Lord," she responded evenly, catching the amused smile on his lips, the warning clear.

* * *

><p>When Lyrisadora finished packing away her stuff for school, she retired into one of her favourite drawing rooms for the evening after dinner. Pulling her legs up onto the couch and lighting up a fire, a glass of elf wine in her hand.<p>

She'd have to pass the copied letter onto Dumbledore when she arrived back at school, she hoped the man knew how to read French, then again, she supposed he could just use a translation spell.

She heard the sound of footsteps nearing, she ignored the sound as she took a sip of her drink, the door opening as someone came inside, she recognised the footsteps belonged to her father. "What are you doing?" she heard her father speak, she strained her neck to look up at him, himself behind the couch, looking at her with a disapproving frown.

She smiled at him sweetly. "Attempting to drown my conscious in alcohol," she supplied, taking another swig. "Sadly my tolerance has increased."

Her father let out an irritated sigh, shaking his head and summoning a glass for himself, taking a seat opposite her. "Just don't let your mother see you," he murmured, pouring himself a glass.

Lyrisadora watched him passively, head resting on the armrest. "So, you've been gone for a while," she said.

He looked at her blankly. "I don't think you're one to talk about long absences from home," he countered.

Her smile became a tad more fixed. "That never stopped you," she retorted, before taking another sip of her drink. "And, here we are."

"Here we are," her father repeated tonelessly, his eyes focused on the fire.

There was a long pause. "You should treat Draco better," she suddenly spoke, making his head jerk up in surprise. "He feels inadequate," she added unsurely.

Lucius didn't seem to take this to heart. "He's far too headstrong," he muttered.

"He just wants to impress you," she argued, her tone taking on a harder edge. "Merlin knows why. He's just wasting his time," her tone icy, her gaze matching her tone.

Her father's gaze didn't waver from hers. "Draco needs to grow more of a backbone. I won't coddle him," he drawled.

"It's called affection. Fathers tend to give it to their children," she retorted.

"I'm not going to argue with you," he said plainly, looking away as he took a leisurely swig of his drink. "I came here to relax." Lyrisadora glared at him, but nevertheless remained quiet, as she relaxed into the sofa. "Do you remember the time I took you to the opera when you were little?" her father suddenly spoke softly.

Lyrisadora curled in on herself some more, wondering what he was getting at. "Yes…..it was about a tale of two lovers," she replied.

He frowned, as if recalling the events. "It was a terrible performance," he remarked, taking another sip of his drink, shaking his head.

Lyrisadora strained her memory back to the performance, in truth it sort of had been cheesy and predictable. "Yeah, it was," she agreed faintly, a small smile creeping on her lips, remembering how excited she had been when she watched it for the first time, realising that back then, she had, had horrible taste. "We were sat next to Dumbledore," she recalled quietly. Her father hummed in distaste. "And, then after it had finished, you told me happy endings didn't exist….I suppose you were right," she sighed, polishing off her glass.

He finished his wine and went to bed after she said that, barely sparing her a second glance.

* * *

><p><em>17th April 1996<em>

Platform 9 and ¾ was busy as families said their goodbyes. The Malfoy family in particular, looking more subdued than normal.

"…And, try and get along, I don't want to hear of any fighting," Narcissa warned motherly, looking at them both sternly. "And, Lyrisadora…try and behave appropriately with Adrian," she added, looking at her daughter seriously. "Just because you're engaged, doesn't change anything."

Lyrisadora didn't take her mother's warning to heart. "I'll try and be discreet," she said placidly.

This didn't reassure her mother. "That's not what!…." Her mother sighed. "Never mind, just be safe," she said, shaking her head in exasperation.

"I promise," Lyrisadora replied fondly, giving her mother a hug.

Lucius rested a hand on Draco's shoulder, giving him a warm smile, catching the boy off guard. "Keep up the good work, son. Your grades were very impressive this time round," his father praised.

"Oh…I will. I'm glad you're pleased, father," Draco returned, a small smile creeping onto his lips.

Lyrisadora watched the exchange with a raised eyebrow, her elderly cat mewling in her arms. Lucius gave him a pat on the shoulder, before turning to Lyrisadora. The two were silent for a while. Lyrisadora kept her arms folded. "Just...be careful," he offered, placing a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

She nodded curtly. "You too," she responded in a clipped tone, looking away.

Her father looked apprehensive, before giving her an affectionate peck of a kiss on her forehead. "You're a smart girl…." he said, awkwardly patting her on the shoulder as he pulled away.

* * *

><p><strong>I warned you that the updates may be late! And the Easter break is finally over, now it's back to Hogwarts!<strong>

**Lucius can be nice...sometimes...I feel he and Lyrisadora have reached something of an understanding, but they still have quite a while to go. **


	75. State of Play

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin: Luther 1.05**

* * *

><p><strong>The universe isn't evil, John, it's just indifferent.<strong>

**Chapter: State of Play**

* * *

><p>When Draco and Lyrisadora got on board the Hogwarts express, Draco looked at her questionably. "Is everything alright with Father?" He questioned warily. "He seemed to be acting…odd," he argued feebly, following her into the carriage the Slytherins tended to settle.<p>

"Maybe he has a conscience after all," Lyrisadora commented lightly, looking for Adrian among the Slytherins.

Draco looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?" her brother asked.

"It doesn't matter," she sighed, she gave him a polite smile. "Why don't you come sit with me?" she proposed.

"Well…" Her brother paused, before his gaze travelled behind Lyrisadora, she glanced behind her to find Pansy smiling Brightly at Draco, herself sat next to Millicent Bullstrode.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes, as she turned back to her brother. "She's not even your girlfriend," she pointed out irritably.

Draco shrugged. "She might as well be," he said simply, before wondering towards the pug faced girl.

Lyrisadora just shook her head in exasperation, before taking a seat next to Elizabeth and Lucretia. "I don't understand why he puts up with her," she murmured.

Lucretia glanced over at Draco, it appeared Pansy was giving his shoulders a massage. "I can think of a number of reasons," she remarked dryly, looking back at Lyrisadora opposite her.

Lyrisadora hummed dismissively. "Have any of you seen Adrian?" she questioned.

"Thankfully, no," Lucretia muttered.

Elizabeth shot her friend a look, before glancing back at Lyrisadora. "Try asking Miles," Elizabeth suggested.

Lyrisadora scanned the carriage, locating Miles Bletchley in the far corner, sitting next to Cassondria, playing a card game with her. The two didn't look up as she approached them. "Bletchley, do you know where Adrian is?" she asked.

Cassondria glanced up from the game. "Knowing him, he'll most likely be having sex in a compartment, with some blonde," she drawled, shooting Lyrisadora a sour smile. "Seeing how you won't give up the goods," she added sweetly.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at her in bemusement. "Well, I wouldn't want to end up eating for two," she retorted, her tone pleasant like a flower filled meadow, Cassondria glared at her warningly. "Anyway," Lyrisadora continued, waving a dismissive hand, eyes flickering to Miles, who was observing the exchange in amusement. "Do you know where he is?"

A faint look of surprise flashed across his face. "He won't be back at Hogwarts for a good three more days," he told her plainly, reshuffling the cards. "He got time off so he could sort out the household affairs and funeral stuff," he explained, before giving her a look. "I assumed he had told you," he added.

Lyrisadora sighed. "He has an annoying habit of withholding information," she drawled, not surprised Adrian had neglected to mention this. "Oh well," she shrugged it off. "Thank you," she said briskly, leaving the two be.

When she sat back down with her friends, her mind turned to the latter on the napkin, absently touching her breast pocket where it was, for reassurance.

* * *

><p>Newly widowed Rosalie Pucey poured her son a cup of lemon tea, the two both sat in the late Mr Pucey's study, boxes stacked around the room. "The flower arrangement is organised, which means everything's been ordered in," she informed her son.<p>

Adrian watched her in contempt, not drinking his tea. "He always did hate roses," he said.

"I know, I've already ordered fifty," his mother told him mildly, gently placing the tea pot down. "He also despised the colour orange," she chuckled, smiling brightly. "I made sure to get two sets of fabric."

His mother was enjoying this a little too much. "When are you leaving?" Adrian questioned curtly, absently tapping his tea cup.

There was a hint of annoyance on her face. "Two days after the funeral, my travel plans should be ready by then," she replied, taking another sip. "I'll be going to Canada, they have an excellent spa."

Adrian gave her a tight smile that quickly faded. "I need you to do something for me," he said casually.

His mother looked intrigued, as well as amused. "Interesting, the last time I offered you help, you pushed me away and told me to mind my own business," she retorted smoothly.

Adrian held back a groan of frustration. "I was eight," he protested, pinching the bridge between his nose.

"You were nine, dear," she corrected. "So arrogant," she added as an afterthought. Her eyes flickered to his still full cup. "And stubborn."

He gave her a quelling look. "How would you know?" he said coldly. A chilled silence bathed the room. Adrian found himself becoming bored. "I need you to go to America, preferably in June," he began to explain, placing the undrunk tea next to the pot on the desk. "I'm setting a casino there and I need your help finding the right place for it," he explained.

His mother eyed him with intrigue. "I see….I assume it isn't that simple?" She looked at him like hee was another one of her crossword puzzles. "Are you in trouble?"

She almost sounded like she cared. "Hard to say," he answered evenly. "If I leave the country, certain people are going to become suspicious, I need you to fake an injury while you're there, give me a decent excuse to come over," he continued. "I'll be selling the casino to an interested client, to make a profit."

"Seems a lot of trouble to set up a business, to then just sell it," she argued in a measured tone.

"It's only temporary sale," he reassured flatly. "But I'll need you to manage the actual construction and operation," he told her.

"I was planning to travel this summer," his mother divulged.

Adrian gave her an impatient look. "This is important. Besides I doubt there's much of the world left for you to explore," he quipped, smiling condescendingly. "Think of this as another one of your projects, except you don't have to sponsor a sickly orphan and pretend you care."

She gave him an endearing smile. "How does your fiancé put up with you?" she retorted with fake pleasantries. "I admit, I do like America and it would be nice to visit my nephews again," she sighed, before looking over at her son. "But I didn't hear a please, and I don't like your tone," she informed him softly, her was gaze hard.

Adrian's jaw tightened, swallowing what he believed to be his pride. "I'm sorry mother," he apologised in a clipped tone. "Would you _please,_ help me?" he reluctantly implored.

She smiled politely at him. "Of course I will, sweetheart," she answered, her tone warm. "…Are you going to drink your tea?"

His eyes narrowed. "Don't push it."

* * *

><p>It was getting late by the time Lyrisadora managed to sneak into Dumbledore's office, handing the copied letter to the Headmaster. "…So now I have Auror Orsan on my case," Lyrisadora finished explaining, pacing around the room as Dumbledore examined the letter. "He could be a problem," she warned, glancing over at Dumbledore.<p>

Dumbledore hummed in reply, walking over to where Fawkes was resting, stroking the phoenix behind the ears. "But he could be useful, I've been aware of him for some time, his detective skills are impressive…though he tends to go off the books," he informed, rereading the letter, as if checking for something he missed.

Lyrisadora stopped pacing. "But if he found out about my involvement in the Willows family's murder….it won't be good," she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "He's going to get himself killed, and if I'm not careful, he'll take me down with him and jeopardise this entire mission," she warned, scowling in frustration.

"Does Voldemort know about him?" Dumbledore asked softly.

Her fists tightened. "No, but he's assigned Yaxley and Nott on the case, so it's only a matter of time" she answered. "What's the situation with Tonks?"

"She's due to leave in a week," Dumbledore replied, locking the letter away in a small chest like contraption under his desk. "Whoever wrote this letter could be a potential ally," he said.

"They'll be hard to find, from what Orsan said, they don't stay in one place for too long, plus they might have already left the country," Lyrisadora pointed out.

"I doubt they've left," the Headmaster argued.

Lyrisadora looked at him inquisitively. "Why so sure?"

He leant against his desk, arms folded and his brow creased in thought. "The person who wrote this letter is still researching information about the syndicate, he or she told Augustus Willows to quit and run away, but they did not mention doing so themselves. They seem keen to see this journey through," he elaborated.

"Well let's just hope they don't die, before we can get information out of them," Lyrisadora remarked dryly, flicking away some dirt from under her fingernails. She noticed Dumbledore giving her a look of disapproval. "What? I'm just being practical," she exclaimed.

* * *

><p><em>18th April 1996<em>

The Auror was in a rare state of quiet, mainly because a majority of the workers were out on duty or on a lunch break. Auror Orsan sat at his desk, papers and a number of ink stains on the desk. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, holding back a yawn as he attempted to finish off the paperwork for his last case, one involving a murder of a 120 year old warlock and his pet sneazle.

He looked up when a coffee was placed on his desk. "They didn't have any decaf," said a young Auror, Rupert Benshaw, an olive skinned man with a square like face and curly brown hair. He looked at Orsan questionably, noticing the man's dazed like state. "Are you alright?" he asked wearily.

Orsan stretched his arms, before taking a drink of his coffee. "Nicotine withdrawal, not nice," he yawned, half-heartedly sincere, as Benshaw drank his coffee. "Remind me again why I stopped smoking?" he questioned.

Benshaw shrugged. "Bad habits?" he suggested.

Orsan discreetly rolled his eye, eyes wondering towards Hawkes Hawlish, who was sneakily eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. "Right, of course," Orsan commented dryly, his eyes landed on Gertrude Hodge who was scuttling about like a lost crab, ducking and diving her head as she avoided people through the isle. Orsan frowned. "Do you know why Gertrude's been acting like a scared mouse today?"

Benshaw looked up at his coffee to spare the disappearing woman a glance, before looking back at Orsan. "She's properly just embarrassed about yesterday, the cleaners are still cleaning up the mess she left in the girls' toilets," he explained.

Orsan held back a groan, fully aware of the woman's bladder problems, seeing how she tended to complain about it enough. "Did she eat a bad kebab?"

Benshaw didn't look like he understood what a kebab was. "Bad reaction to a perfume, apparently," he told him smoothly, taking another drink of his coffee.

Orsan's frown deepened. "Perfume?"

"She mentioned that some girl, accidently sprayed some perfume in her face," Benshaw further explained.

The gears in Auror Orsan's brain started to turn. "What did she look like?"

Benshaw shrugged. "I don't know, apparently she was here for a job interview," he told him.

Orsan tapped his finger on the desk. "Right…." Recalling how Lyrisadora had said she had snuck into the Auror office, he glanced over at Auror Willows empty cubicle across the room. He drank his coffee silently as the cogs in his head continued to turn. He could feel Benshaw's curious eyes on him, he spared him a glance. "Nice coffee," he complimented.

Benshaw looked amused. "It shouldn't be, it's cheap as shit," he commented, before returning to his desk.

Orsan silently agreed, placing the coffee down, he assumed the perfume girl was Lyrisadora, which meant she had planned to sneak into the department in advance, a lot of effort to try and get information about the Willows family murder. It was suspicious; he was starting to doubt she hadn't found anything in Auror Willows cubicle. He had already given the place a sweepstake before it started to get cleared out, maybe he had missed something? The letters he had recovered had been vague, that and the translation spell he used wasn't very good.

The translation made the punctuation and grammar messy, it was hard to read and he didn't trust anyone else to translate it for him. He supposed Beatrice could have helped, she knew a bit of French…..Orsan tried not to think about her.

There were words that had been repeated, he recognised the word syndicate, some American phrases had been thrown in as well; blaze a trail, gumdrops. And something about mushrooms and Veela. Orsan tapped his pen on the desk, his eyes glancing around the room. He needed to see the files containing the cases Willows had been working on, but they were in main office. He needed a distraction.

His eyes landed on Tonks who was busy exchanging a pastry with Gawain Robards. Orsan rolled down his sleeves, concealing his wand underneath, he checked in Benshaw was busy, getting up when he noticed the Auror was occupied trying to clear the gunk from his stuffed pencil sharpener. When Tonk finished her exchange with Robards, he planned the timing, taking note of the potted baby Bouncing Bulb plant near the third cubicle entrance.

He discreetly moved the plant nearer to the cubicle. Orsan bent down, pretending to tie his shoe lace, when Tonks was near to the plant, he faintly flicked his wrist and muttered a spell under his breath. Her shoes laces knotted and she fell with a 'yelp', at the same time he stood up, he flicked his wand to knock her in the right direction, so that she fell on top of the cubicle, the whole thing collapsing beneath her with a loud thud.

Orsan moved towards the door of the main office, the Bouncing Bulb plant falling to the floor, the pot breaking with a crack, the plant bouncing free.

"Not again!" Hawlish groaned as he jumped up from his desk, watching in distress as the plant bounced around the cubicles.

The Auror office was in chaos before Tonks could yell an apologetic 'sorry'. When head of Auror office Rufus Scrimgeour rushed out to see what the hell was going on, Orsan discreetly waved his pointed his want at the Bouncing Bulb, the plant promptly jumped onto the head of office's face, making more chaos as Orsan snuck into the office unnoticed.

He left the door a little ajar, before quickly heading to the cold cases cabinet that stood in a dusty section of office. He looked at the most recent dates, he had worked with Willows on a few cases, but the man tended to work alone when it suited him, much to the head of office's displeasure. So he looked for the ones he didn't recognise.

"Hold still….no, no wait!" Orsan heard Tonks in the background.

"Use a knockback jinx!" another voice instructed, most likely Robards.

"I'll end up hitting Scrimgeour," another voice argued, Orsan was pretty sure it was Benshaw.

"Someone grab a healer!"

Orsan started to become more anxious, the chaos sounded like it was dimming down. "Oh come on…" he murmured, knowing he didn't have time to search through every file. He paused for a second. "…French…" he muttered to himself in realisation, hastily looking for a case that linked back to France.

He found something. He slipped the file out, shrinking it down and stuffing it in his trouser pocket. He paused near the door, seeing and opportunity to get out when everyone was gathered around Scrimgeour, the Bouncing Bulb bouncing on the man's back like he was a rodeo horse.

He slipped out, walking around the cubicles to aim a knockout jinx at the bouncing plant. It knocked the plant off, as well as knocking Scrimgeour out. Orsan joined the huddle of Auror's around their boss's unconscious form, the knocked out plant in Benshaw's firm hold.

Now all he had to do was find out who this Jenik bloke was.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora was frowning as she made the last batch of fake Veritaserum for Professor Snape, the said man currently at his desk grading papers. She examined the liquid critically, before glancing over at the Potions master. "I'm done," she told him, stepping aside, catching him look up from his work.<p>

"Test it then," he replied nonchalantly, looking back at the third year essays.

Her eyes narrowed. "Why do I have to always test it? Umbridge told you to make it," she argued, folding her arms as she leant against the counter.

He arched an eyebrow at her. "I was under the impression you were my assistant…." He replied mildly.

Lyrisadora bit down on her tongue. "You know, I'm pretty certain it's against the law to force your students to test potions for you," she retorted. His eyebrow raised higher. She smacked her lips in frustration, aware that arguing was futile, she picked up the spoon and took a small sip of the potion.

Snape placed his quell down watched her. "How do you feel?" he questioned.

"Like I'm on a bed full of rose," she answered sarcastically, giving the professor a peeved look. "I love being treated liked a lab rat."

He looked unperturbed. "Good, now bottle it up," he instructed plainly.

She begrudgingly complied, bottling the potion up, cleaning her hands off with a cloth. "You know, I'm actually surprised Umbridge hasn't caught on yet," she said.

Snape looked at her sceptically. "_Really_?"

She smirked. "How are the _remedial potions_ lessons with Potter going?" she asked slyly.

He scowled at her, making her smirk broaden into a grin. "Terrible, he's useless," he answered curtly.

She gave him a humoured look. "Well, your methods of encouragement aren't exactly well received," she remarked tediously. "Is he showing any improvement?"

"He quit," Snape said bluntly, sounding like he wanted the topic choked and buried.

She couldn't help but poke at it a little more. She raised her eyebrows in fake shock. "_No, really_? Well I didn't see that coming."

Snape's eyes narrowed at her. "I still have a Bulgeye potion that needs testing," he bit back coldly.

She took the hint. "Well I'd love to, but it's nearly dinner, I should get going," she said, straightening up and offering the professor a friendly wave, to which he flicked his wand at her, the silent spell pushing her out of the doorway before it crisply slammed shut behind her.

She started to make her way to the dining hall, but slowed her pace when she heard raised voices down a corridor on the left. "I didn't do anything!" an indignant voice exclaimed.

Lyrisadora went to investigate, the corridor led out to a large hallway, and that's where she found Ginny Weasley cornered by Draco and Pansy. Lyrisadora held back a groan. "Draco, what are you doing," she exclaimed, rounding on her brother.

She was pleased to see that she had taken him by surprise, Draco quickly tried to regain himself, a scowl fixed on his face. "Umbridge said we should bring in anyone who looked suspicious," he stated confidently. "We saw her coming from the room on requirements."

Ginny raised her chin defiantly. "So what? It isn't against the rules to wander in the corridors before curfew," she argued.

Pansy sneered. "Umbridge is the high inquisitor, she can interrogate whoever she deems suspicious," Pansy stated firmly, a smug smile playing on her lips. "And you're family isn't exactly loyal to the Ministry," she pointed out smugly.

Ginny's eyes fires up, Lyrisadora sighed quietly. "Enough," she commanded steadily, eyes narrowed at them. "Leave her, she hasn't done anything wrong," she said.

Draco did not look pleased. "Madame Umbridge-"

"The prefects serve the school, not her," Lyrisadora told him evenly, eyes cold as she stared her brother down. "So stop wasting your time playing Umbridge's lap dogs," she remarked disdainfully, Ginny snorted in amusement.

Draco's cheeks blotted pink, his eyes narrowed in anger. "I know where my loyalty stands," he retorted ruthlessly, holding her challenging gaze.

"Weasley, leave," Lyrisadora instructed sharply, eyes locked on her brother. Ginny looked between the two siblings, before backing off down the corridor.

Pansy was fuming. "Do you want the Gryffindor's to think they can walk all over us?" she question bitingly. "Umbridge made it very clear-"

"Pansy," Draco interrupted in a measured tone. "I need to talk to my sister, alone," he said testily.

Pansy opened her mouth to protest, before hesitating and closing it, eyes narrowed at Lyrisadora. "Hm, _fine_ then," she complied reluctantly, wrinkling her nose in distaste before marching off in a huff.

Lyrisadora folded her arms as she kept her face fixed like stone. "She's a keeper," she said starkly.

Draco's scowl deepened. "Do you want to be branded a traitor?" he hissed. "Because defending a Weasley is a good way to go about it," he said, he seemed to be getting more worked up as she remained silent. "Umbridge can make your life hell," he stressed. "And if certain people think you sympathise with blood-traitors…." He warned, the implication clear.

Lyrisadora let out a controlled sigh. "I know," she responded rigidly. "I've calculated the risks," she informed him.

His jaw visibly tightened. "Then why are you defending a Gryffindor?" he asked the age old question. "Whatever organisation Potter has brewing, it needs to be taken down."

"That's what it all comes down to, isn't it?" she questioned lowly. "You put so much energy into trying to make their lives miserable, and for what purpose?" she asked, her voice wavering a fraction, she sighed in frustration, trying to think of some way to get through to him. "Draco, I'm not going to waste time hating people when I have bigger things to worry about," she said stubbornly.

"I'm not wasting time," Draco protested firmly. "I'm putting them in their place," he argued, folding his arms as his eyes narrowed back at her. "Potter's a half-blood, with a hero complex who everyone loves because of a bad magic backfire when he was a baby," he sneered. "It's because of wizards like him and the Weasleys, that pure-bloods are losing their standing," he argued fiercely.

"Pure-bloods are losing their _standing_, because we judge and spit on people we deem lower than us," Lyrisadora snapped, her body tensing, as she tried to reel in her emotions.

"So you want them to destroy our traditions? Ruin our entire culture!" he said sharply.

"I want you to stop twisting my words," she sneered. "You never listen."

"I'm trying to get you to see sense, before you end up getting yourself killed!" Draco asserted.

She almost laughed. "Oh that's rich coming from you," she called out, before lowering her voice. "You're the one who wants to risk his life for a suicidal cause," she hissed.

"It's not suicidal," he spat. "And At least I believe in it," he professed. "You're not even brave enough to admit you're ashamed of who you are."

Her face broke out into an angered scowl. "Don't assume, anything about me," she snapped. "I don't need to justify myself to you-"

"Draco!" Pansy's voice called, the girl skidding toward them, appearing out of breath.

"What!" Draco snapped at her.

Pansy jumped back in surprise, looking at Draco in affrontion. "Edgecombe finally cracked, we know where Potter's group is!" she said excitedly. "Umbridge told me to get you, we're about to catch them all, the Minster has even been called in!"

Both Lyrisadora and Draco's eyes widened in shock.

This could be a problem.

* * *

><p><strong>A month! Urk. In my defence I've been moving back to uni and getting a new job AND it's been freshers week! Freshers week people. Sorry if there's any punctuation or grammar mistakes, I suck and the small things, especially remembering dates and names. <strong>


	76. A Snapdragon Flower

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Qoute origin: American Horror Story, Vivian**

* * *

><p><strong>"The thing is when you fall in love, it's kind of like you go crazy. Before you know it, the whole world is different and then you'd do anything for the other person."<strong>

**Chapter: **A Snapdragon Flower ****

* * *

><p>Things went quickly down when 'Dumbledore's Army' was discovered, it was like a Salem's witch hunt, the burning stakes thankfully being metaphorical.<p>

Draco shoved the last of the DA member Ginny Weasley, into the classroom where the rest of the members had been shoved in, fifth and sixth year Slytherin prefects standing guard, as well as a number of fifth year Slytherins. "That's the last of them," Draco said vindictively, looking like he just discovered there was a second Christmas.

Lyrisadora couldn't even look at them.

Milicent Bulstrode scanned the faces of the DA. "Where's Potter?" she asked Draco.

Draco looked more smug. "In Dumbledore's office, the Minister is there and everything," he revealed excitedly.

A loud growl emitted from Ron Weasley. Draco smirked at him. "What's wrong Weasel King? Worried everyone will realise you're trash, once Potter's expelled?" he taunted.

"Piss off Malfoy," Ron retorted, face crinkled in disdain. Granger grabbed Ron's arm to hold him back.

Draco seemed to revel in it, Lyrisadora decided now was a good time to intervene, before things sunk deeper into the pit of shit they were already in. "Draco, leave it," she snapped, eyes narrowed.

Her brother's eyes flashed. "Stay out of this," he warned, giving her a look which was meant to intimidate her.

"And watch you and Weasley have a shouting match? No thanks," she scoffed.

"Umbridge, told us to contain them," Draco reminded, looking at the members like they were slugs. "And use force if necessary," he added, a malicious smile sliding onto his face.

They didn't take kindly to his look, Seamus Finnigan especially, as he shot a curse at Draco.

Things continued downhill from there.

Before the snakes could draw their wands to attack, Lee Gordon cast a smoke spell, leaving the Slytherins looking around blind as the DA charged through the DA. Lyrisadora was knocked back against the wall, a flash of irritation filling her._ "Gryffindors,"_ she muttered testily.

When the smoke cleared, they were all gone. Draco let out an enraged yell. "Well that's just _fantastic,"_ he groaned, he caught sight of Lyrisadora regaining her balance onto her feet. "_Nice job_," he spat. "Now we have to round them up again."

Lyrisadora felt a surge of anger. "It's your own fault for antagonising them, and you're the idiot who didn't make sure you had confiscated all their wands!" she argued.

She was glad to see his cheeks turn pink in embarrassment. "There were too many of them," he protested. "Besides you were more of less useless when we were rounding them up!"

"It doesn't matter anyway," Warrington intervened. "Pansy says she found a list of names, remember?" he reminded.

The two siblings were quiet for a moment. "Then let's get back to rounding them up again," Draco instructed evenly, heading out, a number of the Slytherins following.

Warrington noticed she hadn't moved. "Well, come on then," he ordered in annoyance.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "Piss off, Warrington," she retorted, pushing past him, ignoring his colourful response as she headed to the Dungeons.

* * *

><p><em>19th April 1996<em>

With Dumbledore's sudden departure, Umbridge was appointed Headmistress. Lucretia voiced her distain when she sat with Elizabeth and Lyrisadora at breakfast. "Dolores Jane Umbridge appointed new Headmistress," Lucretia read aloud at breakfast, eyes flickering to the pink clad woman, who had taken Dumbledore's place at the staff table. "The Daily Prophet moves fast, that's all I'll say," she murmured, before quickly scanning some of the article. "Apparently Umbridge is the 'samaritan' and 'solution' to Hogwarts," she recited in a sardonic tone.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Is the word 'messiah' in there as well?"

Lucretia gave the article a quick read over. "Nope, I think they're saving that one for next week," she said, tossing the paper to the side. "Apparently more reporters will be coming in to cover the new changes being put in place, the 'popular' ones of course, " Lucretia informed.

Elizabeth perked up at this. "Really? When will they be coming?"

Lucretia shrugged. "Not sure…" she replied, before frowning, looking back at Elizabeth and groaned. "Is this about that stupid reporter you met in the Easter holidays?"

Elizabeth glared at her. "No-"

"What reporter?" Lyrisadora intervened, looking up curiously.

Lucretia smirked teasingly at Elizabeth. "Her family got invited to an Easter shin-dig, the Daily Prophet was throwing," Lucretia began to explain. "Where she meets Daily Prophet's young and handsome reporter, _Elias Limus_," she gushed.

Elizabeth gave her a shove. "It isn't like that," she insisted. Lyrisadora smiled in amusement.

Lucretia grinned. "But he prefers, E(_dot_) Limus," she stated playfully.

Elizabeth pinched her on the arm, making her yelp. "I want to become a reporter," she confessed, looking uncomfortable. "And not because…of Limus," she told them firmly.

Lucretia arched an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to become an author?"

"Oh, I still do," Elizabeth replied. "I just want to do it as a side thing, reporting will help give me inspiration," she said. "I've already started looking for Summer internships."

"A whole summer of doing coffee rounds, _sounds fun_," Lucretia retorted, stuffing some toast into her mouth.

Elizabeth gave her a sour look. "You're such a bitch."

Lucretia just grinned, swallowing her breakfast. Lyrisadora shook her head fondly, taking a drink of her orange juice, her eyes flickered to her brother when Warrington walked by and whispered something in his ear, making Draco grin smugly. Lyrisadora assumed whatever it was, it was not good.

"Did you hear about that secret club Potter started?" Lucretia asked.

"Old news," Elizabeth waved dismissively

Lucretia looked at her friend in irritation. "Well, I heard Mariette Edgecombe grassed them up, and apparently Granger cursed her, so now her face looks like acne on a backside," she continued regardless.

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose in disdain. "Urk, thanks for the image," she said cynically.

Lucretia smiled. "You're welcome," she oozed. "To be fair though, if you're going to leave a list of all the names of your secret society members, lying around, then you're just begging to be found out," she argued evenly.

"Good point," Elizabeth concurred. "Also, keeping an eye on your members would have been a good idea too."

Lyrisadora glanced up from her breakfast when a student approached her. "Hey, Malfoy?" asked Astoria Greengrass. "Professor McGonagall wants to see you in her office, right now," she told her.

A faint frown crossed Lyrisadora's features, as she got up. "Thanks, Astoria ," she said, flashing the girl a quick smile. "I'll see you guys later," she said, looking over at her friends.

Lucretia was half way stuffing another round of toast in her mouth. "Where a' ooh O'ing?" the girl questioned, her mouth full to the brim, words barely comprehensible.

Elizabeth groaned in exasperation. "Don't you ever listen?" Before patting her friend on the back. "And don't talk with your mouth full!"

Lyrisadora hid a small smile of amusement as she made her way to the Professor's office. When she entered McGonagall's office, the place smelled of biscuits, looking as neat and tidy as the Professor herself.

McGonagall looked up from her desk by the window, placing her quill down. "Please take a seat Miss Malfoy," she instructed evenly, unlocking her top desk draw. Lyrisadora complied, taking a seat opposite the woman's desk, wondering if this had anything to do with Dumbledore. "You wanted to see me Professor?" Lyrisadora spoke, watching McGonagall curiously.

McGonagall pulled out two envelopes from the draw. "You've been invited to Elatus Pucey's funeral, you leave tomorrow morning," she informed, passing her the invitation.

Lyrisadora looked at the regal looking invitation. "I didn't think I'd be allowed time off," she confessed, looking back at the stern faced Professor.

"Your fiancé, was quite persistent, he sent a number of Owls," McGonagall said, Lyrisadora could have sworn she detected a faint hint of amusement in her tone. McGonagall paused, before she spoke again. "I also wanted to see you on, other business, something best not over heard by our, _high inquisitor_," she continued testily, Umbridge's new appointed title being left unsaid. The Professor handed Lyrisadora the second envelope. "It was left in my desk draw, no sender, just your first name," McGonagall mentioned as she watched Lyrisadora open the envelope.

Inside was a letter, and it written in French, she assumed this was for security reasons.

_To Lyrisadora _

'_Look into the name Ada Millers, she's from Chicago and has been missing for six months, I believe she used to write for the American Wizarding newspaper, The Portal_.'

It wasn't signed at the bottom, but there was a message written in English.

_P.s please remember to pick up some Lemon drops._

Lyrisadora looked back up at Professor McGonagall, wondering if the woman would inquire about the letters contents. The Professor seemed to understand. "I believe it's best if I'm not privy to such matters," McGonagall said quietly, before clearing her throat. "Now, you should probably start packing, you're expected back the 21st," she told her.

Lyrisadora nodded, standing up, placing the letters in her robe pocket. "Thank you professor," she said, shooting the woman a reserved smile.

Her mind wonder back to the woman Dumbledore wanted her to investigate, wondering to herself how Ada Millers was linked to all of this.

* * *

><p><em>20th April 1996<em>

She made sure to pack light, deciding to pack some night clothes and her uniform in a large leather strap bag. Lyrisadora waited in Professor Umbridge's office, declining the third cup of tea the pink clad woman offered her. The syrupy smell of the room was starting to make her feel sick, as she waited to be picked up for the funeral. She resisted the urge to rub her eyes in tiredness, the clock having only just struck eight in the morning, the funeral scheduled for eleven.

She kept her arms folded, feeling like a black splodge of in her long sleeved loose fitting funeral dress, the morning sun making the pink walls annoyingly brighter. "…I hope you'll give the inquisitorial squad a thought," Umbridge blabbered on, Lyrisadora had only half been listening.

Lyrisadora smiled pleasantly. "It just seems a lot to take on, especially since I'm head girl," she replied smoothly, catching a flicker of frustration in the woman's eyes, her smile tightening just a fraction, Umbridge opened her mouth to speak.

Thankfully this was the moment when Rosalie Pucey face popped up in the fireplace, asking for permission to enter the office. "Of course," Umbridge said in a sugary tone, tapping her wand towards the flames.

The flames cracked and turned green, Mrs Pucey appearing from ash, she dusted off her robes primly, herself dressed in a black pinstripe suit sort of dress with a flowing shawl like robe draped along her shoulders, as a matching large feathered hat. "Madame Umbridge," she greeted brightly, shaking the woman's hand. "Congratulations on the appointment," she said, letting her hand slip to her dragon skinned bag.

Umbridge smiled, a certain smugness to it. "Thank you, Rosalie," she replied.

Mrs Pucey smiled, which Lyrisadora hoped was fake, and turned to the blonde Slytherin, giving her a quick look over. "Come along then," Mrs Pucey drawled, turning towards the fireplace.

Lyrisadora shoved the bag across her shoulder as she followed the older woman, wanting to get out of the candy floss of an office, as quickly as possible. She took Mrs Pucey's hadn't as they were engulfed into the flames.

As soon as they were transported to the manor, Mrs Pucey wasted no time dragging her off, dumping her luggage on a waiting house-elf. "Come with me," she ordered briskly.

"Where are we going?" Lyrisadora asked, trying to regain her balance once the woman let go of her hand.

Adrian's mother continued up the stairs. "To get you something to wear…you're lacking something," she said forthrightly.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow. "I thought it was best to appear conservative at funerals?" she argued. She heard Mrs Pucey sniff in disdain, but otherwise did not comment, instead leading her into a large bedroom. Lyrisadora sniffed the air, the room smelled underused, but still remained spotless, most likely the house-elves doing. She assumed the room belonged to Mrs Pucey. "I don't want to look too flashy," she said, when Mrs Pucey started rooting through the wardrobe.

Adrian's mother sighed in exasperation. "Well _obviously_," she commented, in a tone which was eerily similar to her son's. "Ah, here we are," she murmured to herself, bringing out the piece of clothing. It was an outer robe, made entirely from black lace with kimono sleeves, small sequins sewn along the wide cuffs, a belt like fasten along the high waist. "Lovely isn't it?" Mrs Pucey spoke, admiring the robe. "I bought it in Florence," she said, handing the robe over. "But I never did wear it, I must have forgotten about it," she continued, watching Lyrisadora hold up the robe. "Well…put it on then," she instructed, her tone holding impatience.

Lyrisadora stopped herself from narrowing her eyes at the woman in irritation. She did as she was told and placed the robe over her dress, clasping it at the waist, it was a decent fit. At least Mrs Pucey looked vaguely pleased. "It's a good fit," Lyrisadora said, deciding to fill the silence.

The elder woman hummed in agreement as she analysed with a hawk like gaze. "Yes it is," Mrs Pucey murmured, stepping closer, and took her chin in her grip, much to Lyrisadora's surprise. "I always wondered why Adrian was so fascinated by you," she said, turning Lyrisadora's face to the side, looking at her eyes intently. "I suppose you are pretty," she said dismissively, releasing Lyrisadora's jaw.

Lyrisadora failed to hold back a scowl. "More like I'm the only one who can put up with him," she protested, absently rubbing her jaw.

Mrs Pucey's lip twitched. "He is quite difficult ,isn't he?" she sighed, closing the wardrobe doors. "He gets that from his father," she said, eyes flickering back to Lyrisadora. "Among other unpleasant traits," she added slyly.

Lyrisadora didn't react, instead giving the woman a fixed smile. "I sense he must get his mannerisms from you then?" she queried pleasantly.

Mrs Pucey looked at her critically, before her face morphed into something that resembled amusement. "I suppose he does," she commented lightly, beginning to make her way to a shelf full of cosmetics. "He's in his room," she said, smiling slightly. "I assume you know where that is?" she added mildly.

Lyrisadora wondered what her game was. "Of course," she responded evenly, ever pleasant smile still stuck in place as she left the room.

* * *

><p>"You look cheerful." Was the first thing Adrian said to her when she barged into his room, still in his pyjamas.<p>

Her smile had been replaced by a scowl."I spoke with your mother," she divulged, wondering around his room, as he looked for something in his dresser.

"You poor thing," Adrian cooed.

She rolled her eyes. "I know, she reminded me so much of you, that it was nauseating," she drawled, smirking at the glare he shot her. "But anyway, have you talked to her?" she changed the subject, wondering over to the dresser, resting her arms on wood.

He glanced looked up. "Yes, she's on board," he informed, taking out a black tie and a small box.

Lyrisadora briefly wondered if she should tell him about Auror Orsan. "What about the casino?" she said instead.

He shot her a satisfied smile. "I have my lawyer on it, I still need planning permission to open it in America, and there's still the fees to sort out, then I'll need to apply for permission to build in the place I've chosen," he drawled, scratching the back of his neck, rubbing his eyes.

"So when will you be able to travel over?" Lyrisadora asked.

Adrian shrugged. "A Few months," he provided carelessly, giving her a shrug, he looked back at her curiously, she was afraid something may have revealed itself on her face. "By the way, thanks for clearing out my father's office, for me," he said, drawing closer to her.

Lyrisadora gave him a disarming smile. "It's fine, saves you doing it," she brushed off, she looked at him curiously, something seemed off. "There wasn't much there anyway."

Adrian leaned on the dresser, eyeing her with interest. "Did you get lost?" he queried breezily.

Lyrisadora swallowed, she wasn't sure how, but he knew, how much she wasn't quite sure. "Yeah, I did," she answered in an equally light tone. "I took a wrong turning," she continued to explain. "But an Auror showed me where it was." Hoping he left it at that.

There was a small pause before he let out a sigh of exasperation. "I should have drawn you a map," he said, pushing himself off the dresser.

She rolled her eyes. "With your drawing skills, I would have ended up in the sewers," she retorted, straitening up, deliberately glancing at the clock next to the bed. "You need to get changed, we're expected there in two hours," she fretted, beginning to push him towards the wardrobe, much to his amusement. The atmosphere feeling lighter.

* * *

><p>It took an hour or so for Adrian to finally finish getting ready, Lyrisadora watching on in impatience. "How long does it take to comb your hair?" she exclaimed, a small scowl stuck on her face as Adrian continued to comb his hair in the mirror, cleaning up nicely in his black formal robes. "Just use magic."<p>

"The last time I did that, my hair looked like it had been dunked in glue, it was practically concrete," he protested, not looking away from the mirror. "Make yourself useful and put my cufflinks on." Lyrisadora didn't move, he sighed, turning around to look at her. "_Please_," he added irritably.

Lyrisadora gave him an overly bright smile. "Of course sweetie," she replied cheerfully, picking up the small box on the dresser and bringing it over to him. She opened the box and peered at the cufflink, they had a certain old time look, the metal looking like well refined gold, she eyed them curiously, recognising them from somewhere. "Were these your father's?" she asked, her tone turning more subdued.

Adrian made a face. "Ugly aren't they?" he commented, placing the comb down, seeming satisfied with his hair. "The things I do for appearances," he breathed, presenting the cuffed sleeves of his dark grey shirt.

Lyrisadora looked at him doubtfully, taking the cufflinks from the box. "Hmm, right," she hummed.

He raised an inquiring eyebrow. "What?"

She spared him a glance as she fastened the first cufflink. "It's just….you know, it's okay if you miss him….he was your father," she said delicately, watchfully trying to catch an reaction.

He looked at her as if she had just said something stupid. "And…?"

Merlin he could be such a prat. She looked at him seriously, playing with the cufflink between her fingers. "_And_, I think you did care about him, in your own way, so it's okay if you want to…mourn him," she tried to say, but feeling like she sinking deeper into unwarranted territory. "Even if I don't like my father, I'd still acknowledge that I miss him, because…he still raised me and he's my father, I wouldn't be here without him."

He didn't appear to take her seriously. "I should have had you write the eulogy." Was how he chose to reply.

She glared at him. "I'm just trying to be supportive," she snapped, angrily clipping the cufflink into place, nipping his wrist and making him visibly wince. "For someone who is so critical of everyone else's behaviour, you aren't half blind about your own feelings," she pointed out in frustration.

There was a long silence, she couldn't read his face and she didn't want to barge into his mind, even though he was looking her in the eye. She felt an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, not wanting to take back what she had said, but wishing she had said it at a better time. Arguing before a funeral didn't exactly leave a nice taste in your mouth. Adrian looked over at the clock. "It's nearly half ten," he broke the silence.

"Let's go then," Lyrisadora said a little too quickly, stepping back and heading to the door, the two not speaking another word.

* * *

><p>Adrian had neglected to tell her that her parents would be in attendance, none of her other relatives would be there though, the three blondes stuck in a sea of dark haired Pucey relatives, though a few of Adrian cousins on his mother's side were auburn and ginger.<p>

The Funeral was mainly outside, in the Pucey family burial grounds, were Elatus would rest alongside his ancestors. There were an unflattering large amount of Tea Roses on his casket, old photographs resting on top, as well as a pocket watch.

She gave the audience a quick look around, a number of high Ministry officials present, mainly from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Her parents were sat next to her, looking the picture of respectful and solemn. Lyrisadora kept her hands folded, waiting for the withering high priest in black robes to finish speaking. And enchanted violin playing in the background. She discreetly eyed Adrian from the corner of her eye, his face as blank as a stone slate.

She looked at the relatives attending, trying to remember who they were again, there was over a hundred guests, she assumed over sixty of them were relatives. A wasp like woman with greying brown hair was sat next to Adrian's mother, looking visibly upset, an bolder of a man accompanying her, judging by the resemblance , she assumed this was Elatus Pucey's sister. There were common Pucey family traits that a number of guests wore, blue eyes and darkish hair, the similar noses being most prominent.

"….He is survived by his son," the high priest finished off, the music dimming. "Who will now deliver us the eulogy," he introduced, stepping to the side.

She watched Adrian walk towards the casket, pulling out his wand to amplify his voice. He unfolded a piece of paper and cleared his throat. "_My father, Elatus Pucey was a man of accomplishment_," he began to read in a measured tone. "_He was dedicated to his work as well….as his loved ones. A lesson he taught throughout the years,_" he took a long breath.

Lyrisadora looked at him with concern, she was pretty sure Adrian desperately wanted to rip the eulogy in two. She gave him a firm look, trying to silently communicate with him. He looked like he was going to be ill, she wondered if he found the speech that cringe worthy. Lyrisadora cleared her throat. He picked up on the hint, looked at her and sighed faintly, looking annoyed. "I didn't always listen, communication was never our strong point. But when I did listen, I remember he always was confident in what he was trying to teach me, and very stubborn," he continued, fortunately appearing to relax more, barely looking at the eulogy. Which she hoped turned out for the better. "When I was seven he taught me how to fly, by sticking me onto a broom and watched me fly around uncontrollably for two hours," he said dryly, a few of the guest found this amusing. "He told me that the best way to learn was hands on experience, " he added evenly, before looking back at the eulogy. "_He was a successful man of society, and will surely be missed, by his many loved ones,"_ he finished tonelessly, folding up the piece of paper. The key family members formed a circle around the casket and raised their wands, the casket bursting into flames, before the flames shot into the air in a burst of light and then burning away into the air.

* * *

><p>It was hard to find a moment alone with Adrian, people filing into the reception, delivering their condolences to him and his mother. Lyrisadora watched from a table with her parents , her eyes minding the time, aware that she had to seize her opportunity to find out information on Ida Millers, while away from Umbridge irritating hold.<p>

She tapped her fingers on the table, trying to gather information could be difficult, seeing how the woman was American. But if she found a link between Millers and Willows, she could get somewhere. But she did have a time limit and Adrian would notice her long absence. Dumbledore could be so endearing sometimes.

"How are things at school?" Narcissa inquired, drawing in her daughter's attention. "A lot of changes I expect."

Lyrisadora looked between her parents, noting their eager looks. "Well, Professor Umbridge has certainly, taken charge," she answered evenly, giving them a fixed smile. "She's like a woman possessed," she added smoothly, her eyes flickering back to Adrian, noticing his mother leave the room. "Excuse me," she said breezily, standing up.

Narcissa looked visibly frustrated. "But we were-"

But Lyrisadora was already gone, she walked over to Adrian, his face still set in a passive expression. "Nice Eulogy," she said lightly, giving him an easy smile.

To her relief his stony expression broke, as he rolled his eyes, letting out a quiet sigh. "I don't know how I stopped myself from cringing," he muttered, stepping into a quiet spot outside of the parlour.

"Well….the middle bit was nice," she said. "You never told me your dad taught you how to fly….did he teach you Quidditch as well?" she asked.

His brow creased. "Did you not register that he _stuck_ me onto a broom? I ended up throwing up all over the yard," he stressed, pinching the bridge between his nose.

Lyrisadora let out a deep breath, looking at him pointedly. "If it was so horrible than why did you mention it?" she questioned forthrightly. His eyes narrowed at her, clearly not liking at what she was getting at. She glanced at the ceiling, before smiling disarmingly at him. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it, so just ignore me," she reassured warmly.

He didn't look convinced. "Alright then," he replied warily.

She continued to smile, placing a hand on his shoulder as she kissed him on the cheek. "How about you take a breather," she suggested, her mind working like clockwork. Adrian looked at her thoughtfully. "I was going to check out the library in Diagon ally, while I'm out of school. And I was thinking, when I come back…" she continued, closing in on him, giving him a coy smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "We could, reacquaint," she suggested.

Adrian returned her smile. "Well, it has been a while…" he reasoned.

"Then I'll make sure not to be late," she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips, before letting go. "I'm sure your mother can handle the rest of the guests," Lyrisadora pointed out before giving him a quick smile as she left, not waiting for his reply.

She snook away to the guest room where her luggage was, taking off the robe when she reached the room. She looked for her bag, finding it next to a vase of freshly cut snapdragon flowers.

* * *

><p>Adrian felt odd, there was a weird uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, he wondered if he had eaten some bad shrimp, either way he didn't like it. Thankfully the guests had started to leave, though he did still have to deal with the Malfoys.<p>

"Do you know when she'll be back?" Narcissa questioned.

He really didn't want to have to deal with them. "She just wanted to take a break," Adrian reassured, smiling placidly.

"Well, do you know where she went?" Lucius asked, looking at Adrian in distrust, as he was withholding information, which he supposed he was.

Either way, Adrian didn't like his tone. "No. But you know how she is," he said dismissively. "I'll make sure to pass on your concerns, when I see her," he promised nonchalantly, steering them towards the door as the last of the guests cleared out.

Mrs Malfoy didn't seem to appreciate his promise. "I just want to make sure she's alright," she told him firmly, looking at Adrian like a lioness would eye her prey. "You understand, don't you?" she said smoothly.

He had to admire her ability to translate a few non-threatening words into something along the lines of, 'Make sure she's happy or I'll break every bone in your body'. Or something similar to that, Adrian wasn't quite sure. "Of course I do, you have nothing to worry about, Mrs Malfoy," he assured, glad to see her back off. "And thank you for the Violets," he added.

She smiled. "I'll make sure to send some oleanders, as well," she informed brightly.

Adrian forced a smile. "That'd be wonderful," he lied through his teeth, taking great pleasure in shutting the door on them. He was really starting to dislike Lyrisadora's parents.

But at least everything was quiet now, which was a relief and Lyrisadora wasn't here to nag at him to start expressing his feelings. She could be a real pain sometimes. He walked leisurely down towards the parlour, hoping the house-elves hadn't cleared away the food.

When he arrived, a number of them were tidying up the furniture, food still in place, they froze in place when they saw him, but Adrian just ignore them, making up a plate. "Where has that girl of yours run off to?" came his mother's voice from the doorway.

He spared her a glance as he finished topping up his plate. "She wanted to go to the library in Diagon ally," he informed, taking a seat on a striped blue sofa.

His mother looked at him questionably. "Why?"

Adrian looked at her with growing irritation, but quickly masked it. "I don't know, off to read some books maybe," he reasoned innocently, taking a bite of some chicken.

Mrs Pucey came into the room, inquiring frown still in place. "Do they not have libraries at Hogwarts?" she said slowly.

This made Adrian pause, he hadn't really given much thought into why Lyrisadora needed to use the library outside school, he had put it down to her simply wanted to get out of the house. "She probably just wanted to get out of the house," he found himself repeating. "She tends to wander off a lot anyway."

"She does, does she?" his mother queried lightly, walking around the sofa. "But, I suppose you two do seem close," in a tone which sounded too pleasant.

He looked at her suspiciously. "Are you implying I trust her too much?" he called her out, annoyed that his mother as trying to manipulate him. "What? Does she threaten you?" he scoffed.

To his frustration, his mother looked at him in bemusement. "Actually, I quite like her," she corrected. "She has a certain….flavour to her," she continued. "I see a little bit of me in her."

That was something he didn't want to hear, he tried to stay grounded, and his mother was probably just trying to wrap him around her finger. "Of course you do. Is there anything you wanted in particular?" he questioned, resuming his snack like meal.

"Well I was looking for your fiancé, I was hoping to get that robe back, it is tailor made after all and I don't like her _that_ much," she drawled, taking a seat opposite him. "And believe it or not, I'm not trying to turn you against her," she protested evenly, giving him a pointed look. Adrian eyed her sceptically, waiting for the…."_But_…" There it was. "Be careful of her, she's clever," his mother warned.

Adrian subconsciously clenched his jaw. "I'm well aware….but I think I know her better than you," he challenged pleasantly.

"I'm sure you do," she concurred, much to his irritation. "You seem very honest with each other."

The uncomfortable feeling started to return, he didn't let it show. "We are," he stated. "She just wanted me to have some time for myself," he argued.

His mother gave him a smile, and he wasn't sure if it was fake or sincere. "She must really care about you," she said.

"If you're telling me not to trust her, then just say it," he snapped, not realising he had raised his voice.

His mother sighed, like she often did when he didn't understand something. "I'm saying you have a weakness my dear," she told him bluntly, making his eyes narrow. "She knows it and I'm assuming she regularly takes advantage of it," Mrs Pucey said, watching him critically. "And would I be wrong to guess that she promised to have sex with you when she came back?"

He was starting to feel sick, his mind remembering the security guard in the Spirit Division had told him, about Lyrisadora being accompanied by Auror Orsan. He was still confused as to why she had been with him, the investigation of his father's death had gone smoothly, better than smooth really….He frowned, Lyrisadora had said she had gotten lost, it seemed flaky, but he had wanted to believe her…something just didn't add up. "Yes, she did," he answered, refusing to look at his mother.

"Is she often affectionate?"

For the last few months she had been, ever since he had agreed to along with her plan…though it was his plan to of course…. "Yes." He found himself answering, his frown deepening.

"Hm, I see….well that's not a bad thing," she reassured, before pausing, eyes still watching him.

A drip of doubt started to spread in his head.

He was beginning to realise how much he had begun to trust Lyrisadora, maybe he was wrapped around her little finger, and he couldn't even tell when she was lying anymore. "Why do you care so much, you never did before?" he accused his mother.

She looked at him as if it were obvious. "Because you asked for help," his mother replied.

"For the casino, that's all," he reminded her coldly, trying to quell his anger, hating how she meddled in things that didn't concern her. "And I never wanted your help to begin with."

He regretted revealing that tip bit of information, once he saw an inquiring look flash in across his mother's face, before she looked at him knowingly. "Then who's idea was it, Adrian?"

The food remained un-eaten, his appetite gone.

He hated admitting when his mother was right.

* * *

><p><strong>See how fast I updated this! I had to get this one out of the way before I start my assignments. <strong>

**Octobers going to be a busy months.**

**Also I don't really see Adrian's mother as a villain, I believe she is just trying to look out for her son...among offer things**


	77. Chasing Shadows

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Joel Vuolevi**

* * *

><p><strong>"You have to be nice to the people You want to take advantage of. - Basic lessons in manipulation for children" <strong>

**Chapter: Chasing Shadows**

* * *

><p>Auror Orsan stared in confusion at the letter in his hand.<p>

_If you want information about Willows, then go to Diagon Alley today, you'll need to pick up some lemon drops from Blue Drops sweet shop. _

_Wait there, someone will come. _

"What?" Orsan murmured, frowning in befuddlement, his coffee gone cold. He looked around the office, before glancing back at the letter.

His mind turned back to the case file, the file was safely tucked away in his apartment desk draw. He rubbed his jaw, as his mind ticked away. The file contained a case Auror Willows had been assigned on, a case involving a group of robbers from France, they had attempted to steal a painting from an art curator.

Two of the robbers had been captured, the other three escaping, they had managed to identify one of the men they had captured, Donovan Maze. The other man had apparently had his tongue cut out, so he wasn't going to rat anyone out any time soon.

Donovan had let slip about them being from France, as well as the fact they were securing the painting for their boss's art collection. It took a while to get a name out of him, but with some persuasion, he finally told them their boss was called Jenik, before he then started to cry hysterically. The report commented that Auror Willows had been unnerved upon witnessing this.

Donovan and his silent partner had been found dead in their holding cells, by a poisoned rat bite.

Orsan rubbed his eyes in tiredness, when no further leads had been found, and under pressure to play nice with the French, the case had been closed, tucked away safely, to be forgotten.

Orsan looked at the note again, eyes narrowing as he hesitated for a moment, before scrunching it up and grabbing his coat.

* * *

><p>When Lyrisadora arrived at the library, it looked like a slow day in Diagon Ally; she assumed it was because most people were at school or working.<p>

She hadn't visited the public library in years, but it looked like nothing had changed, the place feeling like it was locked in a pocket of time. Though she was relieved that the head library had appeared to age a couple of years, the woman's hair turned a lighter grey and more bags under her square like face.

Lyrisadora headed to the newspaper section, hoping to find something that linked the reporter and Mr Willows. The newspaper sectioned was filled to the brim with glass file cabinets, an array of dust littering the frames. They stretched high towards the ceiling, the quantity of paper seeming endless.

For a moment her mind was overwhelmed, sometimes she felt Dumbledore expected too much. She tried to think of a quick way to narrow it down, the section mainly homed papers from the United Kingdom, but it did home some papers from overseas that were linked to the UK. She examined the files, firstly checking to see if the countries were in alphabetical order; they weren't.

She let out a deep breath, before her attention was diverted to a short man on a half a ¼ of a mile high ladder, who she assumed worked at the library. "Excuse me," Lyrisadora called. He didn't seem to hear her. "Excuse me!" she called louder, the man looked around but didn't seem to notice her. This was getting ridiculous. "Oi!" she bellowed, nearly knocking the man off the ladder.

He looked at her in alarm. "Yes?" he asked warily, cautiously making his way down the ladder.

Lyrisadora smiled. "Do you know where the American related newspapers are?" she asked pleasantly.

The owl of a man frowned for a moment, muttering thoughtfully under his breath. "American?" he asked her.

Lyrisadora nodded. "Yes."

He paused, before his face brightened up. "Ah, yes, follow me," he instructed brightly, beginning to walk down the aisle. "It's been a while since I've been down that section," he chirped, his voice having a bird like ring to it. "Most people don't show an interest in old newspapers," he added, glancing at her.

She feigned a surprised look. "Really? Well I'm looking to enter the reporting business, so I want to know as much as possible," she lied.

The small man looked intrigued. "What paper?" he questioned.

"The Daily Prophet," she answered evenly. "E. Limus is my favourite writer," she supplied.

"He does have a way of livening up reports," he concurred, before stopping in front of a cabinet. "I'll be down the hall if you need anything," he said, before lowering his tone. "But try not to shout next time, the head librarian is a bit of a dragon," he whispered.

"I'll try, thanks," she replied pleasantly, her smile dropping once he left. She started looking through the papers, trying to find something that rang any bells. She tried to narrow it down by looking at dates, titles such as '_Trading standards slipping_?' popped up, she briefly read the front page, taking the newspaper out to give it a quick read, before discarding it on the floor.

'_Strained relationship with American cousins?' _was discarded soon after was. '_President resigns'_ sparked her interest, mainly because it mentioned the newspaper The Portal on page three, the article was about the newspaper offering a free vacation to Portugal to one of its reporters, before it went on to talk about the newspaper wasting resources. The newspaper quickly followed the rest on the floor.

Before Lyrisadora knew it, she was surrounded by old newspapers. "Give me a break already," she groaned, looked at the mess, the file cabinet now practically empty. She remembered Dumbledore's letter and took it out from her pocket, re-reading it, the paper feeling strangely waxy in her hand.

_To Lyrisadora _

'_Look into the name Ada Millers, she's from Chicago and has been missing for six months, _

Was the woman even alive? Was someone using the name as a false identity? Lyrisadora frowned. She wondered how Dumbledore even found out about the woman.

_I believe she used to write for the American Wizarding newspaper, The Portal_.'

Lyrisadora looked back at the papers, wondering if there was something she had missed. The article criticising The Portal's spending habits and the prize trip to Portugal. She paused, that newspaper was a year old, she supposed it was possible for Ada Millers to have won the trip to Portugal, where she could have met Auror Willows, who could have coincidently taken a family holiday.

It seemed Dumbledore suspected Ada was the one who sent those letters, but neither of them could be sure Ada even existed anymore, if Ada had changed her identity, they were still back at square one.

_P.s please remember to pick up some Lemon drops._

Lyrisadora re-read the last line, she had a feeling he wanted her to go somewhere, maybe to get more information? She tried to think of somewhere in Diagon alley that sold the muggle sweets, she recalled Sherbet Lemons had been the old man's particular favourite.

She felt a pang of frustration, wishing Dumbledore wouldn't speak in riddles all the time. Her frown deepened. Maybe he was trying to tell her to go to the place he bought the lemon drops from. But how the hell was she meant to find out that? For all she knew, he could have bought those sweets from a muggle shop in Lancaster.

She breathed in slowly, maybe she was overthinking this, Dumbledore wouldn't have given her an impossible task, and the message was probably simpler than she thought….well hopefully.

Dumbledore was most likely referring to the shop he purchased his lemon drops from, meaning it must be a specific shop. She scowled, examining the paper, maybe she was missing something, she pulled out her wand. "_Aparecium_," she muttered, she waited, her eyes widened when something started to appear on the paper, written in French.

_'At Blue Drops sweet shop'_

Appeared at the bottom of the page, she held back a squeal of joy, finally she was getting somewhere. She flicked her wand, the newspapers flying back into the cabinet, neatly in place, before standing up, tucking her wand back into her robe as she walked down the aisle.

She glanced at the clock in the library, keeping an eye on the time, passing the disgruntled looking librarian along the way. The afternoon sunlight shone through the open library doors as she walked through them, her eyes widened when a blast of purple light was came zooming towards her.

She jumped out of the way, tripping down the stairs.

* * *

><p>One hour earlier…<p>

The Blue Drops sweet shop was located near Gringotts bank, kept in a snug side alley. Orsan kept his hands in his pockets as he walked along the street, wand securely in his grip. He eyed the street with acute eyes and ears.

He passed a few shops along the way, he knew he'd get a dressing down for leaving the office early, but he couldn't let this lead go, and if it was a trap….well it was a good thing he was a good dueller.

Whatever this Syndicate was, it was linked to the Death Eaters and from what vague information he had gathered, they seemed to be a crime network in France. Which would make things more difficult, from what he knew about Willows, the man had never been to France. Orsan slowed his pace down, a triangular like frazzled haired woman pushing past him, making him nearly pull his wand out in reaction. He was jolted out from his thoughts, when he heard a yell. "Stop her!" A voice exclaimed, Orsan slowed his pace down, a triangular like frazzled haired woman pushing past him, making him pull his wand out in reaction. Orsan's wand was out in a lightning bolt, his eyes narrowing at the woman who had pushed past him, she was now running down the street, two Hit-Wizards running towards Orsan, apparently chasing after the woman.

Orsan saw her turning a corner, he apparated to the corner, catching up with her, before he legged it after her. She was fast and she seemingly couldn't apparate as she kept on running, slightly swaying. He followed her down a snicket. "Stop!" he yelled, partly aware that it was futile, she whizzed around and hazardly shot a curse at him mid run. It hit the bricks behind him, cracking them in two. Orsan held back a groan and fired back at her. "_Stubefy!"_ She fired back a surprisingly powerful counter curse, knocking him back; he managed to stay on his feet, sliding to regain his balance.

He tried to get ahead of her, watching her go down a road that led towards the library, brandishing his wand he apparated in front of the Library, stopping her in her tracks and she backed away, her eyes alight with fear_. "Petrificus Totalus,"_ he uttered, aiming it at her, but she was fast, scrambling out of the way towards the library steps. She brandished her wand as she ran. "_Expelliarmus_." Knocking her wand out of her hand. A girl stepped out of the library when he aimed a curse at the frazzled woman, he didn't notice the blonde, instead continuing on, aiming one final stupefy.

The frazzled woman was hit, she hit the stairs with a painful thud, Orsan ran towards her, wand still pointed, but she was knocked out cold. The woman looked old, face aligned with stress lines and her complexion a sickly yellow. Her grey robes were like rags, it was when he saw the prison tattoo on her wrist, when he realised she was one of the escapees from Azkaban. Maybe he wouldn't get chastised for leaving early after all.

It was the annoyingly familiar voice that alerted his attention back to the girl who had fallen. "Fuck sake," he heard a low mutter, he turned around, surprised to find Lyrisadora Malfoy crouched on the end of the stone steps, rubbing her bruised neck, a clear scowl on her face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he exclaimed, gaining her full attention as her eyes widened in surprise.

* * *

><p>What the hell was<em> he<em> doing here? She thought in frustration, quickly getting back up to her feet. He was already a thorn in her side, meddling in things that didn't concern him. "Visiting the library, is it a crime now?" she replied lightly, arching an eyebrow.

"Aren't you meant to be in school?" he questioned flatly.

She dusted off her robes. "I've just been to a funeral, I came here to clear my head," she answered smoothly.

He frowned, it looked like he couldn't tell if she was lying or not, but his attention was diverted when two out of breath Hit-Wizards came running up the stairs. "You caught her," one of them panted.

Orsan gave them a look, before smiling good heartedly. "You did say 'stop her'," he reminded. Lyrisadora tried to make an escape. "_Stay_," Orsan instructed sharply, making her scowl. "We're not finished," he reminded, leaving the Hit-Wizards to take care of the unbalanced looking unconscious woman. Meeting Lyrisadora at the end often stairs. "What did you do to Gertrude?" he asked her accusingly.

Lyrisadora kept silent, her face remaining blank, during that brief second of silence, she debated whether or not to throw him a bone. "I don't know what you're on about," she replied smoothly, folding her arms and eyeing him challengingly. "And anyway, why are you here?" She asked instead.

He paused, looking at her critically. "Off to buy some sweets," he answered evenly, something off about his voice.

She forced herself not to react, wondering what type of madness Dumbledore was throwing together. "I never took you for a sweet tooth," she commented. "A secret chocoholic?" she joked, her smile having no humour behind it.

Another silence. "Nah, I prefer Lemon drops," he remarked.

Inside Lyrisadora was screaming, did Dumbledore seriously want them to work together? "Me too," she said brightly.

"What a coincidence," Orsan said, raising his eyebrows. "Want to tag along?" Lyrisadora gave him a wire like smile and opened her mouth to speak, but froze when she heard the sound of a whistle. Orsan looked at her warily. "What's wrong?"

The whistling continued. "Nothing," she replied firmly, trying to ignore the sound, whatever Adrian wanted, it could wait. Her smile returned. "Lead the way then," she chirped, letting out a sigh of relief when the whistling stopped.

* * *

><p>Adrian tossed the whistle into a draw, holding back a growl of frustration as he sat down on his bed. He tried to ignore his mother's pointed look, as she stood in the doorway of his room. "I'm sure she'll be back soon," his mother reassured, in a tone that was almost mocking. Adrian gave her a cold look, before he loosened the tie around his neck. "You love her, don't you?" she more or less stated.<p>

He froze, a sickly feeling forming in his gut. "No," he replied flatly, finally looking back at her, his eyes narrowing. "It's not like that," he argued, his voice more firm. "I just…want her."

His mother gave an infuriating hum, stepping into the room. "You're infatuated by her," she drawled, acting like this was another problem she had to go and fix. "It's very clear she's the one in control, Adrian," she told him, coming up to stand next to the bed.

His jaw grew tenser, this was becoming harder to hear, had he really become so blind in only a few months? And what if his mother was right? What if he had fallen in love with her? What the hell was wrong with him? "Okay, so…maybe you're right," he admitted reluctantly. "But what exactly do you want me to do about it?" he snapped, growing more agitated by the second.

His mother was silent for a while, much to his growing irritation, before she replied. "The only reason she's able to manipulate you so well, is because you've let her have free reign," she began to explain, beginning to pace around the bedroom. "She needs…a firmer hand."

Adrian did not like where this was going. "So, what you're saying is, that I should just smack her around a bit to put her back in her place?" he asked dryly. "I'm sure she'll _love_ that," he sneered, rolling his eyes.

His mother frowned. "I mean, that you need to control her better, exploit her weaknesses," she said.

"I thought you liked her?" he exclaimed, then again maybe this was how his mother treated people she liked.

She sighed. "Of course I do," she assured, waving a dismissive hand. "She just needs to be polished off a bit," she argued, her tone as light as a feather. "I do want you two to be happy after all. Don't you want her to genuinely be infatuated by you?" she queried.

He bristled at the questions. "She already is!" he protested, wanting very much to throw a jinx at the woman, but he did need to stay on her nice side right now if he wanted her cooperation.

His mother made a doubtful sound. "Are you sure?"

Adrian swallowed a lump in his throat, Lyrisadora had spent over ten years hating him, but he was certain she liked him now, things were different, after all she had agreed to get engaged to him….But she had been insistent that it was only temporary….and she was a good liar, she knew just the right buttons to press to get him to agree. "I don't want to hurt her," he said, hating how pathetic he sounded, shooting his mother a glare. "I should just confront her," he decided, standing up.

"She'll lie," Mrs Pucey pointed out.

"Most likely," he agreed, taking off his outer robe. If she did lie to him, then he'd prefer it if she looked him in the eye. But what if she tried to manipulate him again? Showing affection at just the right moment. He paused. "I need to think," he stated, walking past his mother, heading to his the study.

* * *

><p>The Blue Drops sweet shot was small and the wallpaper was peeling off, but it still had that welcoming damp look to it, the array of multi-coloured sweets making the shop look more appealing. A grey haired woman in maroon robes looked at them expectantly, smiling brightly. Lyrisadora smiled back pleasantly, walking over to the counter, while Orsan looked around. "Hello, we're looking for some sherbet lemon drops," Lyrisadora said.<p>

The woman looked at them both. "Which one of you has the letter?" she asked.

Lyrisadora reached in to retrieve hers the same time as Orsan, her eyes narrowed for a second, before turning back to the counter lady. "Here," she said, handing the letter over.

The woman read the letter over. "This'll suffice," she said simply, handing the letter back to her, before disappearing through a door that seemed to lead round back.

Lyrisadora hastily placed the letter back in her pocket before Orsan could get a look. The Auror's eyes narrowed. "Anything you'd like to share?" he questioned.

"You first," she chimed.

"Don't try and be cute," he retorted. "Start talking," he instructed firmly.

Lyrisadora raised an amused eyebrow. "Auror Willows was investigating something big, I want to know what," she told him.

"Who gave you this lead?" he inquired.

"The same person who gave you yours, they love lemon drops, how obvious can you get?" she answered, she eyed him intently. "Your turn, have you found anything?" she asked, watching for the slightest tick of a reaction.

He didn't answer straight away, which meant he knew something, she looked at him sternly. "I found a file," he answered.

Her eyes glinted with intrigue. "What about?"

"A case Willows was working on, this French gang tried to steal a painting," he began to tell. "Two got captured, they ended up dead in their cells."

She made sure her face revealed nothing. "Cause of death?" she questioned.

"A poisoned rat bite," he replied, watching her calculatingly.

It was at this point the shopkeeper returned, a newspaper in hand. "He said I should expect two guests," she informed, placing the newspaper on the counter. Lyrisadora and Orsan scanned the page that had been opened. "Said it had something to do with Ada," the woman's voice became weaker.

Orsan looked at her appreciably. "Thank you, Miss…?"

"Mrs Holden, but I prefer Nancy," the shopkeeper interjected.

"I'm Auror Orsan," he introduced, before glancing at Lyrisadora. "This is my…"

Lyrisadora buried an amused smile. "Friend," she supplied, before turning back to the newspaper page.

Orsan gave her a perceptive look, but otherwise kept quiet, looking back at the page, it was on page six, it was a missing person, Ada Millers; an American reporter who had gone missing in England while on holiday visiting family. Lyrisadora looked up at the woman. "Were you two close?" inquired Lyrisadora.

The woman sighed. "I'm a friend of her mother's," she answered. "Her mother lives here, got divorced a few years back….It hasn't been easy," she added quietly, before looking back up at them. "I hung the newspaper in the window for months, until Dumbledore said it was dangerous," she told them, her brow creasing.

Orsan scratched at his chin. "Was Ada close to Auror Willows at all?"

The woman looked a little surprised. "They knew each other, I'm not sure how well…I did go to him, hoping he'd help with the investigation of her disappearance, but he acted like he didn't want to know," she explained, looking clearly upset.

"Was he rude?" Lyrisadora asked, wondering of the Auror's behaviour.

"No, just dismissive, he looked overrun, had bags under his eyes," Nancy answered, looking back at Orsan. "You were in the same department as his, did you notice anything?" she asked.

Lyrisadora noticed he shifted his right foot, guilt perhaps? "I should of," he responded, before clearing his throat. "Do you know how Ada met Mrs Willows?"

Nancy shook her head. "No, she just mentioned him once, something about doing a report about his department, but that was a few years ago," she said.

"How many?" Lyrisadora queried mildly.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment. "Two, I think," she answered. "Do…do you think she's alive?" she asked cautiously.

Lyrisadora and Orsan exchanged a glance. "We don't know," Lyrisadora said gently. "Is there anything else you know that could help us? Any places she might have gone to?" she questioned, her mind lingering back to Portugal.

There was a pause; Nancy twiddled her thumbs as she frowned. "She mainly came to England…but she did visit Portugal once," she said.

"Was she different afterwards?" Lyrisadora asked, trying to keep the excitement from her voice.

Nancy's frown deepened. "I don't think so, I didn't see her, but her mother mentioned she came to visit her afterwards, gave her a nice Portuguese vase," she informed fondly.

"I see," Lyrisadora muttered, before smiling brightly. "Well thank you for your help, we'll do our best," she said.

"It's no trouble, Dumbledore's always been a loyal customer of mine," Nancy said, smiling in nostalgia. "Shame about this whole rubbish with the Ministry," she sighed. "He was my best customer," she added regrettably.

"I'm sure it'll get cleared up in no time," Lyrisadora reassured. "Do you mind if we take this? It could really help," she stated.

There was some hesitation, before Nancy nodded. "Well, it will be better put to use than gathering dust in the back," she concurred.

"Thank you for your time," Orsan said, swiping the newspaper up before Lyrisadora could touch it. Lyrisadora shot him a glare. He even paid for the lemon drops, taking the two bags full as they both left the shop.

"Give me the newspaper," she instructed sharply.

"No," he said plainly, popping the lemon flavoured sweet into his mouth. "It's best kept safe with me," he argued, eyes sliding over to her. "You're the one surrounded my snakes after all."

He did have a point, but it wasn't like any information gathered was completely safe with him either. "It's best we don't keep all out information gathered in one place," she countered, as they walked along the street. "Less someone breaks into your apartment and finds it all," she chimed.

"I'd rather keep my eggs in one basket," he said.

"Makes it easier to steal?" she remarked, before narrowing her eyes. "We never got to finish our conversation," she reminded, stopping him in front of a lamppost. "Those prisoners, did they reveal any names?"

He swallowed his lemon drop. "Jenik seemed to spark something," he answered.

So Jenik liked to run bank robberies on the side, huh? "Anything else?"

"Does 'the Syndicate' ring any bells?"

"Faintly," she replied. "I know they're dangerous."

His lips twitched, as if he was amused. "Anything else, you might know?"

Lyrisadora considered him carefully, did Dumbledore want Orsan in on the Order's business, or was he still an outsider. The Auror seemed trustworthy enough, and it was becoming more and more clear that he was smart enough to survive this game. She scanned the area, before pulling him into a dark alley. "Have you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?" She watched his features critically.

"No, are they good or bad?" he asked carefully.

She shrugged. "They're a tad too idealistic, but otherwise good. They fight Death Eaters, Dumbledore founded it," she informed.

Orsan seemed to soak this all in. "Are you a member?"

"Not officially," she answered. "Dumbledore and I are similar in the fact, that we don't like to keep our assets in one place," Lyrisadora said.

The two stared at each other for a long time before Orsan reached into his robe pocket and handed over the newspaper, she placed it in her robe, a small smirk forming on her lips. "The Willows family had friends, some of those friends' children are at Hogwarts," he told her, reaching into his robe again, pulling out a notepad and a pencil. "Contact me if you find anything," he said, scribbling his address on the paper, before ripping the paper off and handing her it.

She folded the paper away. "I'll see what I can do," she replied, stepping back.

He nodded curtly, before handing her the second bag of lemon drops. "See you around," was his final note before he walked away.

Lyrisadora glanced at the bag of sweets, before plopping one in her mouth, the sour taste stinging her tongue.

* * *

><p>She used the key Adrian gave her, to open the gates of the manor, before apparating to the front door, using the same key to open the large front door.<p>

The place looked gloomy when Lyrisadora entered, but she supposed the Adrian's home had never been very cheerful. Closing the door behind her, she made her way over to the dining room, only to find it empty, her eyes wondered towards the clock, straining her eyes with the lack of light, it appeared she had lost track of time, maybe that was why Adrian had whistled her.

She shrugged it off, wondering off to go look for him, remembering her promise. But he wasn't in his room either; she frowned, wondering where everyone was. She went to the next place she thought he may be, his father's old study, which he claimed was now his. When she neared the door she notice light creeping from the cracks, not bothering to knock, she walked on in. "I'm back," she called, smiling when she saw him sitting at the desk, half dressed in his funeral robes, bouncing a ball against the wall.

He barely moved from his spot, glancing up at her, face blank. "What took you so long?" he greeted nonchalantly, resuming throwing the tennis ball against the wall.

There was something off about his tone, her smile became a little more fixed, he was probably just grumpy about the funeral, especially after having to deal with all those guest. She moved closer to him. "I lost track of time," she answered, before smiling, reaching into her robe. "I also stopped off by a sweet shop to pick up these," she added, revealing the sweets. "Try one, they're good," she encouraged. Adrian glanced at the sweets, then back at her, keeping the ball in his hand. She looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?" she asked, placing the sweets down, why was he being so quiet? "Did something happen with your mother?"

He swallowed, blue eyes focused on her. "What's going on between you and that Auror, Orsan?" he questioned in a measured tone.

The uneasy feeling in her stomach grew. "What do you mean?" she said, before forcing a scoff. "For Merlin sake Adrian, I'm not sleeping with him," she reassured, rolling her eyes, was he really that paranoid. "I barely know him."

She saw Adrian clench the ball, making her brow knit, he didn't really think her and Orsan were thing did he?

"I know _that,"_ he more or less snapped, catching her off guard, his voice having risen. "But something is going on between you two," he insisted, standing up.

Lyrisadora felt like a trapped fox. "Don't shout at me," she snapped. "You're being paranoid," she accused.

He looked at her firmly. "You've been lying," he said. "Why were you really at the Auror office?"

She was a quiet for a moment, before she swallowed a lump in her throat. "I was on a mission for the Dark Lord…and I didn't want to worry you," she confessed. "It was about the Willows, the one I helped murder…" she trailed off.

His gaze softened slightly. "And Auror Orsan?" he questioned.

"I ran into him, I had to say I was lost, so he wouldn't ask too many questions," she explained.

Adrian frowned, appearing to mull her answer over. "Where were you today?" he asked, his voice calmer.

He was looking her in the eye now, if she divulged anything about the Syndicate then things would become messy, if he knew what she was investigating and the mission Dumbledore gave her. Did Adrian expect her to lie, could she just tell him it was another mission for the Dark Lord? But then he would just ask more questions. "I was visiting my aunt Andromeda," she lied, keeping her eyes locked on his. "We've got back in contact and I didn't know how you'd react…"

"I don't care if you talk to disowned relatives," he said plainly, but something was still off about his gaze.

"Adrian, why are you acting like this…" Lyrisadora said quietly, not understanding how things had suddenly gone bad in a short space of time. "I'm sorry I lied," she apologised, hoping it would placate things. He didn't say anything, and instead looked away, tapping his fingers on the desk. Was he really this upset because she lied? He had lied to her before…she supposed they weren't as severe, and she had been manipulating him. But he had manipulated her in the past and she was doing it for his own good.

Her mind wondered to her father, she hadn't appreciated being manipulated by him and he had claimed to only have her best interests at heart and now things were worse than ever. She didn't want Adrian to hate her. "Can you please just talk to me?" her voice wavering, and an uncomfortable lump forming in her throat, grabbing his hand, tugging him.

He glanced up at her, before letting out an exasperated sigh. "For Merlin sake, don't cry," he groaned.

Her eyes widened, trying to swallow the pain in her throat, why the hell was she so emotional? She stepped back, feeling anger surge up in her, it was his fault she felt like this, feeling embarrassed, she hit his shoulder. "I wasn't going to, you asshole," she said sharply. "Why are you being like this?" she repeated.

He rubbed his shoulder. "I don't like it when you lie to me," he said evenly.

This did nothing to quell her anger. "Well I don't like it when you shut me out and act like a prick," she exclaimed.

His eyes narrowed. "Like you're any better," he argued bitingly.

"Shut up!" she said, her voice rising, her hands clenching into fist.

"I thought you wanted me to talk?" he said mockingly. "So, are you going to finally admit you're a liar and tell me why you've really been so attentive these last few months?" His gaze stung.

She felt something build up inside her, her heart rate was increasing and she couldn't stand how much his gaze hurt. "I have-" Her voice caught in her throat, she tried again. "There's a-" Her voice stopped again, not of her own accord, her eyes widened in realisation.

"Well?" Adrian was looking at her expectantly.

She tried again, trying to say Dumbledore's name, but her voice was trapped. "I can't," she whispered, realising that the oath of silence she had sworn had been more literal than she realised. "I can't…" Before she knew it her eyes started to water, her throat feeling sore and clumped.

His posture seemed to slack. She turned away from him, trying to control herself. She felt his hands on her shoulder. "Just, calm down," she heard him say, his voice more placid.

Her face scrunched up in frustration, as she pushed him away. "Piss off," she swore, feeling small and stupid.

She ran out of the door, running to her guest room and slamming the door shut behind her, burying her face in her pillow.

* * *

><p>Adrian felt a surge of frustration, slamming his fist on the desk, before burying his head in his hands.<p>

"Well that went well," he heard his mother speak from the doorway.

He looked up, his eyes narrowed in dislike. "No one asked your opinion, _mother_," he spat, collapsing back down in his seat.

"I tried to warn you," she reminded, walking over to the desk, herself now dressed in bright purple robes.

Adrian buried his face in his hands. "I shouldn't have made her cry," he murmured.

"It's a good sign though," his mother pointed out.

His head snapped up, his brow creasing into a frown. "How exactly is that a good sign?"

She smiled slyly. "It means what you said affected her, she didn't like it when you were angry at her," she explained.

She had a point. "But now she's angry with me," Adrian argued.

"It'll pass," his mother reassured, waving a dismissive hand. "From what I've gathered, you two used to fight like cat and dog," she reminded.

"That was different," he countered, a small smile fighting its way onto his face, remembering how flustered she'd get.

"I'm sure she'll be fine by morning," she said. "What's important is that you exposed a weakness," his mother continued, looking back at him expectantly. "What doesn't she like you doing?"

He mulled this one over. "She didn't like it when I ignored her."

"Of course she didn't, she most likely hates rejection," his mother dragged it out. "In other words, give her less attention and she'll come crawling back like a starved kitten," she said, smiling.

Adrian didn't like how that sounded. "I don't want her to be a feeble kitten," he protested, he enjoyed her feistiness.

His mother let out a frustrated breath. "Unless she's 100% committed to you Adrian, you can't trust her," she argued. "She needs to understand that you're in charge."

Adrian paused, considering her point. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt," he slowly agreed. It would be nice to finally trust Lyrisadora; she might even agree to marry him for real, after the five year agreement.

His mother watched him carefully. "You should get some rest," she advised, placing a hand on his shoulder, giving him a smile that he assumed was meant to be motherly.

He slumped her shoulder off, not liking the closeness. "I'll see you in the morning," he muttered, not sparing her a second glance as he walked past her.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora clenched her pillow tightly, wiping her eyes, her pillow feeling damp. Her ears pricked up when she heard a knock at the door. "What?" she called.<p>

The door opened, revealing Adrian's mother, Lyrisadora wasn't exactly pleased to see her. Mrs Pucey sighed, clicking her fingers to light a candle. "What has my son done now?" she questioned in exasperation, taking a seat as the end of the bed, lefts folded, looking perfectly poised.

Lyrisadora sniffed, rubbing her eyes, feeling more like a child. "It's nothing," she said softly, forcing her voice to be clearer. "I'm sorry if we disturbed you."

She chuckled. "Compared to my late husband, you might as well have been whispering," Adrian's mother assured. Lyrisadora forced a smile. "My son's upset you, pay him no mind, he's always had a lack of tact," Mrs Pucey said. "…I suppose I'm partly to blame," she murmured, briefly looking away to stare at the wall.

Lyrisadora swallowed. "He's quite emotionally stunted," she said, feeling a bit of a hypocrite.

"More than quite," his mother laughed, before looking back at Lyrisadora. "I suppose I didn't help, leaving him and all. I just had to get out, get away from all those whores…" he tone took on a more cold edge.

"At least you got to see the world," Lyrisadora reasoned.

Mrs Pucey half shrugged. "Hmm, true," she concurred, her tone becoming lighter. She smiled charmingly at Lyrisadora. "I know he's difficult, but bear with him."

Lyrisadora made a doubtful sound, feeling tired and guilt ridden. "I didn't think he'd get angry like that…"

"You care about him, don't you?" Mrs Pucey said warmly.

"Of course I do," Lyrisadora answered firmly.

Mrs Pucey have her a smile, that seemed sad. "He's been temperamental these last few days," she explained. "He's vulnerable," she sighed.

Lyrisadora frowned, she had suspected the death of his father had effected Adrian more than he let on. She swallowed, how the hell was she meant to fake her death if he was vulnerable, what if he went off the deep end? "I did notice…" unable to mask the anxiousness on her face.

"He's infatuated by you," Mrs Pucey stated, looking at Lyrisadora pointedly. "It's sweet," she added warmly, her gaze soft. "He practically worships you," she laughed.

Lyrisadora's heart began to sink, her suspicions seemingly confirmed true. "He does?" she murmured, the guilt becoming unbearable. "I should apologise," she declared, hastily getting out of bed, but Mrs Pucey stopped her.

"Let him cool off first, whatever you said really set him off," Mrs Pucey advised, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, you look like a state, you should rest, get your bearings back," she said, guiding her back to the bed.

Lyrisadora looked uncertain, but nevertheless sat back on the bed. "I suppose that would be best," she agreed, her chest feeling a little more lighter, she glanced back at Adrian's mother, the woman didn't seem that bad, she seemed to understand the frustration the Pucey men seemed to emulate.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in a damp mould ridden cottage, over a hundred miles away.<p>

Igor Karkaroff wrote a shabby written letter;

_July_

_The Willows family is dead. You're on your own_

_I.K_

Before attaching the letter to a mossy looking owl, the bird biting his fingers before it flew out of the window and into the night.

* * *

><p><strong>And there goes Mrs Pucey causing trouble. And Adrian is a bit of an ass. <strong>

**Forgive**** any punctuation or grammar errors, this was a long one and I didn't have time to properly check it over. **


	78. Sweet Promises

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Chuck Palahniuk, _Lullaby_**

* * *

><p><strong>"No matter how much you love someone, you still want to have you own way"<strong>

**Chapter: Sweet Promises **

* * *

><p><em>21st April 1996<em>

It was five in the morning and Adrian was busy pacing round his room, a gnawing unpleasant feeling stuck in his chest. He collapsed on his bed and groaned into his pillow, why the hell did she have to go and cry? It made him feel like he had kicked an injured kitten. "Fucking women," he murmured testily, scowling to himself, trying to think of a way he could apologise.

But then he remembered what his mother had said, about him needing to regain control, Lyrisadora had gained the upper hand. Which was almost laughable compared to how different things had been two years. He let out a frustrated sigh, then again, he had been the one to push her to start standing up for herself. It appeared that had backfired on him tremendously.

Adrian propped himself up on his elbows. She had lied to him and manipulated his emotions, and as angry as he had been, he had to admit he was slightly impressed. His little egg had finally hatched into a beautiful Viper, now he just had to make sure she didn't bite him.

His mother may be meddlesome, but he had to respect her slyness, he knew his mother wanted to get back into his good graces, heck maybe she even felt guilty about being absent from his life for so long, but he doubted it. She was useful though, he had been oblivious up until she had finally ripped off those rose tinted glasses.

And she had been right in pointing out Lyrisadora's weaknesses, some he had thought the blonde had grown out off. But it appeared little Miss Malfoy was still seeking acceptance from someone. If he was going to have her wrapped around his finger again, then he needed to be careful, things were different now, she was different. She didn't like being told what to do, and most certainly did not like being controlled.

He frowned, standing up from the bed, he supposed he'd have to be subtle, if he was going to apologise for upsetting her, then he needed to make it appear that he didn't have to apologise to her, an action instead of words would suffice. His frown deepened, as he clenched his chin, trying to think of something he could do for her.

He could be charming if he wanted to be, false smiles and sweet words always worked on the other girls, but Lyrisadora had an annoying awareness of his false pleasantries, she'd see right through him. He continued to think for a couple more seconds, before his eyes lit up, an idea forming, he'd make her breakfast.

Breakfast in bed, that was an apology enough, he'd even stay in his pyjama bottoms and t-shirt, just to add that romance novel touch. He passed a few house-elves on his way down to the kitchen, he frowned slightly, that would mean the house-elves in the kitchen would be preparing breakfast, he didn't want them interfering.

When he entered the kitchen, the three house-elves that were present, looked at him questionably. "I'm making Miss Malfoy breakfast, don't interfere," he ordered sternly, he made his way over to the larder, trying to locate some eggs, he couldn't find any, and an accio charm would probably just make a mess, muttering under his breath in frustration, he turned back to the elves. "Where are the eggs?" he asked testily.

The elves sprang to action, he watched them hurry to gather a batch full of thirty eggs, carefully placing them on the counter. Adrian eyed the time, before letting out a defeated sigh. "And the bacon, bread and sausages?" he muttered irritably.

The ingredients were on the counter in less than a minute, the elves had even been smart enough to give him three pans and spatula, turning the oven on, as well at the grates. So he decided to give them an appreciated look, before turning back to task at hand when they returned to their work.

He was a bit unsure of how to go about this, seeing how the only thing he had ever made by hand in his life had been a ham sandwich. But if Lyrisadora could do it, then so could he. He looked at the numbered knobs, turning up the heat up, placing the bread in the oven to toast.

He cracked an egg into one of the greased up pans, before placing bacon in another, summoning another spatula, nearly getting whacked in the head as the spatula zoomed out of a draw. He held one spatula in his hand as he used magic to levitate the other, simultaneously flipping the bacon and egg.

Things went downhill from there, the egg started to stick to the pan, the bacon started to burn and he had forgotten about the toast. He scraped the egg off the pan and onto a plate, the toast was still salvageable, he just scraped some of the burnt bits off, the sausages and bacon were fine, just a little mushy. He eyed the finish product critically, he supposed she wouldn't have believed he made it if it looked perfect. His hands felt greasy from the oil, he grimaced, wiping them on his t-shirt . "She better damn appreciate this," he grumbled, loading the plate on a tray, adding a knife and fork, he noticed from the corner of his eye a glass of orange juice, the house-elves could be such brown noses sometimes.

He placed the orange juice on the tray, carrying it out of the kitchen, when he arrived outside of the guest room, he let out a deep breath before knocking. "Oi! Rise and shine, princess," he called, opening the door. To be greeted by the sight of Lyrisadora stirring in her sleep, her hair tangled and her mouth gape as she drooled onto her pillow. Adrian smirked, walking over to prod her in the cheek, making her frown. "Wake up sleepy head," he cooed, continuing to poke her cheek.

She groaned, stirring awake, eyes blinking sleeping as she looked up. "Adrian?" she muttered, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes, she looked at the tray, frowning in confusion. "You made me breakfast…" she said slowly.

"Well, I thought you'd be hungry," he said evenly, sitting on the bed, passing her the tray.

She was quiet as she examined the plate full of food and the orange juice. He waited for her reply, when she didn't give one straight away, he frowned. "If you don't want it I can just throw it away," he told her mildly.

"I do want it," she said far too quickly. Adrian stopped his frown from deepening, something seemed off with her. She smiled at him. "This is really sweet," she said warmly, meeting his eyes this time.

He just shrugged. "It wasn't too much trouble, though the eggs were a bitch to make," he commented. "I don't know how you do them," he added, dropping the complement in.

"It's all about the temperature really, and the oil," she replied, picking up her knife and fork. "I learned from this cookbook," she informed, taking her first bite of bacon.

Adrian hadn't thought about a cookbook, he inwardly cursed himself, but quickly let it go. He watched her eat, he remembered how she had more of less choked on her own words before she started crying, it had been infuriating, his brow creased faintly, she had said 'I can't', so perhaps she was sworn not to tell, however the question as to _why_ was still unanswered. He assumed that it had something to do with the Dark Lord, but if so, then how was Auror Orsan involved? The man didn't seem like a Dark Lord supporter. And if something was going on with the Dark Lord, then why hadn't she mentioned it, or at least told him something was wrong? Even if she was sworn not to tell, she could have hinted at it, maybe shown that something was wrong.

Lyrisadora looked up, seemingly noticing him watching her. "What?" she questioned, swallowing a piece of toast.

"Just wondering if you liked breakfast," he lied smoothly.

"Well…" she said slowly, making him frown. "You could have buttered the toast," she pointed out.

He knew he forgot something! Silently chastising himself. Who the hell wants dry toast? He was surprised she hadn't choked. "Damn," he muttered, scowling, before looking back at her. "Well, if you don't want it," he said, moving to grab the tray.

She lifted it away from him. "I still want it," she reassured firmly, forcing a smile, hastily stuffing the rest of the toast in her mouth.

Adrian hid his confusion, why did she seem so on edge? Had the fight really affected her that much? He may want more control in the relationship, but her being skittish around him was no fun at all. "How about we put last night behind us?" he suggested soothingly. "We both let our emotions get the better of us," he added, because he still wasn't ready to let her come out of this without some guilt.

She polished off her toast, swallowing a large chunk. "Yeah, we did, we should put it behind us," she agreed, continuing to eat the rest of her breakfast. But Adrian's chest didn't lighten, and he couldn't understand why, because Lyrisadora was agreeing with him, she hadn't even argued back. "What it is?" she questioned, catching him staring at her again.

Maybe a compliment would cheer her up more. "Nothing…you just look beautiful in the morning," he answered, even throwing in a small smile.

She looked at him in confusion. "…Oh, thanks…" she trailed off.

Adrian frowned, it appeared that had backfired, she was practically forcing a smile. "Don't get too excited," he muttered under his breath, standing up from the bed. "I best get changed, I'll see you downstairs in an hour or so," he said casually.

"Thanks for the breakfast," Lyrisadora said.

He waved a dismissive hand, as he made his way over to the door. "Just leave it by the side, the elves will clean it up," he responded, not waiting for a reply as she shut the door behind him.

* * *

><p>It was like he wanted her to feel guilty.<p>

Lyrisadora stared at the door for a moment before looking back at her empty plate. She placed the tray on the empty space of the bed. Maybe he was trying to make her feel guilty? It would be something he'd most likely do, if so then he and his mother had done a wonderful job.

She got out of bed, running a hand through her hair. The difference in his behaviour was strikingly noticeable, one minute he was yelling at her and calling her a liar, the next he was making her breakfast and telling her how beautiful she was. Maybe he was really temperamental.

Which meant his mother had been right, he was vulnerable, and Mrs Pucey expected her to fix this, to support him? The woman would probably kill her on the spot if she knew about the real reason Lyrisadora wanted Adrian to go to America.

She took out some fresh clothes from her travel bag, her mind wondering to the mission, a sting of irritation swelling within her, Snape could have mentioned the promise she took had magical implications, but she couldn't really fault them for it, they had made it perfectly clear to her that the mission was to remain a secret, if she had kept her promise not to tell, then she would have never known about the magical binding the ought possessed.

She started to get undressed. She understood why they did it, but it was still frustrating, they could have told her beforehand, she was at least thankful they hadn't attached a curse onto the oath as well, that would have made things awkward. She started getting dressed, but stopped when she saw Dumbledore's letter in her bag, she re-read it once more, before scrunching it up in her hand, her brow creasing as she burned it in her hand, the letter turning to ash." Better safe than sorry," she said to herself, dusting off her hands as she resumed getting ready.

* * *

><p>It was approaching twelve when Lyrisadora met Mrs Pucey and Adrian outside the commuting fireplace. "Are we all set to go?" Lyrisadora asked, looking between them.<p>

Adrian nodded. "I sent my things ahead," he answered, though it appeared he still chose to carry something in a satchel.

She turned to his mother. "Thank you for having me," she said formally, faintly bowing her head in respect.

Mrs Pucey s gave her a smile. "It was a pleasure to have you," she responded pleasantly, clasping her hand.

Adrian looked at his mother warily. "Don't you have packing to do mother?" he questioned evenly.

His mother's smile never wavered as she glanced at him. "Actually, I think I'll be staying in England for a while," she told him, squeezing Lyrisadora's hand before letting it go.

Lyrisadora eyed Adrian for a reaction, but all she received was a stone faced look, some more tension in his jaw. "That's comforting," he said dryly.

"Hm, yes, I think I'll redecorate," Mrs Pucey mused, walking towards him. "Now, you make sure you take care of yourself," she told him, clasping his shoulder firmly. "I'll make sure to keep in touch," she added smoothly, dusting some fluff off his robe.

He subtly moved away from her. "Goodbye mother," he said flatly, before glancing over at Lyrisadora, as she eyed them curiously. "Let's go then, I'm curious to see what kind of hellhole Hogwarts has become," he drawled.

Lyrisadora couldn't help but smirk in amusement. "One that's decorated in pink," she remarked.

He groaned. "Please tell me you're speaking metaphorically?" he moaned.

Her chest felt a bit more lighter, a familiar rhythm coming back into place. "It's still early days," she answered, making her way over to the fireplace.

"She's going to make me end up missing Dumbledore, isn't she?" Adrian sighed, his face forming a pout.

Lyrisadora smiled in amusement, grabbing a handful of powder. Mrs Pucey watched them intently. "Remember Adrian," his mother chimed, drawing back his attention. "Play nice," she reminded.

Lyrisadora watched them both exchange pointed looks, but otherwise say nothing, hastily threw the powder down, the flames engulfing her, leaving mother and son to stew in whatever bitter exchange they were silently exchanging.

* * *

><p>Lucretia looked at her girlfriend like the Gryffindor had grown another arm. "You want to tell your parents?" she more or less whispered, looking around the empty music room, fearing the walls had ears.<p>

Patricia looked at Lucretia earnestly, taking her hands in hers. "I told my grandparent over the holidays," she confessed anxiously. "And they don't approve, but they say they still love me," she divulged. Lucretia watched in dumbstruck, herself feeling numb. Patricia kept on rambling. "And they're really old fashioned….I think…my parents might understand…and it isn't like we're kids anymore," she said, squeezing Lucretia's hands. "…Loo…?"

"You told your grandparents about us, about _me_?" Lucretia said, finally finding her voice, fixing her girlfriend with a harsh look.

Patricia's lips drooped. "Loo…I just don't want to keep this secret anymore," she argued, letting her go. "Especially with people like Pucey around, do you want people to have something to blackmail us with?" she protested.

Lucretia swallowed a lump in her throat; of course Adrian would have to be the flipping cause of this. "Okay, so let's say we come out, how do you think that'll affect our careers?" She inquired.

Patricia hesitated, licking her lips, before briefly biting it. "I suppose, some people may discriminate…"

Merlin she could be so naïve sometimes, never seeing the full picture. Lucretia decided to educate her. "My parents for one," she informed. "Do you know what they do? My Mother is a member of the Wizengamont, she goes hunting with Rufus Scrimgeour and the McLaggen family. My father is on the board of governors, he's also drinking buddies with the head of the Unspeakable department. We'd be blacklisted before the press could draw up their typewriters," Lucretia stated bluntly.

Patricia was quiet for a while, Lucretia let it all sink in. "Shit," the Gryffindor murmured.

Now she was understanding. "Yeah, it's shit," Lucretia agreed. "Things aren't simple."

Something flashed across Patricia's eyes. "I know they aren't, but I don't want to hide anymore," she protested. "This is something I want to do, for me, and if the world doesn't like it, then I'll help change it," she declared fiercely.

Lucretia was a loss for words. "Patricia…" she murmured, looking at her with uncertainty.

Patricia sighed. "Lucretia, I'm not saying you should do this for me, you should do it for_ yourself_," she said firmly, giving her a warm smile.

Why did her smiles always make her heart melt? "…I'll think about it," Lucretia replied evenly, not wanting to make any promises she couldn't keep.

* * *

><p>When Snape handed Adrian the amount of work he needed to catch up on, Lyrisadora couldn't help but smile at his expression. Snape didn't even spare him a pitying glance. "Make sure it gets done," the Potions master instructed. "Your little leave for mourning is officially over," he said curtly.<p>

Adrian didn't bother to hide the peeved off look etched on his face. "Of course, sir," he responded tonelessly, readjusting the heavy books in his arms, shooting Lyrisadora an annoyed look when he saw her struggling to hold back her smile.

"Good, now get out," Snape ordered sharply, flicking the potion classroom door open.

Adrian didn't need to be told twice, but Lyrisadora stayed where she was. "Sir, I need to talk to you, about the homework you set last week," she said curtly.

Snape looked at her for a moment. "It'll have to wait," he said. "I have a meeting with the headmistress," he more or less groaned.

Lyrisadora buried a twinge of irritation, but nodded nevertheless, following Adrian out of the door. "What's the homework about?" Adrian asked once they were out in the corridor.

She shrugged. "Just the development of a Hiccoughing Solution," she answered, as they walked towards the common room.

He seemed to accept the answer easy enough. "So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?" he asked.

"Besides the obvious?" she queried breezily. "Nothing much," she told him, he raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing," he said lightly, his gaze returning forward as they stopped in front of the common room entrance.

"Magic is might," Lyrisadora spoke lazily, the stones sliding away to let them past.

Adrian nearly tripped on his way in, Lyrisadora looked on in amusement. "Adrian!" called Miles from a table near the entrance, with Warrington and Harper.

Adrian grinned, before pausing to glance at his pile of books and then at Lyrisadora. "Hold this," he said, casually dumping the books in her arms before she could protest, nearly knocking her over. "Thanks," he added brightly, before wondering over to his friends.

Lyrisadora struggled to regain her balance, cursing him under her breath, before marching over to him. Adrian was already exchanging greetings with them, Warrington and Harper throwing in the polite sympathies about his late father. "You should join the Inquisitorial Squad," she heard Warrington say.

"The what?" Adrian questioned, looking at Warrington with interest.

Miles grinned, Lyrisadora didn't like where this was going. "It's great, Umbridge has already started recruiting, it's like being a prefect, but better," he began to explain. "You get more power and knock the Gryffindor's down a peg or two," he added slyly.

"Hmm, it does sound tempting," Adrian mused, smiling slightly.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "Adrian, you're too busy for that sort of thing, _remember_," she spoke up, dumping the books on the floor, drawing in the boys' attention. "Besides, you're already a prefect," she pointed out, she had already lost her brother to Umbridge, she wasn't losing Adrian.

Warrington's eyes narrowed at her. "I think Adrian will be the judge of that," he said smoothly, standing a little taller, looking more bulky. "It looks like you didn't even tell him about it, peculiar considering your brother is a member and Umbridge herself asked you to join," he continued, his voice patronising.

God he was a condescending prick, she thought angrily. She smiled sweetly at him. "Well maybe you shouldn't meddle in affairs that don't concern you, Warrington, we all know what happened last time you did," she retorted coyly, eyes gleaming in satisfaction when she saw his eyes narrow into a glare.

Adrian was watching the biting exchange with amusement. "Warrington, Lyra, be nice," he chided them both, returning the entertained look Miles shot him.

Warrington and Lyrisadora continued to glare at each other. "You should think about it Adrian," Warrington told him.

Lyrisadora swallowed her frustration, it appeared Warrington's dislike for her had grown since her offhanded comment. "Adrian," she said calmly. "I'm not going to carry your books, do it yourself," she said firmly, folding her arms stubbornly.

Adrian looked at her for a moment, his gaze looking thoughtful. "Alright, fine," Adrian sighed, flicking out it wand, muttering a charm that levitated the books up, sending them zooming through the air towards the boys dormitory.

"Ow!" a second year student exclaimed when one of the books whacked him across the head when it zoomed by.

Lyrisadora scowled when Harper, Warrington, Miles and Adrian just laughed. "Be careful," she reprimanded.

Adrian waved a dismissive hand. "He's fine, it was only Roy, he's always falling over," he reassured casually, as the boy fumbled to get up. "Relax," he said, placing an arm around her, she rolled her eyes at the action. She saw him look at the table, noticing the exploding snap cards. "You guys fancy a game?" he asked.

Harper sat back down and started to reshuffle the cards. "Pull up a chair," he replied, Warrington and Miles joining him.

Adrian looked back at Lyrisadora. "You want to join?" he asked.

She hesitated, looking around the common room, trying to find Elizabeth or Lucretia, but she couldn't see them. She let out a defeated breath. "Fine," she groaned, before leaning in. "But if Warrington starts anything…" she warned lowly so they weren't overheard.

"Yes I know," Adrian said breezily, guiding her towards the table. "Make room boys," he said, pulling up two chairs.

The game managed to run smoothly for a good ten minutes, until Warrington opened his mouth again. "So, apparently Umbridge is itching to expel the Weasley twins," he announced.

Lyrisadora pretended to examine her nails. Miles looked up in interest. "Surprised she hasn't already," he commented.

"She needs to catch them in the act, apparently," Harper quipped.

She didn't miss the look Warrington shot her. "You could probably help with that, Lyra," Warrington said lightly, she narrowed her eyes at the use of her first name.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You think so, _Casius_?" She remarked lightly, resting her chin on her knuckles, watching him squirm at the use of his first name, Merlin knew he hated it if he preferred Warrington instead.

Warrington opened his mouth to reply, but Adrian intercepted. "Warrington, stop being prat," he drawled, fixing the boy with a look, effectively shutting him up. "Harper it's your go," he pointed out.

And the game resumed, Warrington looking more put out than before. Lyrisadora held back a sigh, she supposed she should have realised Adrian's friends were probably even bigger asses than him.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora's behaviour felt like an itch in the back of Adrian's head. He stabbed at his piece of roast chicken. It had been nagging at him all day since he gave her breakfast. This morning she had seemed much to quiet, and then afterwards she had seemed annoyed about something, he supposed interacting with Warrington didn't help.<p>

Adrian glanced at her from the corner of her eye, she was a further down the table from him, laughing about something with Elizabeth, while Lucretia watch idly by. "Everything alright in paradise?" Miles questioned, from next to him.

He just gave Miles a lazy shrug. "More or less," he answered, inwardly debating whether he should tell Miles about the fight. "She's just in one of those moods again," he added.

Miles gave him an understanding look. "Cassie's the same," he divulged, making sure to lower his voice so the said girl wouldn't hear. Cassondria eyed them suspiciously from across the table, breaking away from her conversation with Cordula.

"What was that, Miles?" Cassondria questioned mildly.

"Nothing," Miles replied quickly, smiling brightly. Cassondria's eyes narrowed, before she returned to her conversation with Cordula. Miles turned back to Adrian. "It's bloody terrifying," he whispered, making Adrian laugh. "But seriously, is anything wrong? Because I wouldn't be surprised," he added.

This made Adrian stop laughing. "And why is that?"

"Well," Miles began, dragging out the word. "She is quite argumentative," he continued. "Not to mention she's been causing bit of tension lately."

Well this sounded interesting. "What did she do?" Adrian asked quietly.

"She had a falling out with her brother for defending a Weasley a few days ago, and you know a lot of us are still peeved that she used to be friends with those twins," he went on as Adrian listened intently. "Warrington really doesn't like her; you know how he feels about the twins since the cabinet incident." Nearly everyone in Slytherin knew, Warrington had been very vocal. "And, she snubbed Umbridge, even though she did it politely, Umbridge didn't like it," Miles explained.

Adrian looked at him curiously, catching the expectant look across his friend's face. "And you want me to do something about it?" he questioned slowly.

"Couldn't you try and reign her in?" Miles suggested apprehensively. "I know she's a bitch, but you have a better chance of keeping her in line."

Adrian breathed in a controlled breath, his face as blank as stone. He silently wondered if Miles and his mother had been in contact. "I'll see what I can do," he replied in a measured tone, returning to his meal.

Miles looked relieved, maybe he had been worried Adrian would react the wrong way. "Great," he said.

Adrian glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Oh, and Miles," he said, meeting his friend's questioning glance. "Don't insult her again, it's not nice, make sure Warrington understands that too, won't you?" he said coldly, Miles' face melting into surprise, Adrian stabbed the meat on his plate.

* * *

><p><strong>A little more insight into Adrian's head. Mrs Pucey will be sticking around a little more longer, she's too much fun to write. <strong>


	79. Obliviate

**First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.**

**Quote origin:Heartbreaker, pink**

* * *

><p><strong>"I Keep thinking about, that little sparkle in your eye, is it a light from the angels? Or your devil demon inside?"<br>**

**Chapter: Obliviate **

* * *

><p>It was after dinner when Lyrisadora finally managed to get a hold of Snape, finding the man returning from the DADA room, his face looking like he had just swallowed acid. "I need to talk to you," she said firmly, Snape didn't stop.<p>

"How convenient," he drawled. "Follow me," he instructed, not waiting for a reply as he picked up his pace.

She begrudgingly complied. The second they were in the Potions lab, he shoved a small book in her hand. "Study page 64-70," Snape instructed curtly.

Lyrisadora opened the book up to the correct page, the title being 'patronesses', her eyes widened a fraction as she looked up at the professor. "Patronesses?" she stated. "I thought you still wanted me to continue learning wandless and non-verbal spells?" she questions. She waited for the potions master's condescending response.

He let out a familiar endearing sigh that made her lips twitch upwards. "Patronesses are one of the three most common ways of communication," he began. "You're going to be battling dark creatures, and you'll need to be able to contact be without any interception," he continued, before pausing. "Dumbledore, also thinks you don't know enough Light magic," he sighed.

Lyrisadora couldn't help but share Snape's annoyance. "He's worried I'll turn Dark, isn't he," she groaned, closing the book.

Snape shrugged. "Who knows what Dumbledore thinks," he muttered bitterly, before shaking his head dismissively. "Though it may be hard for you to grasp it at first, considering you're magic isn't Light," he told her.

"I'm sure I'll pick it up quick enough," she protested. "Now, when do we start?" she asked, smiling eagerly.

"Immediately, the sooner you learn this, the better," he answered. "You can start by studying page 64-70," he drawled, flicking his wand, a stool pulling out.

Lyrisadora's smile drooped a little as she took out the book, sitting down and opening the book to page 64.

* * *

><p>Adrian was starting to become restless; he absently tapped his foot ,as he played wizard chess with Miles. "Your go," Miles said, glancing at his friend expectantly.<p>

Adrian sacrificed one of his pawns to take the other boy's rook. He ignored his friend's angry muttering as he refocused his thoughts on Lyrisadora. He didn't know where she was, and it was bothering him more than usual. He knew she was still up to something, he just wasn't sure what, and she wasn't going to tell him anytime soon.

He couldn't be with Lyrisadora all the time, he needed someone else to keep an eye on her, someone he had control over. His eyes flickered to Lucretia, she was sat with Elizabeth, and Lyrisadora's stupid cat snuggled at Elizabeth's feet, the two looking over some copies of Witch Weekly. Adrian started to stand up. "Where are you going?" Miles asked indignantly. "We're still playing, and you bet me your chocolate frog," Miles argued, looking very eager to win the two pieces of candy, which rested between the two on the table.

Adrian sighed, sitting back down, deciding to wrap this up, he scanned the chess board once over, before moving his pawn to E4.

Miles moved his pawn to F5, Adrian went to capture his pawn, Miles moved to G5.

Adrian moved his queen to H5. "Checkmate," he announced dully, picking up the two chocolate frogs. "Seeya," he called over his shoulder, making his way over to Lucretia. Miles buried his face in his hands. "Lucretia," he greeted pleasantly.

Lucretia looked up from the magazine, her smile fading once she saw him. "What do you want?" she asked rudely.

Sapphira meowed loudly at him and scuttled away, he raised an amused eyebrow, before turning back to Lucretia. "Can we talk in private?" he asked evenly.

Elizabeth looked between the two suspiciously. Lucretia scowled at him. "No," she answered.

Adrian wished she wouldn't be difficult; he looked at her inquiringly for a moment. "It'll only take a second," he assured, his voice becoming less pleasant.

Lucretia swallowed, he gave her a warning look, things would not be nice if he started acting nasty. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him. "Adrian, don't be an ass, whatever it is-"

"No it's fine," Lucretia interrupted, looking away from him, placing her magazine down as she stood. "It'll only take a minute," she reassured Elizabeth, before looking back at Adrian, fixing him a stern stare.

His smile returned. "You'll barely miss her," he assured, before he started to walk to the common room exit, she followed.

Once they were safely hidden in a corridor outside of the dungeons, he finally spoke. "I need a favour," he began, Lucretia visibly became stiffer. "I need you to spy on Lyra for me."

Lucretia froze. "What?" she spoke. "Why?"

"I want to make sure she's…happy, something's wrong with her," he said smoothly.

Lucretia looked at him in distain. "I'm not going to spy on her for you," she spat. "It's wrong," she argued, Adrian almost laughed, no one in Slytherin had a good moral compass.

He tried to keep his emotions at bay. "It's just a favour."

"I already did you a favour," she snapped, his eyes narrowed in annoyance, his mask cracking. "And I'm done doing you anymore," she said firmly.

Did she not understand what blackmail was? "I'm sorry, but that's not how it works," he told her in a measured tone. " Now let's not fall out," he said nicely. "I just want one more service from you, then I promise it'll end," he reassured soothingly.

Lucretia hesitated, just for that second he imagined she believed him, but then she sneered. "No you won't," she said. Then her face morphed into a sly smile. "And you won't be blackmailing me again, " she told him confidently, Adrian frowned. "Or I'll tell Lyra that you wanted me to spy on her," she said.

_Shit_. This wasn't how he planned it. He swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat, he couldn't lose Lyrisadora over this. "Are you really sure you want to take that risk?" he questioned coldly, his gaze deadly. "You do have more to lose after all, and I hear the Daily Prophet is just itching for a scandal," he reasoned.

But this didn't seem to waver her. "Then tell," she bated, something new gleaming in her eyes. "You don't get to control me, because I'll tell Lyra _everything_, and boy do I have a lot of dirt to throw out there," she said with relish.

His jaw tensed, he couldn't let her ruin this, he couldn't fall out with Lyrisadora again over something as stupid as this. Lucretia smirked and started to walk away. Adrian started to panic. He shouldn't have been so arrogant and he wished he hadn't told-

He stopped and pulled out his wand, she had only taken six steps. "Lucretia!" he called.

She whipped around, her face consorted in anger. "Wha-"

"_Obliviate_," he uttered, the spell hitting her in a flash, making her eyes widen as she froze in place. He stepped closer, aware that he didn't have much time. He needed to alter her memories, or she'd know something was missing.

But he hadn't done a memory altering charm before, he knew he had to be careful; altering the mind was like working with thousands of threads. He started to manipulate her memories, imbedding the message that everything was fine, he leaned in closer as she stood in a daze. His hand was faltering slightly as he tried to focus his nerve. Placing the false memory that he had only asked for her help with some homework, that everything was _fine_.

And then, he heard footsteps, his hands slipped and he tugged too hard and made her wince. He pushed himself and Lucretia further into the shadows, trying to return to his work, but something was wrong, it appeared he had split something, he looked deeply into her green eyes, something was wrong.

He heard the footsteps become louder and saw Lucretia begin to stir, she was starting to come to. "_Periusus memora,"_ he whispered, finalising his work.

The message imbedded deep in her mind; everything was fine, she was perfectly alright, and _nothing _was wrong.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth kept glancing up from her magazine, anxiously waiting for Lucretia's return. She knew something off was going on with those two, things were tense between Adrian and Lucretia. And when Elizabeth had asked Lucretia if anything was wrong, she had been told that Adrian was just being more of an ass.<p>

But Elizabeth wasn't stupid, she had a keen eye, preferring to stay in the background and observe. And she had observed a lot over the last few months. Lyrisadora had more or less pushed her further away to hide something, and Elizabeth was annoyed at how it had worked.

Her friends had changed, Lyrisadora seemed more jaded and Lucretia seemed more on edge. They both had secrets and they both stubbornly thought it best if they kept it to themselves. Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh.

Sometimes they could be the biggest fools, and painfully indecisive. So Elizabeth remained in the shadows, never pushing, never meddling in affairs that weren't her concern, in a hope that her seeming ignorance would relieve them just a little.

She perked up when she saw Lucretia enter the common room with Adrian behind, she watched him head straight to the boys dormitory. "So, what did he want?" Elizabeth asked casually, eyeing Lucretia critically.

"He wanted help with the work he has to catch up with," Lucretia answered mildly, blinking a few times.

"Oh…why didn't he just ask Lyra?" Elizabeth questioned, frowning.

Lucretia paused, looking confused. "Um…I don't know," she said quietly, looking dazed.

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth questioned in concern, edging closer, her brow furrowing.

Lucretia blinked again, before shaking her head. "I'm _fine_," she said, her voice returning to normal, a frown creasing her face. "I'm just tired from all that studying," she sighed.

"We stopped studying three hours ago," Elizabeth pointed out evenly. "Hence the _Witch Weekly."_

"It's still exhausting, I'll need a full week to recover," Lucretia groaned dramatically.

Elizabeth grinned in amusement. "You'll have years after graduation," she reassured, throwing Lucretia a magazine. "Stop moaning."

Lucretia looked at the magazine for a second, before her face visibly twitched. Elizabeth's smile dimmed, she peered at her friend curiously, before looking to the boys dormitories.

Something was off.

* * *

><p><em>23rd April 1996<em>

It was in afternoon, a number of students shuffling to their next classes after lunch.

Lyrisadora had already received a coded letter from Orsan, demanding to know if she had found anything, and if not, then to start getting off her backside and do some detective work. He could be so demanding sometimes.

But Orsan seemed to not consider that she wasn't exactly Miss popular in the school, so she needed alternative means to gather information without drawing suspicion. She'd have to use someone else, someone who people would more likely trust.

She tried to recall a Hufflepuff boy she had met a few years ago, what was his name again? Sam? James? David, yes that was it. She clicked her fingers repeatedly as she tried to remember his last name, recalling how it had sounded like an owl noise. "Hewitte," she said brightly, as she walked towards the Transfiguration classroom.

"A what now?" Adrian questioned, appearing from behind her, catching her by surprise,

She gave him a polite smile. "Nothing," she said as they approached the classroom, a line of students already formed outside, the Weasley twins trying to sell more of their sweets to Angelina, Warrington shooting them distasteful looks, while Harper rolled his eyes, Cordula trying to quickly remind Cassondria how to wave their wands to produce the conjuring they had been assigned to do this week. Lyrisadora faced straight ahead, her mind returning to how she was going to convince Hewitte, hopefully he'd help her out, maybe if she said it was for a good-

"I couldn't find you after dinner," Adrian's voice catching her attention.

She glanced at him, choosing her words carefully. "I was tidying up potions for Snape, it took longer than I thought," she lied, hoping he wouldn't see through it. "Why? Did I miss anything?"

"No," he answered evenly, before he gave her a disarming smile, leaning in more, placing an arm around her shoulders. "I just missed you…" he revealed innocently, kissing her.

Lyrisadora was a little taken aback, he didn't normally show this much affection in public, she let him have his kiss before she moved away, feeling uncomfortable when she felt some people were staring. "We can do that later," she told him quietly, briefly glancing up at him, trying to ignore Cassondria's amused look. She backtracked when she saw a flash of worry appear on his face, before it was gone in a second, she frowned. Had she hurt his feeling? She supposed he might see it as rejection. Swallowing her discomfort, she hastily gave him a peck on the cheek. "Later," she murmured, hoping he'd understand she wasn't rejecting him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when Professor McGonagall opened the classroom door, calling them all in, the last of the student hurrying down the corridor towards them.

* * *

><p>It was becoming harder to hide his anxiousness, especially since Lyrisadora was sat next to him. Adrian tapped his quill on the desk as McGonagall droned on, reminding them that their first exam was in five days' time and something about securing their future, considering it was a pep talklecture, he didn't pay much attention.

His mind was elsewhere, mainly being on what he did to Lucretia and his paranoia of if Lyrisadora knew? When she had rejected his advances, he had been afraid for a split second she knew something was wrong. But he reminded himself that she couldn't know anything, because Lucretia appeared fine….enough, Adrian felt a gnawing feeling in his stomach, he had been keeping a silent eye on his former friend. So far the only real signs of damage were some odd headaches the girl winced at, and the fact she appeared more forgetful. But it was only little things, he reminded himself, just small insignificant things, like forgetting to butter her toast and wondering why it was dry, and forgetting where she placed her book when she had put it on the common room table five minutes beforehand. Small things.

He was sure it was nothing. He couldn't have caused too much damage, he was positive she'd get better over time.

Adrian swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat, glancing at Lyrisadora from the corner of his eyes. McGonagall finished her reminder and asked them to bring out last week's homework, which he had barely managed to catch up on, a written review of the spell they had bene told to practice, an animal conjuring spell.

The class shuffled with their book bags, Adrian placed his work on the table, his eyes flickering to Lucretia when he noticed she was still frantically searching through her bag. The room was silent as McGonagall neared the girl, stern frown still ever in place. "Miss Veregreen, what seems to be the problem?" she questioned plainly.

Lucretia looked up, a distressed look etched on her face. "I think I forgot to bring it," she answered weakly, eyes downcast, avoiding the rest of the class's stares.

McGonagall sighed, writing it of as a day to day thing. "By Seventh year, I would have assumed you'd be more organised," she scolded, shaking her head. "Five points from Slytherin, you'll have to work with Miss Orion," she told her, before turning to the rest of the class, frowning at the apparent audience. "Well? You won't pass your exams by ogling, draw those wands up," she instructed sharply, drawing their attention back to their work, as she wondered to the front of the class.

Adrian kept his eyes on Lucretia for a moment longer, noticing Elizabeth look at her with concern, while Lucretia clutched her head in her hands. "Do you think she's alright?" Lyrisadora muttered to him, which he couldn't help but feel relieved to hear, it appeared Lyrisadora really was ignorant on the whole affair.

He shrugged. "Probably just stress from exams," he murmured back, the excuse seeming to satisfy her.

Something gnawed inside his stomach, making him feel sick.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora managed to find David Hewitte among a group of third year boys, she waited patiently in the shadows, when she saw them start to walk away, and she made her move.<p>

She 'accidentally' bumped into David, spilling both their bags on the floor. "Sorry!" Lyrisadora stressed, David's eyes widened once he recognised her. "Oh, hello David," she greeted brightly, much to his friend's surprise.

"Oh, hi," he greeted weakly quickly trying to pick up his things.

"Sorry about this," she apologised, stuffing her books back in her bag. "But, actually…" she trailed off, as if an idea had juts formed in her head. "It's a good thing I ran into you," she said, standing up.

David looked at her in confusion, she saw him glance at his friends. "I'll catch up with you guys later," he told them.

One of his friends cast Lyrisadora a wary look. "Are you sure?"

"It's fine," he reassured, standing up once he had gathered all his things.

Lyrisadora awaited until they were gone before she spoke. "David, I need your help with something," she said cautiously.

He looked intrigued. "What is it?"

"Did you hear about the Willows family death during Easter Break?" she spoke quietly.

"You mean the werewolf attack?" he asked, his face creasing into a frown.

Lyrisadora nodded grimly. "Well, my friend wants to write a tribute letter to them, a complication of the people who knew them," she said, making her voice sound sad. "But she's a Slytherin, so not many people will want to talk to her," she sighed. "So I was hoping you could find out if some people knew the Willows at all, it doesn't have to be much, I just need to know if anyone had any contact with them," she said.

David paused for a moment, Lyrisadora waited for him to think it over. "Well, it does sound like a nice tribute…." He said.

Lyrisadora smiled warmly. "So you'll help?" she asked, adding some excitement into her voice.

He looked at her smile, she made her eyes look earnest. "Yeah, I'll help," he agreed.

Lyrisadora hugged him, catching him by surprise. "Thank you, you're a sweetheart," she said, before un-embracing him, noting he was blushing. "Oh and I was hoping you could keep the reason under wraps, she's not sure if the letter will make it into the paper, so it's best we don't get people's hopes up," she added seriously.

David nodded in agreement. "Gotcha," he said. "I guess….I could just mention the Willows family, like…the tragedy and stuff," he suggested cautiously, his cunningness clearly ever rarely used.

Lyrisadora gave him an encouraging smile. "That's a great idea," she complimented, before looking down the hallway. "Well I best not keep you from your friends," she said, glancing back at him. "Oh, and has anyone given you any trouble?" she questioned, with genuine concern this time, she knew a number of the Slytherins were being extra malicious since Umbridge was showing clear favour towards them.

David shook his head. "They've lost interest," he assured. "Besides, Hufflepuffs stick together, so I'll be fine," he added.

"Let me know if they give you any trouble" she reminded, shooting him a smile before walking away, concealing a smug grin.

* * *

><p>The Weasley twins were causing havoc for Umbridge again, this time they had caused three explosions in the boy's toilets. And for once Elizabeth was glad; at least they were using their talents for good rather than wasting them on something stupid.<p>

Elizabeth admired their latest work while Filch was stuck trying to clean it up, the teachers passing by, faint hints of amusement on their faces. Elizabeth continued towards the library, where she had agreed to meet Lucretia to help her study.

The library was mostly packed with Sixth to seventh years, all crowded around in their various groups, a number of them sat on the floor. Madame Pince was stalking around the aisle, looking o throw anyone out for the slightest indiscretion.

Elizabeth tried to find Lucretia long the tables and rows, but she couldn't see anyone.

"Looking for someone?"

Elizabeth nearly jumped out of her skin, whipping around to find Cordula behind her, a cat like smile etched on her face. "What's it to you?" Elizabeth replied. Cordula casually swung a familiar bag over her shoulder, Elizabeth's eyes widened once she realised that was Lucretia's school bag. "Why have you got Lucretia's bag?" she questioned sharply.

"Relax Orion, she forgot it when she left," Cordula reassure, holding the bag out. "I was just keeping it safe," she sighed. "Plus, there was nothing in there that was worth stealing," she added bluntly.

Elizabeth swiped the bag up. "How considerate," she retorted dryly, walking towards the exit, wondering where Lucretia could have run off to?

"Is everything alright with her?" Cordula asked, Elizabeth wished she could put a bell on the girl.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied curtly.

Cordula raised an eyebrow, she didn't look convinced. "Well she has been acting odd lately, surely you've noticed too?"

"…of course," Elizabeth replied in a clipped tone, leaving the library, trying to pick up her pace and lose the girl, but Cordula was a fast walker.

"Cassondria hasn't," Cordula sighed, rolling her eyes. "But I suppose it isn't that _obvious._"

"What are you getting at?" Elizabeth questioned, coming to a halt, nearly bumping into the other girl.

Cordula tilted her head to the side. "Just that Gryffindor she's been seeing," she answered.

Elizabeth looked surprised, who was she one about? "What are you talking about?"

Cordula eyed her curiously, before a coy smile slid onto her face. "So I take it Lucretia hasn't told you her little secret?" she queried, her eyes glinting with amusement.

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed. "Stop being so cryptic," she said irritably.

But the cream coffee skinned girl just continued to smile, tugging at her dark braided plait. "But it's not my secret to tell," she protested, clearly enjoying how irritated Elizabeth was becoming.

Elizabeth swallowed deeply, she respected her friend's privacy, but if something was wrong with Lucretia, then she needed to know, privacy be damned. "Tell me what you know, I need to help Lucretia," she said coldly, fixing the girl with a fierce look.

"Hmm, well….it's nothing much," Cordula argued slyly, twiddling her braid around her finger. "I just have a good eye and well…it seems Lucretia's pretty _keen_ about a plain looking Gryffindor," she told her, before flicking her hair across her shoulder. "But I'm sure it's _nothing_," she reasoned.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, sick of Cordula's teasing attitude. "Oh piss off," she swore, catching the girl by surprise, before Elizabeth briskly walked away.

It didn't take long for her to piece it all together, recalling Cassondria's snide comment a few months back. So Lucretia was a lesbian, alright then, that still didn't explain why she seemed to be living in a daze. Elizabeth frowned, but it may explain why she was so on edge with Adrian. Maybe he had been blackmailing her? If so, did Lyrisadora know about it? Elizabeth shook her head, no Lyrisadora may have changed a lot, but she didn't blackmail her friends…well she at least hoped she didn't.

Elizabeth sighed as she scoured the halls for her missing friend. Lucretia had seemed different after she had gone off with Adrian, and Elizabeth didn't believe for a second that he only wanted the girl's help with homework, the two may have been close when they were children, but they barely spoke to each other these days.

She made her way over to Ravenclaw tower, keep her eyes peeled, if Adrian had said or done something to Lucretia that made her like this, then she didn't know if she should tell Lyrisadora or not. Because what if Lyrisadora didn't care or what is she didn't believe? Adrian and Lyrisadora were so close these days, Elizabeth wasn't sure if she could trust her old friend.

"Elizabeth?" called a familiar voice, Elizabeth turned around, peeking her head around a corner, her face brightening once she saw it was Lucretia.

"Tia, I've been looking everywhere for you," Elizabeth greeted, nearing her friend, fixing an indulgent smile on her. "Why didn't you meet me in the library?"

Lucretia frowned. "You said you wanted to meet me," she stated.

Elizabeth's smile shrank. "Yes, in the library, to study? Remember?" she told her slowly.

Lucretia blinked, before she face palmed her forehead. "Shit, I knew there was something," she groaned.

"It doesn't matter," Elizabeth tried to reassure, noting the tired expression on her friend's face. "Here, you forgot your bag in the library," she added, presenting the book bag.

Lucretia frowned, before she grabbed it, placing it over her shoulder. "Thanks," she said mildly. "We should go and study," she said firmly, taking a step forward.

"Wait," Elizabeth said cautiously, holding a hand out to stop her. "Lucretia, are you feeling okay?" she asked softly.

Lucretia's brow creased. "Of course I am," she reassured. "Everything's fine," she added flatly, her eyes turning downcast.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "Then why are you so forgetful recently?" she challenged.

Lucretia looked like she didn't quite know the answer herself. "Stress…I don't know, I'm just having one of those days," she argued.

One of those days? Since when had she had one of those days? "Lucretia….did something happen when Adrian asked to talk to you?" she asked carefully, eyeing her friend with concern.

"No," Lucretia answered blankly. "Nothing happened, everything was fine," she reassured strongly.

Since when was everything suddenly fine? And where was the usual sarcasm and the dry and shrewd tone? "Did he….or has he blackmailed you at all?" Elizabeth asked warily.

Lucretia hesitated, her frown deepening. "Well…yes, but it's all fine now," she reassured, her voice wavering slightly, something ticking on her facial features.

Elizabeth looked at her friend with growing concern "But he blackmailed you?" she argued.

"Yeah, but it's fine now, we sorted it out," Lucretia insisted, looking even more confused.

"How?"

Lucretia bit her lip. "I don't...it's fine now though, I'm okay, really, " she tried to reassure.

What had he done to her? Elizabeth felt a surge of rage, she tried to control her anger, revealing nothing in her tone. "Lucretia, when did you start getting headaches?" she asked in a controlled tone.

Lucretia paused, her brow creasing painfully, appearing to struggle with the memory. "A couple of days ago, I think…."

Elizabeth swallowed her anger, plastering on a warm smile. "Alright then. How about you head back to the common room, I'll meet you there," she suggested, her tone pleasant, she needed time to think of what she was going to do next. "We can go over some more revision sheets before dinner," she added.

"Ok," Lucretia replied, her frown fading, taking a step past her. "But I'm definitely taking an overdue break at the weekend," she continued, sounding more like her old self. "Charms has been a killer," she groaned, shooting her friend a smile.

Elizabeth's smile started to hurt. "I bet," she replied, watching Lucretia walk away.

Her smile was replaced by a grimace. Now she was conflicted on what to do next, Adrian obviously had a reason for messing with Lucretia's head, even though it could not be justified under any circumstances. She thought for a moment, her best bet was contacting a teacher, or taking her to Madame Pomfrey, at least then they'd be able to find out what was wrong. She also had to keep an eye on Adrian.

Seeing how Lucretia was convinced everything was fine, Elizabeth decided her best bet was to go to a teacher first. She started to walk down the corridor, Professor McGonagall was her safest bet and if she didn't believe her, then Professor Snape was another option.

With a plan set in motion Elizabeth continued walking, until she saw a sight that made her freeze. Adrian was looking at Lucretia intensely, as if examining her. A rush of fear filled her, dissolving any further plans she had, she rushed over, forcing a weak smile on her face. "Lucretia! I thought you were heading to the common room?" she questioned brightly, refusing to look at Adrian.

Lucretia blinked. "I was…but, Adrian asked me something, I think?" she questioned , looking at him inquiringly.

Adrian smiled, it made Elizabeth's blood boil. "Just wondering if you were okay, Lyra's concerned your stressed," he said evenly.

Lucretia rolled her eyes. "Everything is fine," she reassured in exasperation, before looking between them both. "Why are you both so worried?" she questioned.

Elizabeth felt Adrian look at her, she forced her smile to stay fixed. "I'm just a worry warts," she replied, forcing a laugh that sounded strained. "Come on let's go," she urged.

"Are you lot having a study session?" Adrian asked, Elizabeth felt a sinking feeling in her stomachs.

"Yeah," Lucretia shrugged. "It's like McGonagall said, _exams are five days away_!" she said pompously, trying to imitate he teacher.

No one laughed. "I'll come too," Adrian said casually.

Elizabeth swallowed. "Wouldn't you rather study with Lyra?" she asked mildly, forcing herself to look at him.

He looked at her curiously, Elizabeth forced her face to stay blank. "She's busy studying in the potions lab, apparently she demands absolute solitude," he mocked, rolling his eyes, before he looked back at Elizabeth. "Are you okay Liz? You look ill," he pointed out lightly.

She felt ill, she couldn't mask her complexion, and her mask was cracking. Small lies and facades of ignorance were forte, but pretending everything as fine when she felt like throwing up, no she couldn't keep this up much longer. "I'm great. But Lucretia and I already started revising and we already know where we're at," she tried to sway him away. "Sorry," she apologised.

He was quiet for a moment, before he shrugged dismissively. "I understand," he replied, making her nearly sigh in relief. "But, could I just talk to you for a moment, in private?" he asked.

"No," she said a little too quickly. Elizabeth backed away. "Sorry, but I could chat later."

"I'd prefer it if we talked now," he replied evenly.

Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, but Lucretia cut her off. "You guys can talk, I'll just meet you in the common room," Lucretia said casually.

"It won't take long," Adrian reassured, Elizabeth looked at Lucretia, almost pleadingly, but the girl just arched an eyebrow in confusion, clearly not understanding why Elizabeth was anxious.

And why should she? Elizabeth though bitterly, her anger returning, because according to Lucretia, nothing was wrong. "Seeyou then," Lucretia bid them a good by before walking away.

Elizabeth clenched her fists, breathing in a shallow breath as she faced Adrian, she took comfort when a few students walked past, reminding her that she wasn't alone. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she questioned.

He looked at her blankly. "Is everything alright Liz, you seem a little on edge?" he asked innocently.

She wanted to throttle him, she refused to be intimidated or afraid of him. Her hand itched towards her wand. "Oh, I'm just _peachy_," she more or less growled. "Why wouldn't I be, Adrian?" it was her turn to sound mockingly innocent.

Adrian paused, before letting out a carefully controlled breath. "It was an accident," he said calmly.

Like hell it was. Nothing he could say could make her think he was not guilty. "But, I thought you just wanted her help with some work?" she spat mockingly, her eyes narrowed, her temper started to seep through. Her eyes locked on him with a deadly frostbite touch. "What did you do?" she questioned lowly.

He hesitated. "I had to," he began to reason, his hands faintly twitching. "Lucretia was going to lie to Lyra about me," he tried to argue. "She was hysterical," he continued. "I didn't mean to mess with her head-"

Her wand was out in a flash, a sneer marked on her face. Did he really have this much gall to lie to her, it was pathetic. "You better start telling the truth, or you can kiss your balls goodbye," she growled.

Adrian held his hands up in surrender, backing away. "Alright, alright just calm down," he tried to placate, inching towards the wall as Elizabeth kept her wand trained on him. "Listen I never meant to hurt Lucretia," he sighed. "I panicked and I regret what I did," he said earnestly, Elizabeth almost believed him. "Yes, I did try and blackmail her, that's when she started lashing out and refused to do as I said and threatened to blackmail me," he continued.

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed. "What did you tell her to do?" she questioned, he didn't answer straight away, she stepped closer, causing him to back down a sub corridor. "What did ask her to do?" she repeated coldly.

"To spy on Lyra for me," he confessed. "Which I know is wrong," he added quickly. "But I just needed to make sure she was fine and alright. I mean, she has been keeping secrets from me, I just needed to know what," he explained.

Elizabeth looked at him in distain. "So you tried to blackmail one of her friends to spy on her for you?" she sneered, shaking her head in disapproval. "And you claim to care about her? You think it's okay to blackmail her friends, break her trust and stalk her," Elizabeth seethed, looking at him fiercely, backing him against the wall.

Adrian lowered his hands, she kept her wand steady. "It's complicated," he argued firmly. "Lyra is secretive, how else am I meant to protect her?" he argued.

"You're meant to trust her, you're not meant to hurt her friends!" she exclaimed, did he really not understand what trust and love was? "You hurt Lucretia just because you were afraid she'd tell Lyra the truth," she continued, unable to contain her emotions. " Did you think you could just continue to blackmail Lucretia, did you not even care how that was going to affect her?" she spat.

"I had to!" he protested, losing his composer. "Lyra wouldn't understand, and I couldn't lose her over something stupid," he tried to argue. "I can't lose her, I can't lose what we _have_," he continued, his tone becoming more desperate.

"But you can't hurt other people either," Elizabeth snapped. "It doesn't matter how much you love a person, hurting other people in the process doesn't make it justified, it just makes you selfish and possessive!" she exclaimed.

Adrian was silent for a moment, Elizabeth's hand shook, and her wand faltered a fraction. "But Lyra _needs_ me and I need Lyra," he said, sounding like he was saying it more to himself. "I can't lose her."

Elizabeth didn't want to hear any more of his excuses, his twisted logic and mind-set. "You will lose her," she told him icily, making him meet her judging gaze. "Because one day, she's going to see how twisted you really are, and she'll hate you," she promised him, backing away, keeping her wand trained at him.

Adrian watched her, his face a bit more pale.

Once Elizabeth turned a corner, she hurried towards the dungeons, her mind racing, she needed to keep Lucretia close by, from what she had gathered from Adrian, Lyrisadora was innocent in the whole affair, so Elizabeth might be able to trust her. She was unsure if she should go confront Lyrisadora in the potions lab, or keep a close eye on Lucretia.

She remembered Adrian looking at her intently in the corridor, she swallowed a lump in her throat and made her choice.

Lucretia was top priority.

* * *

><p>Adrian felt ill and he wasn't quite sure why, because Elizabeth was obviously wrong, she didn't understand properly, she hadn't listened to him.<p>

He tried to gather his bearings, things were even more complicated now Elizabeth knew, and he didn't trust himself to do another memory wipe. He needed to keep Lyrisadora away from her; he couldn't leave her alone for another second.

He started to make his way towards the potions lab. Elizabeth was wrong, he reminded himself, he wasn't going to lose Lyrisadora, he'd make sure. Lyrisadora was his, he wasn't ever going to let her go, and he couldn't let her go.

He tried to smother his anger; he had worked too hard to just let her slip through his fingers. Elizabeth didn't understand, she didn't know what Lyrisadora was _really_ like, she knew nothing. Adrian was the _only_ one who really knew Lyrisadora, he told himself. What he had with Lyrisadora was special, nothing else mattered.

He'd never felt this way about someone before, and it had only worsened since they had become intimate.

Other people just didn't matter.

* * *

><p><strong>I love writing Slytherins.<strong>

**And now we get to see more of Adrian's ruthless side :D**


	80. Obsession is Dangerous

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: american horror story**

* * *

><p>"<strong>I'm calm, I know the secret. I know what's coming and I know no one can stop me, including myself."<strong>

**chapter:Obsession is Dangerous**

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora had barely finished up her revision for Arithmancy, before she started trying out the patroness spell.<p>

Snape was still in the potions lab, busy grading term papers, as well as final assignments from the upper years.

Lyrisadora frowned as she tried to focus, from what she had gathered, a patroness was made from a happy memory and positive emotions. She tried to think of a powerful memory that would work. She tried imagining herself sat by a warm fire reading a book. She smiled. "_Expecto Patronium_," she uttered, the end of her wand fizzed.

She frowned in annoyance and glared at the Potions Professor when he gave her an exasperated look. "The memory has to be passionate, it has to make you feel_ true_ joy," Snape informed dryly.

"I know that," Lyrisadora replied, trying o keep her tone from sounding snide. She looked away, she could think of a happy memory…she just needed to focus more.

There was a knock on the door, Lyrisadora quickly pocketed her wand and returned to her study books. Snape looked towards the door. "Enter," he drawled.

She glanced at the door, surprised to see Adrian enter. "Adrian, what are you doing here?" Lyrisadora asked, standing up from her seat, her eyes narrowed slightly, observing that he seemed a little on edge.

He let out a bored sigh, his posture relaxing. "I was bored and all Miles wanted to do was play chess, and I've already beaten him five times," he answered. "I'm sure you're done with studying now, it's nearly dinner," he added.

Lyrisadora's eyes flickered to Snape, he was looking at Adrian in irritation. "I still want to go over a few spells," she said.

If he was annoyed by this, it didn't show on his face, instead he moved closer to her. "But we still have unfinished business to attend to," he told her coyly, his voice low.

Lyrisadora could feel Snape's gaze on them, her cheeks tinged pink, did Adrian really have to bring _that_ up at a time like this? "I said, _Later," _she stressed, moving away.

Adrian gave her a firm look, she looked at him in confusion, and she wondered if something was wrong. "Mr Pucey," Snape interrupted them, eyes gleaming with irritation. "You can fawn over your beloved ,_ after _she has finished up studying," Snape sneered, fixing Adrian with a piercing look.

Adrian glanced at Lyrisadora, who gave him a shrug, before his brow creased. "I'll meet you out here before dinner," he told her curtly.

"Okay," Lyrisadora replied evenly, resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow at his behaviour, maybe he was just sexually frustrated…The door shut crisply. She looked back at Snape. "Sorry about that," she apologised.

Snape gave a peeved off hum. "I hadn't realised how _clingy _he had become," he observed in distain.

"He's not usually like this," she protested, earning a raised eyebrow from the professor. "Things have just been…difficult between us lately," she elaborated

"He's become too attached," Snape stated flatly, turning to her fully. "You should have broken up with him months ago," he lectured.

Not this again. "It was too late for that," she tried to argue. "I had already agreed to go along with this fake engagement with him, when Dumbledore assigned me the mission," she protested. "And it's not like I can tell him the truth, since you and Dumbledore have seen to that," Lyrisadora accused.

Snape's eyes narrowed. "I _warned_ you what you were getting into, I offered you a way out, but you said you were sticking by your decision," he reminded. "And you would have never knew about the magical binding, if you had kept your oath."

Lyrisadora's jaw tensed, she very much wanted to tell Snape where to go, but kept her tongue at bay. "I was sick of lying to him!" she snapped, she glared fiercely at the Potion's master. "And the only reason he's so _attached_, is because I manipulated him."

"That was your choice," Snape retorted bitingly. "All under the delusion that you'd be saving him," he said nastily.

Her blood started to boil. "I _am_ saving him," she argued fiercely. "I'm sending him somewhere safe," she protested. "I can't let the Dark Lord have him. I won't run off and leave him to the wolves," she said sternly.

Snape was silent for a moment, before he gave her a frustrated look. "Then you best not keep him waiting," he said icily, looking at her as if she was nothing more than a bothersome mouse.

She felt like hexing him, but knew it would be unwise, so instead she angrily grabbed her things, stuffing them into her beg, and left the room, sharply shutting the door behind her, a scowl still fixed on her face. "What's wrong?" Adrian asked, appearing next to her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin. "Merlin! Don't do that," she snapped at him, before something dawned on her, had he been planning to stay outside the room until she came out? She looked at him, his face more or less passive, despite the amused curl of his lip. "I assumed you were going to go study," she said.

Adrian pulled out a notebook from his robes. "Revision notes; saves carrying around a bunch of books," he stated, before placing it back in his pocket. "So, why are you upset?" he questioned.

"It's nothing," she sighed, rubbing her eyes in tiredness, she hated it when Snape made a valid point.

"You can tell me," he pushed gently, drawing in closer. "I'll understand, whatever it is," he reassured.

She wanted to believe him; she debated on whether she should. She didn't have to tell him the whole truth, just small bits. But she hesitated, wondering how he'd react at being called clingy and too attached. If she was in his position, she'd probably be annoyed and angry at being called those things, and he might think she agreed with Snape and get angry with her.

She nearly sighed in defeat, she couldn't be bothered to argue. "I'm just tired from studying, Snape has been working me to the bone," she told him, at least it was more or less true. She gave him a weak smile, slumping her shoulders a little to add effect.

"You poor thing," he cooed teasingly.

She flicked him on the cheek. "Shush," she said dismissively.

He smiled in amusement. "How about we go to the Great Hall, dinner doesn't start for another half an hour or so, you can finish studying there," he suggested.

Well, at least Snape wouldn't be scowling at her the whole way through. "Alright then," she agreed, letting him snake an arm around her waist, burying a twinge of concern. "Lead the way," she chimed, smiling disarmingly.

* * *

><p>The issue with Elizabeth needed to be sorted swiftly and more or less quietly, if possible. Adrian remained more or less silent, half studying his Herbology and Transfiguration notes, as Lyrisadora poured herself over her Ancient Ruins and Transfiguration books.<p>

He tapped his finger against the table as he thought. He needed to keep Elizabeth away from Lyrisadora, he had considered trying to obliviate Elizabeth, but he doubted he'd be able to get close, plus he didn't want her to end up like Lucretia, despite how convenient it would be.

He needed to keep Lyrisadora away from her friends, he could probably keep her by his side for tonight, hopefully Warrington wouldn't be a prat about it, he'd supposed he could try and keep the sex quiet. However, eventually Lyrisadora would have to leave his side, or worse she might think he was smothering her, so he needed to sort out the Elizabeth problem soon.

Noticing Lyrisadora had started to put her books away, he realised more students had started to enter the hall. Adrian looked at her, remembering the anger in her eyes when she left Professor Snape's room, he had tried to ease drop on their conversation, but regrettably the door was soundproof. Still though, he hadn't missed the look Snape had given him, apparently his head of house didn't like him very much, or at the very least distrusted him.

Adrian hid a frown, he might have to distance Lyrisadora from the Professor, which he knew would be difficult, seeing how the man was her godfather and had known her since she was a baby. It was obvious Lyrisadora trusted Snape more than him, he clenched his fingers in frustration. "Adrian?" Lyrisadora spoke, drawing back his attention, she was eyeing him curiously. "Is everything alright?"

He relaxed his hands, all this plotting was frustrating him to no end. He tried to think of the best way to play this, he had noticed Lyrisadora seemed to want to keep him happy lately, he wasn't entirely sure if the reason was caused by the fight they had, maybe she was afraid of losing him? He hoped so, that meant she wouldn't tire of him. "I'm just a little highly strung," he told her, before smiling charmingly. "I have missed you after all," he added. "It's like you've been avoiding me," he said quietly, looking at her pointedly.

Her face remained passive , but he definitely saw something flicker across those brown eyes of hers. "I just want to do well in my exams Adrian," she reassured evenly. "I'm sorry if you thought I was avoiding you," she apologised.

How could he get mad at her when she was staring at him like that? He tried to shake these thoughts, he couldn't have her gain the upper hand again…but she had apologised, admitting she was wrong, but it could be a trap. But maybe he was just being paranoid and he wanted to believe her, and she seemed so sincere and adorable right now. He smiled warmly. "Oh princess, you don't have to be sorry," he reassured. "I understand," he told her soothingly.

She returned his smile, but he noticed it vanish when she saw Warrington and Miles approaching. "Where did you run off to?" Miles questioned, taking a seat opposite Adrian, Warrington joining him.

Adrian shrugged. "I got bored of your ugly mugs and went to find a prettier sight," he answered dryly, shooting Lyrisadora smile.

"Prat," Miles muttered to himself, before slouching in his seat.

Warrington looked over at Adrian. "Have you given the Squad any thought?" he asked, seemingly ignoring Lyrisadora's glare.

Adrian glanced at Lyrisadora before back at Warrington. "I'm afraid I'll have to give it a miss, these exams are really wearing me down," he sighed, not missing Lyrisadora's brightening look.

Warrington looked at Lyrisadora in distain, Adrian was amused when she glared defiantly back. "I see," he said lowly, before looking back at Adrian. "Well that's a shame," he said tightly.

Adrian smiled. "I do have more pressing matters to deal with Warrington, such has my family affairs," he reminded the other boy, this seemed to knock Warrington down a peg or two, as he lowered his gaze.

"How's that going by the way?" Miles asked, looking at his friend keenly.

Adrian sighed. "My relatives are driving me up the wall, apparently there's some dispute over the amount of money my father left his sister, I've had to get our family lawyer involved," he answered casually, leaning on the table. "There's also some property agreements that have to be redrawn, it seems my father had been slacking," he added lazily.

"He was dying," Lyrisadora remarked shrewdly, rolling her eyes.

He waved a dismissive hand. "Details," he told her, much to his friends amusement.

"Well," Warrington intervened; Adrian eyed him with some disinterest, wondering what he wanted now? "Just thought I'd let you know, my father is thinking of expanding his company to Whales," he began. "And he's looking for more investments," he said briskly.

Adrian arched an eyebrow, so that's why Warrington had been more friendly than usual. He knew his new position as the Pucey family patriarch came with perks, but he did have to tread carefully, it wouldn't be wise to upset Warrington, that could build resentment, and he didn't want potential allies growing to hate him. Then again he didn't really want to invest in Warrington's family businesses, they weren't known for being that successful, and he had heard rumours of some debts. "Do you have any other details? Financial records and the number of current investors?" Adrian asked.

"Oh, no, not with me," Warrington replied, looking a bit embarrassed. "But I can get my father to send me some," he tried to save quickly.

"Don't worry about it," Adrian assured, giving him a friendly smile. "I'll contact my mother, it would be best if she dealt with it, since she's managing the household affairs right now," he explained. "And I am busy with exams," he reasoned, making his tone sound anxious.

"That'd be fine," Warrington replied, looking like he wanted the discussion to be over.

Adrian just smiled, he glanced over at Lyrisadora when he felt her gaze, she was eyeing him with interest, he gave her a quick wink when Warrington wasn't looking, making her smile. He looked back up when he saw Cassondria and Cordula approaching, the hall filling up fast, becoming louder with chatter. Miles smiled adoringly at Cassondria, who returned it with a kiss as she sat down, Adrian hoped they wouldn't start snogging, it tended to make him lose his appetite.

Cassondria cast Lyrisadora a look, which was returned, a bit of tension still in the air at the two eyed each other, it appeared the two had a civil like truce going on. He wondered how long it would last. "Do any of you lot know what DADA spells are expected on the test," Cassondria asked openly.

"My father sent me a list," Miles told her, before he looked at Adrian and Warrington. "Are we still on for practice?"

"Do we have a choice?" Warrington snorted. "I don't want to fail," he added.

Cordula swirled her hair, appearing disinterested with the whole conversation. "You know, I appreciate Umbridge getting rid of that old coot, but the Ministry could have at least let her teach us something useful," she sighed. "I mean, it's just bothersome having to do extra lessons," she argued.

"It would make the lessons less of a time waster," Lyrisadora quipped.

Warrington's jaw stiffened, Adrian bit back a sigh. "They are dull, aren't they?" Adrian concurred mildly, his eyes sliding to the staff table when Umbridge took her seat, he took note that the half-giant was absent. His eyes snapped to Lyrisadora when he saw her gaze perk up, he followed her line of direction. It was Elizabeth and Lucretia, they were sat a few rows down from them, a large chunk of students between them and him.

Elizabeth waved at Lyrisadora, that ever pleasant smile firmly in place, Adrian gave her a warning look, her eyes visibly narrowed. He felt Lyrisadora lean into his ear. "I'm just going to have a quick chat with them," Lyrisadora whispered, giving him a quick smile as she made to get up.

His hand was out in a matter of seconds, he grasped her hand under the table, making her freeze, she looked at him in confusion. His mind was racing, he plastered on a disarming smile. "You can do that later," he murmured, before adding quickly. "I need to talk to you about something," he said lowly, looking at her firmly.

For a horrible split second he thought she'd just ignore him and go and talk to them anyway, but surprisingly, she sat back down, ignoring their classmate's curious gazes, wrenching her hand from his grip, refusing to look at him.

Adrian looked over at Elizabeth, who was openly glaring at him know, he raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what her next move would be. She adverted her gaze, he saw Lucretia look at her friend in confusion, and probably wondering what the hell was going on with her. Adrian turned back to his friends, who were looking at them both with interest.

He was thankful when the food appeared in front of them, diverting most of their attention, but Cassondria was still frowning at them both and even when Adrian shot her an annoyed looked, she just raised her eyebrows inquisitively.

He ignored her and tried to start a conversation with Lyrisadora as he piled up his plate, she gave him a deadpan expression, he rolled his eyes, before leaning in closer. "You aren't really upset are you?" he murmured into her ear.

She gave him a sharp look, before she spoke lowly so they weren't overheard. "You didn't have to grab me," she whispered. "It was just going to be a quick chat," she added, her tone more biting, her eyes refocusing on her plate.

Adrian held back a sigh, she could be so annoying sometimes, he entwined his fingers in hers. "I'm sorry," he whispered, giving her a kind smile, she glanced up at him. "I just wanted to keep you all to myself," he said smoothly, tracing circles on her palm, she looked at him, as if she couldn't quite guess if he was teasing her or was deadly serious.

If it made her uncomfortable, she didn't show it, though he didn't miss the flush that was creeping onto her cheeks. "Oh for Merlin' sake! Save it for the bedroom, won't you," Cordula exclaimed, snapping in their attention, Warrington, Miles, Cassondria and Cordula eyeing them both in amusement.

Lyrisadora scowled. "Shut up, Valens," she hissed, as Cassondria and Cordula laughed.

"So, I guess you haven't been holding out the goods then?" Cassondria taunted, earning an icy glare from Lyrisadora.

Lyrisadora then smiled nastily. "I know it's hard for you to understand, but not everyone is a attention seeker who likes to advertise their sex life, for self-worth," she retorted sweetly.

Cassondria snarled. "You little bit-" Her plate lifted up, splattering soup in her face.

Adrian glanced at Lyrisadora, an innocent smile etched on her face. "_Oops_," she said, shrugging. "You may want to go clean that up," his little vixen added pleasantly.

Cassondria let out a frustrated yell, wiping her eyes as she stormed away from the table. Miles Glared at Lyrisadora. "Well fucking thank you," he snapped. "Now she'll be in a mood all night," he spat, glaring at accusingly, before he got up and hurried after his girlfriend.

Well that truce had failed miserable, but Adrian gave them kudos for lasting this long. "Are you sure that was wise?" he inquired.

Lyrisadora glanced at him. "The bitch had it coming," she said dismissively, before she smiled charmingly. "Don't tell me you didn't think it wasn't funny?" she queried evenly.

Adrian couldn't help but smile. "It was some nice wandless magic," he admitted, he looked over at Warrington and Cordula, Warrington was openly sneering at Lyrisadora, while Cordula looked faintly amused. "Don't you both think so?" he questioned in a measured tone, his gaze focused on Warrington, silently wondering how bad the boy wanted him to invest in his father's company.

Warrington looked back at Adrian, before glancing at an amused Lyrisadora. He shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, it was," Warrington begrudgingly answered.

Cordula just smirked. "Temper, temper Malfoy," she chided, wagging a finger at her,

Lyrisadora seemed to pay her no heed, and resumed eating, the atmosphere returning to relative civility.

Adrian smirked, before he started tucking into his food, his mind still planning. His eyes lingered of Draco, watching the boy shove past Lee Gordon as he made his way over to the Slytherin table. Adrian glanced at Warrington as he smirked at Draco's behaviour, Adrian noted the glares from the Gryffindors towards the Slytherins.

A slow smile started to spread across his face.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora almost felt like writing to Adrian's mother, just to seek some advice on how to deal with him. But she resisted the temptation, she still didn't quite trust the woman. And it did feel like she would be going behind Adrian's back.<p>

She glanced at him, the two of them on a couch in the common, his arm around her, holding her close. She couldn't see Elizabeth in the common room, nor could she locate Lucretia. She looked away from him and shifted slightly in his hold, maybe he was just sexually frustrated, sometimes Cedric….She inwardly winced. No, she refused to think about him.

Her mind hastily trailed back to what Snape had said, the plan seemed to be moving too fast and the more she tried to distance herself from Adrian, the tighter he clung. She felt like chastising herself for not seeing how vulnerable he had become, she had thought she understood Adrian, but from what his mother said…well she wasn't quite as confident anymore.

She almost sighed, her best bet was continuing with the plan and sending him off to America, he would be with his mother, so she could offer some support to him, at the very least she would keep him stable. Lyrisadora paused for a moment, maybe writing to Mrs Pucey would be a good idea, she could advise the woman on Adrian's behaviour, tell her signs she should look out for. "What are you thinking about?" she heard Adrian questioned lightly, his hand sliding towards her hair to twirl a blonde strand around his finger, her eyes flickered upwards, he rested his cheek on his fist as he looked at her.

"Just exams," she lied, focusing her gaze on the unlit fire, old ash littering the stone floor nearby. "How did your study session with Miles go?" she asked, peering up at him. "Did he whine about me at all?" she added teasingly.

He returned her smile, shifting his weight as he leaned back more, bringing her in closer. "I believe it was along the lines of, 'your girlfriend needs sorting out' and 'tell her to apologise'," he replied dryly

She smirked. "And what did you say?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I told him to get over it, oh and that if he wanted an apology, he could ask you himself," he answered. "I wouldn't worry about Miles, he's all bark and no bite," he said nonchalantly.

"I could take him," she informed him confidently.

"I know you could, so please don't, he's still my friend," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "He's a jerk," she murmured.

"I know, why do you think we're friends?" Adrian more or less laughed.

Lyrisadora hummed shrewdly. "I don't like Warrington either," she told him.

"Well princess, he doesn't like _you_ either," he told her pleasantly, continuing to twirl her hair around his finger.

She decided not to deign him with a reply, instead she glanced at the time, noting that it was approaching curfew, she still had head girl duties to attend to. "I have to go sort out the prefects," she told him, starting to rise up. "You'll be late doing your patrols, unless you don't start moving," she reminded, breaking free of his hold as she stood up.

"Aye, aye ma'am," he saluted standing to attention, smiling slyly, before he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "Meet you back here at midnight?" he suggested.

She gave him a smile. "It's a date."

* * *

><p>David Hewitte was quite chuffed with himself, with just a simple mention in the right ears, the Willows were being brought up in conversation again, some odd comments how their deaths were a tragedy and a few gruesome rumours about the scene of the crime. David hadn't stuck around long enough to hear the gory details, it sounded sickening.<p>

Though he had written down a small list of the things he had heard, lest he forget something important.

It was nearly curfew and the prefects had started sending people to bed, Umbridge's voice ringing through the newly installed speakers, students hurrying back to their dorms, less they catch the attention of the Inquisitorial squad.

David tried to hang back in the library, trying to catch some last minute whispers, two Gryffindors walked past him, gossiping in low voices. "...Well, it isn't like Mr Willows was a saint…" He heard the pale faced curly blonde Gryffindor say to her friend, an Indian girl with dark plaited hair.

David tried to quietly follow them, straining his ears. "Are you sure though? It might just be a misunderstanding," the Indian girl protested lowly.

The blonde shook her head. "My mother saw them meet up more than _three times,_ and apparently the woman was pretty, had a weird accent to," she argued, as they walked towards Gryffindor tower. "I'm just saying it seemed suspicion. _Obviously_ what happened was a tragedy," she quickly amended, once she saw friend's expression. "But that Auror was acting suspicious," she protested.

David frowned, he wasn't sure if he should be listening to this, this wouldn't look good in the daily prophet….but it was interesting and Malfoy had wanted him to find information. He looked at them intently, trying to strain his ears more, accidently colliding into a wall. "I suppose-" the dark skinned girl stopped mid-sentence, she frowned, turning around, David quickly started walking down a side corridor, the two Gryffindors looking at him in alarm.

He let out a breath of relief, taking out his piece of paper to write down the new information, he'd give it to Malfoy in the morning, he didn't know who the two Gryffindors were, but he was sure if he asked around-

"You know, it is past curfew," a cool voice creeped in his ear, David looked around, scrunching the paper up in his hand in an attempt to hide it. His eyes landing on a tall Slytherin approaching him, absently twirling his wand in his hand as he looked at David with interest. "Aren't you meant to be in bed, like a good boy?" he cooed.

Wait….he recognised that taunting voice, and the older boy's face was famili-_Shit_, it was that ass Adrian Pucey, David realised; he really didn't need this right now. "Sorry," he apologised, fighting the urge to draw his wand, with the way things were, attacking a Slytherin wasn't the smartest choice. Besides his duelling skills were more or less abysmal, he doubted he'd put up much of a fight against the older boy. "I was just on my way now," he said nervously.

Pucey tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Visiting a friend?" he questioned.

David looked at him in confusion. "What?" he said, before he could stop himself.

"I assume that's why you were coming from Gryffindor tower," Pucey said conversationally.

"Yes, that's right," David said hastily, averting his gaze. God he was awful at lying, he felt his hands become clammy. He started to cautiously walk passed the boy, keeping a good distance between them both. "I best get going, wouldn't want to be caught outside of curfew," he said anxiously.

The Slytherin's eyes zeroed in on him, David froze in place. "Wait," Pucey said firmly, eyes flickering to David's clenched hand. "Why are you hiding that piece of paper?" he asked in innocent curiosity.

David tensed. "It's just some notes….for some homework," he answered lamely.

Pucey held out his hand expectantly, his wand now firmly in his grasp. "Give it," he said coldly, the temperature plunging.

David stepped back, this was not good. "No," he said hesitantly, before swallowing his remaining courage, he couldn't let people like Pucey push him around anymore. His eyes shifted down the hall, he could make a break for it, right? "Piss off," he spat, before he legged it.

Pucey didn't even move, instead he flicked his wand. "_Stupefy."_

David's eyes widened as he dodged the curse, his mind racing to think of the defensive spells he had learned over the years. The list was small. "_Protego_!" he yelled.

Pucey blocked it like he was swatting a fly, and aimed a non-verbal spell at him. David panicked, having no idea of how to counter curse it, the spell hit him, locking his legs in place, and he fell to the floor with a painful thud. "_Honestly_," he heard Pucey murmur, his voice echoing. "You're going to wake the whole castle," the prefect chastised harshly, placing a foot on David's head, the younger boy's eyes watched him warily, his body locked in place. Pucey swiped the piece of paper out of David's grip, smoothing it out, his foot still firmly placed on David's head.

David strained his eyes upwards, thankful when it became apparent he could still move his head, though the movement was constricted as Pucey pressed his foot down harder, making the Hufflepuff wince. "_Getoff_," he murmured, but Pucey wasn't paying attention to him anymore.

"Who is this list for?" he heard Pucey question quietly, making his insides squirm. David strained his eyes up to the older boy's face, noting that Pucey looked…troubled? David swallowed, keeping his tongue at bay. Pucey's eyes narrowed, he pressed harder down on David's head, making the Hufflepuff feel like he was going to break his skull. "I asked you a question," he more or less growled.

"Ahh-okay-it's…ahhh!-it's for Malfoy!" he confessed.

The older boy's foot didn't let up. "A little more specific if you would," he insisted icily.

"Lyra," David divulged, thankful when Pucey's foot let up.

"Lyra told you to gather information?" he heard Pucey ask, his voice growing fainter. 'Uh hmm' was David's reply. A distinct rage flashed across the older boy's eyes. "Why?" Pucey asked, the anger clear in his tone.

Merlin, David felt like a wimp, but the older boy's foot was crushing his skull. "She said she wanted to send it off to a reporter for an article…a tribute to the family…she was only going to pass on the nice stuff," he reasoned, well he at least assumed Malfoy would have.

There was a pause, David felt his eyes start to hurt from the focus of looking up, he tried to twist his head, but the foot kept him in place. "She would say that, wouldn't she…" The Slytherin spoke softly, his jaw tightening, before Pucey's gaze settled on David. "She expects you to pass her this information?"

"Yeah," David mumbled, trying to force his limps to move, eyes never leaving Pucey.

"I see," the older boy murmured, before he reached into his robes and brought out a notepad.

"What ar-"

"Oh be quiet," Pucey shushed cuttingly, bringing his foot down to smash the Hufflepuff's cheeks further into the ground. David's gaze was forced to the floor, he heard the rustling of paper, before Pucey finally removed his foot from David's face.

David lifted his head up, watching Pucey dust off his trouser legs, the notepad disappearing back into his robes. David gulped wondering what would happen next. And then Pucey did something horrible and creepy, he _smiled_ at him, a polite smile which only promised bad things. "What now?" David asked quietly, dread beginning to form in his stomach.

"Oh David, don't look so worried," Pucey said brightly, roughly grabbing the boy by the collar and leaning him up against the corridor wall. "You won't even remember this," he reassured.

For a second David was confused, and then he saw Pucey draw his wand. "Shit."

"Don't worry, I've had practice," Pucey reassured before he pointed his wand at David_. "Obliviate."_

And then the world went black.

And then a few second later the world was bright and David was confused as to why he was sat in the middle of a corridor alone.

He looked down at the paper in his hands, oh yeah he had been gathering information, he looked down at the piece of paper, remembering he had been just about to write down something those two girls had said.

He stopped, what had it been again…..

* * *

><p>Adrian was pretty confident with memory spells now, sure Lucretia had been a bit of a screw up, but like all things in life, it was something to be learned. David Hewitte would be fine, just maybe have a little bit of a headache and ten minutes of his memory gone.<p>

"You okay?" Lyrisadora questioned, taking off her school robe, the two of them alone in the boys dorm room.

He looked at her, and buried a large amount of rage, she had lied to him, again. But he just smiled. "I'm just glad we're finally alone," he told her, kissing her neck as his hand went underneath her shirt.

To his relief she smiled, kissing him back. "Where did your dorm mates run off to?" she questioned.

"Just Inquisitorial business," he told her, trying to undress her. "I didn't ask," he lied, smiling at her when she ran a hand through his hair.

She smiled coyly. "Then let's make this quick," she grinned, pushing him onto the bed, throwing his shoes off.

Adrian kept his smile in place, trying to hide his anger for now, not wanting to ruin the mood.

* * *

><p>Narcissa Malfoy lay in bed, her back towards the door as she heard her husband enter the bedroom. She breathed in a controlled breath as she heard him get undressed, feeling a spark of resentment towards him.<p>

Lyrisadora hadn't written to her once, according to Draco, her daughter was being 'unreasonable' and 'selfish', not to mention 'self-righteous' and distant. She had sighed in exasperation at her son's letter, Draco could be difficult at times. She had hoped her two children would have put away such childish resentments.

The bed creaked, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, and she scowled, jerking away from him. She was not one to forgive easily. "Narcissa?" she heard her husband say quietly, his tone holding both confusion and hurt.

She was glad.

Narcissa ignored him, there was a long tense silence, before she heard the shuffle of the blankets, Lucius settling down next to her, she spared him a quick glance. He had his back to her, she lay back down as the light was extinguished.

The silence was deafening, so she tried to focus her mind on the coming days, all the social events she had planned.

And Mrs Pucey had scheduled to have tea with her tomorrow, Narcissa smirked, that _would _be interesting.

* * *

><p><em>24th April 1996<em>

Lyrisadora felt sore in the morning, a frown creasing onto her face, last night had been…different….she tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, she curled inwards a bit, feeling Adrian's hand tighten around her waist, his face buried in her hair.

Her eyes wondered towards the sleeping snoring forms of his dorms mates. He cheeks flushed, feeling suddenly exposed, her eyes wondered over to her clothes on the floor, she could probably sneak back to her dorm with no one noticing. It was still early, the sun just barely rising up. She placed a hand over Adrian's hand, carefully trying to pry it away, his hold loosened as he buried his head deeper into the crook of her neck.

Lyrisadora felt a bolt of irritation, but hastily buried it, she slid his hands down to her waist and moved her leg out of the bed, gradually sitting up, just before he yanked her back down. "Adrian," she hissed, craning her neck to look at him.

He pouted in feigned innocence. "What?" he murmured, his hold firmly around her waist again. "I thought you liked snuggling?" he whispered.

She glanced at his sleeping dorm mates worriedly. "I'd rather not be here when they wake up," she muttered.

He frowned. "Why?" he questioned.

She felt like hitting him. "Because I don't want them leering at me," she hissed, turning to him fully, only realising her mistake when held her more tightly, squashing her face against his chest.

"Why do you care what they think?" he murmured, kissing her forehead. "Just go back to sleep," he said lowly, closing his eyes.

Like hell she was! She glared at him, or at least tried to with his chin resting on top of her head. She sighed, her body totally eloped with his. She waited until she heard faint snores emit from him, before she tried to untangle herself.

But as soon as she tried to move his hand again, he snapped it back in place. This was becoming ridiculous. "_Adrian_," she whispered.

"What?" he mumbled sleepily.

"I can't let them see the mark," she reminded, her voice barely audible.

He looked at her for a moment, before he finally replied. "We'll leave for breakfast last, then you'll have time to put your glamour on," he reassured lowly, kissing her on the cheek.

He still wasn't getting it. "Adrian….I'm naked under here," she ground out.

He feigned shock. "What?" he whispered shockingly. "_No."_

"Shut up," she hissed, pushing him away, meeting his gaze with a glare. "It's just…I'd feel embarrassed if they saw me…like this," she murmured, averting her gaze as she scowled.

"Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?" he questioned quietly, moving his head back to look at her, making her head snap up, why was he looking at her like that?

"Of course not," she answered softly.

"Then I don't see what the problem is," he told her lightly, twirling a strand of her hair around his fingers. "Go back to sleep princess," he said warmly, resting his forehead against hers.

But she couldn't sleep, so she just remained in place, all the while thinking.

She had hoped to talk to Elizabeth at dinner, maybe catch a quick study session, make sure Lucretia was doing okay catching up on her work. She glanced at Adrian's peaceful form, she regretted not going over to them, she should have just not listened to him. She felt a bile on anger, why did she even do as he said? She swallowed a lump in her throat, she supposed she liked how he wanted her, it was nice being wanted, having someone who cared so much.

Even if it was jeopardising the mission, she couldn't help liking how Adrian adored her. She tried to place her anger aside. But she had to admit, she was starting to feel smothered by, she didn't want to admit it, but he had been acting a bit too attentive these last few days.

But maybe it was just temporary, just until he felt more secure about their relationship, she was sure things wold be alright once he believed their relationship was stable. She swallowed a lump in her throat, feeling his heartbeat against her hand. She needed things to be alright again, she didn't mind the slight possessiveness, but she couldn't stand being smothered, and she most certainly did not like being told what to do, she got enough of that from Voldemort.

She kept her eyes closed when she heard his dorm mates start to rise. "_Awww_, don't they look adorable," leered a voice which Lyrisadora assumed was Graham Montague. She felt Adrian let her go and move to a sitting position, she opened her eyes to glance up at him.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Grow up, Graham," he replied dryly, before smirking. "I don't complain when you start moaning underneath your covers, "he added coyly.

Montague shot Adrian a glare, a few of his dorm mates sniggering as they started to get dressed. Lyrisadora let out a low groan and buried her head under the covers, she should have just left when she had the chance. "Yeah, yeah, whatever Adrian," she heard Montague grumble.

"She better be gone by the time we get back," she heard Harper say rudely.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed, her head popping up from the covers to glare at Harper. "Screw you Harper-" before blanching when she saw he was in his underwear, a blush creeping across her face.

Harper smirked. "Like what you see Malfoy?" he asked slyly, opening his arms out, Miles burst out laughing, dropping his shirt on the floor.

Adrian sighed, appearing more irritated than angry. "Harper, a seven year old has a longer dick than you," he remarked bluntly, effectively wiping Harper's smirk off.

Harper's eyes narrowed. "Well at least nobody has to get tested after sleeping with me," he stated gruffly, glancing at Lyrisadora. "Hey Malfoy, I recommend a full check-up, _mouth_ and all," he recommended shrewdly.

Lyrisadora's cheeks burned, trying to keep her gaze focused on the window. "Please stop trying to compensate Harper, it's embarrassing," she retorted in annoyance, eyes briefly flickering over to them, Miles and Montague looking amused by the whole situation, Adrian gave her a playful smile, which she returned with a glare. The idiot probably thought this was all a right laugh, the arrogant prick.

Adrian appeared to have sensed her building anger. "Alright, you guys can finish your pissing contest later, now fuck off already," he said ordered sharply. "I'll meet you down at breakfast."

Harper glared at him, but otherwise pursed his lips and shoved his trousers on, the rest of the dorm getting the rest of their uniforms on. Lyrisadora lay back down, trying to ignore them, letting out a quiet sigh of relief when they left. "Thank Merlin for that," she murmured, before narrowing her eyes, sitting up to whack Adrian across the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he whined, rubbing the back of his head, looking at her questionably.

Her glare didn't waver. "Really? And you wondered why I wanted to leave before they woke up," she snapped, folding her arms over her chest.

To her frustration, he started to smile. "I suppose I was being difficult," he said mildly, before he started to kiss her up the neck, his arms returning back around her waist. "But you're such a good cuddler, darling," he sighed, nipping her behind the ear.

She tried to bury the flush creeping back towards her cheek, his touch feeling electrifying. She scrunched her eyes up. No, she wasn't going to give him what he wanted again, he nuzzled her neck. _No_, she wasn't going to let him. "Get off," she said, trying to push him away, wanting to stop her body from reacting to his touch. "I need to get dressed," she said testily, managing to break free from his grip, getting out of bed.

She saw a look flash across his face, but it was too quick to decipher, instead he pouted playfully at her. "You're no fun," he mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

She shook her head at his antics and started to get dressed, picking up her wand from underneath the bed, placing the glamour charm on her left arm. "And you're annoying," she retorted plainly, slipping her underwear back on, grimacing. "I'll need to get changed in my dorm," she stated, wanting some fresh clothes, when he didn't reply, she glanced at him, wondering his reaction, before she frowned, why the hell did she care? She ignored him and continued to get dressed, while he wondered off to get some clothes.

She left her collar loose and held her green tie around her wand, slipping her shoes on. Adrian tightened the tie around his neck and glanced at her. "I'll meet you in the common room," he said, watching make her way to the door.

She waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah sure," she replied breezily, before leaving, not waiting for his reply. When she arrived at her dorm, it was empty, Sapphira meowed loudly, running towards her, nudging her legs strongly. "Someone's hungry," Lyrisadora observed brightly, picking up the old cat and kissing her head, before placing her on the bed. "Be with you in a moment," she promised, getting undressed to put on some fresh underwear.

Sapphira continued to moan, making Lyrisadora sigh in exasperation as she hurried to finish getting dressed quickly brushing her hair and applying her make-up. "_Alright,"_ she sighed when Sapphira moaned loudly. She picked up her cat and made her way to the common room.

Adrian was already waiting for her, he looked at the cat questionably. "I doubt you'll be allowed to bring that to breakfast," he commented.

"I just need to give her some food," Lyrisadora said, pulling out her wand. "The house-elves should have made a bowl already," she added, recalling where the cat food was kept in the kitchens. "Hold her," she instructed, pushing the cat into his hands, before conjuring up a bowl.

Adrian scowled as the cat hissed in his grip. "What's wrong with it?" he snapped, holding the thing in the air as it tried to scratch his eyes out.

Lyrisadora thought it was hilarious. "Looks like she doesn't like you," she laughed, waving her wand to transfer the food into the bowl. "She's probably just hungry," she reasoned. Adrian let Sapphira drop to the floor, Lyrisadora frowned. "Don't be cruel," she scolded, watching as Sapphira hissed at him.

"She scratched me," Adrian stated testily, rubbing his scratched hand.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes and stroked Sapphira, smiling when the cat started to eat. "She's just hungry," she protested, before pocketing her wand in her robes. "Don't be a baby," she teased, making her way to the common room exit. "You can heal it."

"Just keep that scrappy thing away from me," he muttered, the common room entrance opening.

Lyrisadora ignored him and walked out of the common room, the two heading towards the great hall. "I guess Elizabeth didn't have time to feed her," she mused.

"Isn't she _your_ cat," Adrian pointed out.

"Sometimes I forget to feed her," she argued defensively, she had enough responsibility on her shoulders, she sighed quietly, but she supposed she should give Sapphira more attention, the poor thing. "Besides, Elizabeth likes Sapphira for company," Lyrisadora said, besides it wasn't like cats were the most loyal of animals.

Adrian didn't comment, she supposed he probably didn't care much for the conversation. When they entered the great hall, Lyrisadora paused, Lucretia and Elizabeth weren't there. Adrian continued towards the Slytherin table not missing a beat. She hesitated before she followed him, her eyes scanning the seats, wondering where her friends were.

She ignored Harper's sneer when she sat down next to Adrian, but just as she was about to make herself a plate of breakfast, she felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around to find Astoria, Lyrisadora assumed the girl was here to pass on a message, like she usually tended to do. "Madame Pomfrey wants you in the hospital wing," Astoria informed biting her lip, Lyrisadora perked up at this. "That Orion girl wanted to see you," she told her.


	81. Broken Toys

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: Rhiannah, Fool in Love**

* * *

><p><strong>"And you may tell me to run, run now, but I can't do that, we're too far down the hole, he's got a hold of my soul."<strong>

**Chapter: Broken Toys**

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora hurried to the hospital wing, Adrian hot on her tail, she swallowed a painful lump in her throat, trying to convince herself that Elizabeth was probably fine. "Probably just ill," she murmured to herself as she arrived at the entrance, the doors already wide open, raised voices echoing around the hall.<p>

"…What kind of school are you running here?" came a gruff voice. Umbridge stood out like a pink firecracker, standing over the bed facing Elizabeth's parents Mr and Mrs Orion, the couple looking tired and oozed frustration.

Mr Orion looked like an underfed Walrus and Mrs Orion looking like a honey bee in her yellow and black clothing, her frizzy black hair only reinforcing this.

Lucretia rushed out of the room, and empty jug in her hand. "Lucretia?" Lyrisadora questioned, noting the girl's troubled expression. For once, Lyrisadora really hoped it was just another headache.

"Elizabeth wanted more water," Lucretia muttered, her gaze briefly settling on Adrian, Lyrisadora saw her grip on the jug handle tighten, before it loosened again.

"Are you okay?" Lyrisadora asked, hesitating from entering the room, the voices having risen.

Lucretia blinked a few times before she rolled her eyes. "I'm fine…being Elizabeth's personal water bearer is a dream come true," she replied dryly, before she stopped, and looked between them both, before she hurried off without another word.

Lyrisadora gave her a second glance and inched ever so slightly towards the fleeing girl. Adrian placed a hand on her shoulder. "She can wait, it sounds like Elizabeth needs you more," Adrian said calmly.

She had to agree that he had a point, Lucretia could wait, she was probably just shaken from whatever was wrong with Elizabeth, though this reasoning didn't reassure Lyrisadora.

Lyrisadora stepped into the room, her eyes instantly landing on Elizabeth's frail form. Her friend looked pale like a ghost, her hair loose and messy around her face, dark circles under her eyes. hand. "Elizabeth," Lyrisadora said, her voice quieter than intended, she rushed over to the girl's side.

Elizabeth snapped her neck in her direction, her eyes widening. "Lyra," she said, a hint of urgency in her voice, laced with worry.

Lyrisadora looked at the adults, who appeared to have halted their heated discussion. "What happened?" she questioned.

Mr Orion stood a bit straighter. "That's exactly what we've been asking," he said stiffly, his eyes turning cold once they landed on Umbridge.

Lyrisadora felt a rush of pleasure when she saw the pink clad woman squirm, however Umbridge seemed to regain her bearings, jutting her chin out. "Miss Orion is a victim from a crossfire started by a group of delinquents," Umbridge stated, before looking over at Elizabeth, giving her, what was supposed to be a pitying look. Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "My Inquisitorial Squad was attempting to apprehend them, when they started firing curses," she said informed shrilly.

Mr Orion's eyes turned deadly. "The delinquents names?" he inquired tonelessly.

Umbridge sighed loudly, that stupid pout still stuck on her face. "I believe Fred and George Weasley were identified," she answered, Lyrisadora's blood turned cold, she looked back at Elizabeth, frowning when she saw that Adrian and Elizabeth were staring at each other, before Elizabeth looked away. Lyrisadora looked at Adrian questionably, but he gave her an unreadable look. "…The two boys were known to have bullied her in the past," Umbridge continued, directing her gaze at Lyrisadora, Adrian and Elizabeth.

"I never saw who shot the curse," Elizabeth spoke, her voice sounding faint and hoarse.

"We have witnesses," Umbridge said abruptly.

"Inquisitorial Squad I assume," Lyrisadora said lightly, her face the picture of innocent curiosity.

Umbridge smiled at her, those beady eyes as hard as flint. "I'd trust their word just as any of the prefects, and head girl," she said sweetly, before she frowned questionably. "And I'd certainly trust their word over a pair of delinquents who have been known for bullying other students."

Lyrisadora swallowed her rage and smiled softly. "Of course, that does make sense," she said pleasantly.

"I want them expelled," Mrs Orion declared coldly, her gaze firm.

"Of course, they were after all, on thin ice as it were," Umbridge replied sweetly.

Lyrisadora felt a painful lump in her throat, a part of her silently wondering if Fred and George really were involved. Elizabeth said she didn't know, but maybe she just wasn't eager to reveal any misgivings of the Inquisitorial squad in front of Umbridge, Lyrisadora looked at Elizabeth firmly, Elizabeth caught her gaze "Mum, Dad," Elizabeth interjected slowly, drawing in their attention. "Can you give me a moment alone with my friend," she requested.

Elizabeth's parents exchanged a look before looking at Lyrisadora and Adrian. "Of course," Mr Orion replied, his posture slumping when he looked at his daughter.

Umbridge lingered a little when Mrs and Mr Orion left the room, Lyrisadora raised an eyebrow, Umbridge gave her a tight smile before she hurried off. "Adrian, can you please give us some space," Elizabeth said in a clipped tone, not even sparing him a glance.

Lyrisadora looked at Adrian pointedly; he looked between them both and shrugged. "Okay, I'll just go find Lucretia," he said casually. "She'll probably need some help with that jug," he continued.

Elizabeth eyed Adrian calmly. "I'm sure she's fine," she argued faintly.

He smiled at her reassuringly. "Are you sure? She seemed upset, I just want to keep an eye on her," he said evenly.

"I'm sure she'll manage," Elizabeth replied tonelessly.

Adrian just smiled sympathetically and lightly squeezed Elizabeth's shoulder. "I'm sure she will," he replied evenly, before he looked at Lyrisadora. "I'll be outside," he told her, making his way towards the door.

Elizabeth kept her eyes locked on his retreating form as Lyrisadora pulled up a chair. "What really happened?" Lyrisadora asked quietly.

Elizabeth didn't answer straight away, as she turned to look at her. "I don't really know…I was alone and it was passed curfew. I did see the Weasley twins," Elizabeth tried to explain. "But, I don't know who threw the curse at me…"

"So the twins were fighting members of the Inquisitorial Squad?" Lyrisadora questioned, wanting to verify.

"Yes, but I only really saw them, I had literally just turned a corner and then I got hit," Elizabeth answered, before a grimace came on her features. "I can't feel my legs," she divulged softly, refusing to look at Lyrisadora.

Lyrisadora's heart sank, she tried not to look at her friend in pity, knowing the Slytherin wouldn't appreciate it. "What did they say about your recovery?" she asked, eyes flickering to the girl's still legs, before back at her face.

Elizabeth clenched her fists. "That I need rest, recuperation, and therapy to help me walk again," her voice became angrier. "So six months if I'm lucky," she said bitterly. "…My parents are forcing me back home." Elizabeth appeared to be trying to calm her temper, clenching at the bed sheets.

Lyrisadora buried a surge of anger, she was going to find out who did this. "I'll find out who did this, Liz," she said coldly. "I'll make them pay," she promised icily.

Elizabeth looked at her, there was a flash of apprehension in her eyes, making Lyrisadora realise too late she had shown too much. "Thanks," Elizabeth said faintly, before she swallowed, her eyes flickering to the exit for a brief second, before returning to Lyrisadora. "Lyra, do you trust Adrian?" she questioned anxiously.

Lyrisadora frowned, wondering where this was going. "As far as I can throw him," she joked, but Elizabeth's intense gaze didn't lighten up. "Why?" Lyrisadora questioned, her smile disappearing.

Elizabeth hesitated. "He's really obsessed with you," she whispered.

Lyrisadora felt a rush of guilt, so it was that obvious was it? "I know he is," she replied.

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "You do?" she queried, her tone sounding cautious.

"I've known for years," Lyrisadora answered uncomfortably. "It's complicated."

Elizabeth looked at her for a moment, before she shook her head. "I don't think you realise what I'm talking about," she argued. "…Do you know about -"

There was a crash and a yelp, their heads snapped towards the door, Lucretia was on the ground, a smashed jug of water on the floor, she was clutching her hand in pain.

There were drops of blood on the ground.

"Accident prone much," Adrian said, coming into view as he helped Lucretia to her feet, his tone the same tone he usually used on Lyrisadora when she was in a bad mood.

"What happened?" Lyrisadora questioned, hurrying over to them both, not noticing how Elizabeth had more or less frozen.

"I tripped over," Lucretia answered, an embarrassed blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Adrian flicked his wand, the jug instantly repairing itself, the water pouring back inside. "No damage done, though I doubt she'll want the water now," he said nonchalantly.

Lucretia smiled weakly, still clutching her hand. "What on earth is going on here?" Madame Pomfrey fretted, rushing over to the three.

"She fell," Adrian answered instead of Lucretia, rolling his eyes, jug clutched in his hands. "Cut her hand when she broke the jug."

Madame Pomfrey sighed. "Show me your hand dear," she instructed calmly, quietly leading the girl over to a seat near the window.

Adrian wondered over to Elizabeth's bed and placed the jug on the nightstand, as Lyrisadora returned to her seat. He smiled cheekily at her. "It may taste like sterilised stone, but I'm sure it's still fresh," he reasoned. "Are you ladies finished?" he asked, looking between them both, before his eyes landed back on Elizabeth. "Your parents are getting anxious," he informed dryly, as if the whole affair bored him.

Lyrisadora nearly rolled her eyes; he could be such an ass. "Just give us five more minutes," she said impatiently.

He shrugged. "Okay," he said simply, before leaving them be.

Lyrisadora looked back at Elizabeth. "What were you saying?" she questioned.

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment, before she breathed in a controlled breath and looked back at Lyrisadora. "Keep an eye on Lucretia, she's…stressed and has a lot on her mind," she said in a strained voice.

Lyrisadora clutched her friend's hand and smiled sympathetically, she understood the situation was hard for her, her recovery was not going to be pleasant. "I promise. I'll write to you, as much as you want," she said gently. "The minute Umbridge makes the colour pink compulsive, you'll be the first to know," Lyrisadora added lightly, smiling once she saw Elizabeth's lips twitch.

"Thanks," Elizabeth said, squeezing her hand tightly, her eyes wondering over to Lucretia across the room, before returning to Lyrisadora. "I appreciate it."

"_Beth Cakes_," Mr Orion's voice entered the room, Elizabeth's cheeks burned pink at the nickname, Lyrisadora smiled in amusement. "We need to pack your things," Elizabeth's father said warmly, coming towards the bed. "You're mother has a meeting she has to get back to."

Elizabeth squeezed Lyrisadora's hand tightly. "I understand," Lyrisadora spoke, standing up, giving her friend a reassuring look. "I should be getting to class," she said, letting go of Elizabeth's hand.

"Lyra," Elizabeth said suddenly, stopping the Malfoy in her tracks. "….You're still my best friend….no matter what," she said, looking at her pointedly.

Lyrisadora was tempted to look into her friend's mind, the emotions being displayed clearly in her eyes, but Lyrisadora refrained, she didn't feel comfortable entering her friend's mind…and Elizabeth had just said Lyrisadora was her best friend, what kind of best friend would invade the other's thoughts?

She didn't quite know how to reply to that, so she just smiled. "You get better soon, alright?" she said firmly, earning a weak nod.

Lyrisadora gave her one last firm look before she wondered over to Adrian, who was leaning against the door, watching her, his face passive. Lucretia stood next to him, a grimace on her face. "Do you think she'll be okay?" Lucretia questioned softly, the dark circles under eyes looking more prominent.

"She'll be okay, she just needs a lot of rest," Lyrisadora reassured.

"We should go to class," Adrian said mildly, moving off the door, he must have seen the apprehension on her face, because he let out an exasperation sigh. "She'll be fine, princess, home is the best place for her right now," he soothed, placing and arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close. "And you can always write to her, she'll be better before you know it," he reassured, kissing her forehead.

She couldn't help but reluctantly agree, he was right, the best thing for Elizabeth was to be home with her parents. "We better get to class," Lyrisadora said, forcing a reserved smile onto her lips as they made their way out of the Hospital wing.

Lucretia followed idly by, absently wringing her hands in worry, Lyrisadora turned her head slightly to look back, but Adrian pulled her in closer and kissed her cheek. "She'll be _fine_," he murmured into her ear.

Lyrisadora kept her smile in place, ignoring the queasy feeling that had formed in her stomach.

* * *

><p>Mrs Rosalie Pucey watched Narcissa Malfoy pour them a warm cup of tea, the two women sat outside, and a warm spring breeze in the air.<p>

Mrs Pucey gave the blonde woman a polite smile. "Thank you, my dear," she said pleasantly, taking a sip of her tea. She hid a grimace, too much milk and not enough tea. She placed her cup down. "I'm so glad we managed to catch up, I barely got to talk to you at the engagement party," Rosalie Pucey said, as if Narcissa was an old friend and not a mere acquaintance with a mutual third party.

Narcissa smiled dazzlingly. "Such is the consequences of hosting," she sighed, taking a large sip of her tea.

So the woman liked milky tea? No taste, Rosalie observed. "Well at least the children enjoyed themselves," she changed the subject, smiling smoothly at the blonde. "Adrian and Lyra seem like a match made in heaven, don't they?" she said brightly, making her smile gush.

Narcissa's smile remained even. "They do seem fond of each other," she replied, Rosalie waited for the 'but' as she watched Narcissa' brow crease ever so slightly. "But, I am concerned they're becoming a little _too_ close," she said, lowering her voice a tad.

Rosalie held back a laugh, she didn't doubt the woman's concerns; she was pretty sure they both knew what they're children did in their spare time. Rosalie was just thankful her son had stopped sleeping around so much, it reminded her too much of Elatus. "They are very fond of each other," she concurred, before she let out a weary sigh. "I have spoken to Adrian about it, but you know what these boys are like, especially at their age," Mrs Pucey lied smoothly.

Narcissa sighed. "Lyrisadora is more or less the same, she's as stubborn as her father," she stated, taking a sip of her tea.

Now the conversation was getting interesting, Rosalie thought, her smile widening. "I got the impression," she said smoothly, stirring her tea. "She's quite fierce, isn't she?" Rosalie said mildly. "It's no wonder my boy loves her," she dropped in.

Mrs Malfoy's face seemed like it was undecided how to react, her brown eyes holding a cautious contentment. "I'm glad they like each other, I do want her to be happy after all," she spoke evenly. "And I'm sure your boy will keep her happy."

Rosalie held back an amused grin, was Narcissa threatening her? It was _adorable_. Rosalie decided to placate the woman, after all, she didn't want the Malfoys meddling in things that weren't their concern. "I assure you he _adores_ her and…Adrian would hate me to say this, but Lyra has him wrapped around her little finger," she said, making her tone sound amused. "Quite the girl you raised there," she threw in the compliment.

It seemed to do the trick, Mrs Malfoy's smile appeared more genuine this time. "She is very independent for her age," she commented, her smile flickering slightly. Was that sadness? How Interesting.

"Adrian's the same," Mrs Pucey said, she needed to convince Narcissa that they wanted the same things….well more or less the same things. "But at least it means they're prepared for the world," she argued. Now to get the conversation back on her future daughter-in-law. "I'm glad Adrian found someone though, he was looking a bit blue after his father's funeral," she continued, making her smile seem sad. "But your girl ended up cheering him up in the end." She made her smile brighten. "They seem so happy together, your daughter has a wonderful smile," Mrs Pucey said fondly, she did wonder what Lyrisadora looked like when she smiled, she assumed it was as dazzling as her mother's. Smiles were important, it painted a good picture. "But, I do worry…." Rosalie continued, snapping in the younger woman's attention.

Narcissa frowned. "What about?" she questioned.

Rosalie didn't answer straight away, she'd let the blonde stew a bit. "Lyra's mind seems, sometimes preoccupied…I noticed it when we had dinner, she seemed…sad, just for a moment," she continued, her brow creasing. "Is everything alright at home?" Mrs Pucey asked innocently, tilting her head slightly.

Narcissa looked taken aback. "Of course," she said, looking at Mrs Pucey in confusion. "As far as I know," she added.

_Ah_, trying to shift the blame away, Rosalie smiled. "I suppose she's still young, they tend to keep to themselves, has she written at all?"

"Of course," Narcissa said, as if to doubt it would be ridiculous. So it was obvious she was lying. "We're close."

Rosalie almost laughed.

So, Lyrisadora wasn't writing to her mother, trouble in paradise it seemed. Which meant Lyrisadora was missing a close elder female figure, Rosalie hid her glee. Oh it seemed just _too_ easy. She forced a frown, looking at the other woman in sympathy. "I wish Adrian and I were more close," she sighed, making herself seem worse off. It nearly always did the trick and the Malfoys loved to build themselves up higher. "Boys can be so difficult."

Narcissa nodded sympathetically. "Sometimes Draco can be the same, I suppose it's just because he's at that age," she said.

Rosalie nodded and then the subject changed, much to her displeasure, Narcissa started talking about one of her husband's cousin's new wife, Zurie Malfoy, some half Veela twit who was now a lady in waiting to the queen of wizarding France. Rosalie didn't much care.

Mrs Pucey only really paid half attention to the new conversation, her mind wondering back to Lyrisadora and Adrian, she still hadn't heard from her boy yet, he had sent her a letter, a short informal one. More like a note. Detailing that he had accidently damaged Lucretia Veregreen's mind. Typical. But besides that snippet, he seemed reluctant to share ore information with her, she put it down to his stubbornness to include her, but she knew he'd give eventually; he still had his insecurities like any other teenage boy. And she was most looking forward to Lyrisadora's letter, Rosalie had been tempted to write to the girl, but refrained, let her come asking help, there needed to be an established trust between them.

She trusted that the girl wouldn't tell Adrian about the letters, Rosalie would drop the odd hint to keep it on the down low, he might not react well to her help. Rosalie almost sighed in exasperation. It was bothersome that she had to fix their relationship and make it better in a sense, but it'd all be worth it in the end.

Of course Lyrisadora might resist, Rosalie hoped she wouldn't, she didn't want to break the girl entirely, she did admire her fierceness after all. But the temptation to reduce her to nothing but a shell of herself was so…agreeable, it would just make everything _fit_. Adrian deserved the perfect wife after all, and Lyrisadora was _nearly_ perfect, but she still needed to be trimmed some more, soften those rough edges and quieten that temper of hers.

Adrian needed to be in control this time, it was the only way things would work properly, she couldn't have Lyrisadora having full reign, and it just wouldn't fit properly. Rosalie already had an image of them both in her head, Lyrisadora looking content as she looked at Adrian lovingly, wanting nothing more than to wash his feet and support him through every decision and never question him.

After all, Mrs Pucey didn't want Adrian to end up like his father.

It was the only way they'd have a perfect marriage. Rosalie smiled pleasantly at Narcissa, she hoped the Malfoys wouldn't protest too much, Lyrisadora practically belonged to the Pucey family anyway, Rosalie just needed to finalise it all with a marriage, then her family would all fit into place.

"More tea, Rosalie?" Narcissa questioned lightly.

Rosalie hadn't even drunk the first. "No thank you dear, I'm more of a coffee person myself," she told her evenly, smiling sweetly when Mrs Malfoy gave her a tight smile.

Rosalie had to admit, she had missed the English and their games.

* * *

><p>The twins had been absent from DADA, and if Umbridge's frustrated frown had been anything to go by, it appeared nobody knew where they were.<p>

Adrian had more or less become her second shadow, she sort of found it sweet that he was worried about her, but another part of her felt uneasy, wanting space. "I'll meet you after class for lunch," he had told her, smiling warmly as he headed off to Herbology and she went off to Ancient Runes.

She had only just turned around the corridor when someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her into a dead end of a corridor. "Getoff!" she tried to yell, trying to kick them away, her magic flaring.

"Ow! Lyra it's us, cool it will you," A familiar voice urged, the hands let her go, she whipped around,finding Fred and George in front of her.

Merlin they were idiots. "How about you don't grab me from behind next time?" She snapped, shaking her head, before her eyes narrowed at them. "Start explaining, _everything_," she instructed sharply.

George sighed. "We didn't hurt Elizabeth," he protested.

"Curses like that just aren't our style," Fred interjected.

"Exactly. We didn't even know Elizabeth was there until we saw her hit the ground," George continued.

"Then who shot the curse?" Lyrisadora questioned, vowing to make the culprit pay.

"We were kind of busy deflecting the ongoing barrage of five against two," Fred reasoned.

"And yet we still beat their asses," George quipped.

"Well then, who did you recognise from the fight?" Lyrisadora asked.

The twins paused, before George spoke up. "I recognised Montague and Warrington," he answered.

"I saw Harper too and Bletchley, " Fred added. "Bulstrode was there as well, that girl throws one hell of a jinx," he stated, faintly wincing as he moved his arms.

Harper,Warrington, Miles, Montague and Bulstrode. She'd remember those names. "So what are you going to do now?" she questioned

Their faces broke out into wide grins. "I'm afraid we can't say Lyra my dear, it would ruin the surprise," Fred said slyly.

Lyrisadora found herself smiling. "Will it be a big one?" she questioned.

George's eyes danced with amusement. "It'll put Peeves to shame," he replied brightly.

Lyrisadora's eyes glinted with a certain malice. "Please make her suffer," she implored sweetly.

"Pranksters honour," Fred stated, he gave her a rough pat on the back. "Take care of yourself, Lyra my dear," he added.

She rolled her eyes. "I should be telling you that, you're the ones who'll most likely get yourselves blown up," she said carelessly, before she winced. She shouldn't have said that, an irritating whisper in her head. And the twin would die, it had said. But that was two years ago and she had kept an eye on the two, everything seemed fine. "So, look after yourselves, and don't go causing too much trouble," she sighed, giving them a weak smile.

They didn't appear to take her seriously. "So do you think a sign outside the shop saying Voldy-warts is too much?" George asked mildly, exchanging a cheerful grin with Fred.

Merlin they were infuriating. "I'm late for class," she declared, before she paused. "You know, you could have told me all this earlier instead of grabbing me," she pointed out.

Fred scoffed. "We were waiting for that leech to leave so we could talk," he said, wrinkling his nose in disdain. "It was like you guys were attached to the hip."

"He's just concerned about me, that's all," she defended, eyeing their skeptic expression, feeling her gut twist. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," she tried to convince them.

They exchanged a shrewd look before they rolled their eyes, George looked at her. "He's a stalking creep Lyra, do really want to marry that asshole?" George argued.

They didn't understand, she was tempted to tell them she had no intention of marrying Adrian, but that would lead to more questions. "'It's hard to explain, and I know he's a prick and a bully, but…" _Somehow we balance each other out._ "We understand each other," she said cautiously.

"You're avoiding the question," Fred said bluntly.

"Are you sure you're not being forced to marry him," George questioned.

Lyrisadora paused, the question striking a chord, she knew that the deal she struck with Adrian meant she didn't have to marry him, plus she was going to fake her death. She felt a sick feeling form in her stomach as she felt her skin turn paler. The Weasley twins were looking at her strangely. "We have an agreement, and he isn't normally so attentive….we just had a bit of a fight, so things are a little rocky," she said, hoping to make them understand.

Fred and George looked at each other before looking back at Lyrisadora. "You had a fight?" Fred queried lightly.

"Only a minor one," she lied.

"Oh, well _that's okay then_," George said far too brightly, the sarcasm practically dripping from his tongue. "Did he upset you?"

"Of course not," she said evenly, looking at them with impatience. "Just leave it okay," she said, before she hesitantly moved away. "I'm late, I need to go. Good luck," Lyrisadora said warmly, giving them a smile before she hurried away.

* * *

><p>"…So, I'll need to beg her parents for forgiveness first," Miles explained as he and Adrian exited the green house. "And pray they'll give their blessing."<p>

"And if they say no?" Adrian asked plainly.

"Then we'll run away to Italy and elope," Miles answered brightly.

Adrian didn't voice how stupid he thought that was, especially since Miles seemed deadly serious. "Good luck with that," Adrian said dryly.

Miles grinned. "It's true Adrian, I know I'm right about her," he sighed wistfully.

Adrian discreetly rolled his eyes, his friend could be a real idiot at times. "I'm envious," he said sarcastically. "_Truly_ , you're living the dream."

Miles frowned at him, clearly picking up on the sarcasm. "No need to be sarcastic, it isn't my fault your girl is being difficult," he said, as they neared the castle.

Adrian arched an eyebrow. "I assure you, we're fine," he said evenly.

"If you say so," Miles chimed.

"Whatever," Adrian muttered. "I'll see you later," he said, heading towards the Ancient Runes classroom.

"Come find me if you need any more advice about women!" Miles called after him.

Adrian sighed, Miles could be so clueless, that sometimes he put the Hufflepuffs to shame. "Oi! Pucey," called an annoyingly familiar voice. Adrian ground. _Urk_, it sounded like those twins. "What-"

George Weasley punched him in the face, knocking him back against the wall. "Been wanting to do that for years," he said smugly.

"What the fuck!" Adrian snarled, reaching for his wand while his other hand clutched his bruised eye.

"Expelliarmus," the other twin said, Adrian's wand flying out of his hand. _Well wasn't this great_. "Let's talk." The twins grabbed him simultaneously and shoved him around a corner.

"What's got your underwear wound up," Adrian snarled. Merlin these two were irritating.

"Your face was annoying me, I made it look better," George remarked, twirling his wand in his hand. "I don't know how you got Lyra to like you, but you better start treating her better," he warned.

Adrian almost laughed, was this what they were so riled up about? And where did they get the idea he hadn't been treating Lyrisadora right?"I treat her fine," he replied coldly. "Not that it's any of your concern," he added, looking at George pointedly. "Lyra and I are perfectly happy."

Fred scoffed. "Of course you are, no doubt a regular prince charming," he said shrewdly. "I'll make it clear; hurt Lyra and we'll shove your wand up your ass and exclaim diffindo," Fred threatened testily, his smile promising pain.

His twin's smile mirrored this. "Are we clear, or do I need to make both sides match?" George asked sweetly.

Adrian swallowed bile down his throat. God they were a bunch of interfering twits. "Transparent," he spat, pushing himself off the wall. "Now have you finished making your point?" he sneered.

"Almost," George said, before he punched Adrian in the stomach, winding him as he dropped to his knees. Bloody Weasleys! "I really don't know what she sees in you," George huffed.

Adrian looked up at him defiantly, shooting him a sweet smile. "More than she ever saw in you," he breathed, his stomach aching.

A flash of rage glinted in Weasleby's eyes, making Adrian's smile grow. But then the ginger knut smiled nastily. "Then I wonder why she looked sick to her stomach when we mentioned the marriage between you both?" he more or less sneered.

Adrian was silent, despite himself, his smile disappeared, his stomach feeling queasy. "Remember Pucey," Fred said, making a gesture of a wand being shoved up his ass, the two beginning to walk away, dropping Adrian's wand on the floor.

Adrian struggled to his feet, he scowled, Weasley was talking bull….And they probably misunderstood the situation, he tried to argue. His stomach still hurt, Lyrisadora wouldn't feel disgusted about the thought of marriage.

But she had made it clear she hated commitment. Adrian picked up his wand, a bad taste forming in his mouth. Would marriage really make her miserable? He clenched his fist and continued on to the Ancient ruins classroom.

He tried to calm down, the Weasley twins would be gone soon anyway, along with Elizabeth, which meant the only people who could divert Lyrisadora's attention were Professor Snape and Lucretia.

Lucretia wasn't much of a threat right now, but the girl's girlfriend Patricia could be a problem, the Gryffindor was bound to notice her girlfriend's sudden short term memory loss eventually. But with the rules being put in place, it wasn't like the two would be able to sneak away and see each other as often as they used to, especially with the stricter curfew. He'd keep an eye on the situation.

Professor Snape was another story of course, the man would be difficult to manipulate, extremely difficult, so Adrian decided the best course of action was to manipulate Lyrisadora against the Potion Professor instead. He just needed to pick at every insecurity and doubt in the mentor and student relationship.

The head of Slytherin was patronising and had a biting tongue, things that no doubt riled Lyrisadora up. She had seemed annoyed when she left the potions lab last night, it appeared her and the professor had been arguing, he assumed it was about him seeing how his entrance had been met with tension. Lyrisadora obviously didn't like it when people pried into their relationship, he just needed to fuel that, encourage her that she was right to think that. He needed to make it clear that he understood her doubts and worries, more than anyone else ever could.

Lyrisadora came into view as he neared her classroom. "What happened to your face?" she questioned in alarm, rushing over to him.

Oh yeah, Weasley had punched him, hadn't he? Funny about the things you forget when you're plotting. "Got punched by a Leprechaun," he answered dryly.

Lyrisadora took his hand and dragged him over to a window sill and forced him to sit down. "You're not funny," she retorted, drawing out her wand, using her left hand to clasp his jaw. "Who punched you?" she repeated sternly.

His lips twitched upwards, wanting to form a bitter smile. "It was your supposed best friends, the gingers," he answered flatly.

She froze and looked at him with surprise. "What did you do?"

His magic flared with anger, why the hell was she taking their side? "Breathed in too much air? I didn't really get a chance to think about it when they jumped me from behind," he answered cuttingly.

Her Adam's apple bobbed. Good, let her feel some guilt. "Sorry," she apologised. "But you do tend to aggravate people," she argued, her voice coming out firmer this time.

Only because people tended to be so thin skinned. "They were threatening me, apparently I upset you," he told her, he saw her lick her lips nervously. "Whatever you said really got them riled up."

"I didn't say anything bad," she protested, gripping his chin more tightly as she cleared up the large purple bruise. "I just…mentioned the fight…"

He looked at her in irritation. "Why would you tell people our business?" he asked tightly.

She looked hesitant to answer. "It just came up…I didn't say…." her argument fell short and she trailed off. "Listen, I'm sorry alright," she apologised in exasperation, healing up the blemish."I didn't think they'd…lash out at you," Lyrisadora protested.

Adrian lightly traced the healed bruise, the pain having gone, before he looked back at Lyrisadora. Noting her guilty expression, he gave her an exasperated sigh. "Oh don't look so glum," he murmured, standing up. "Listen, it doesn't matter, you couldn't have known what they'd do," he reassured, as if this was all her fault.

"They were just trying to look out for me," she argued, her voice slightly strained, eyes trained on him, as if she wanted him to try and understand why she was defending them.

He accommodated her. "I understand, and they're loyal, I'll give them that," he gave the half-hearted compliment. "Come on, we should get some lunch," he suggested, placing an arm around her shoulder. "And don't worry about Elizabeth or the Weasley's," he said soothingly, kissing her cheek.

"Well…okay, I am hungry," she agreed, going along with him as he steered her down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora kept her emotions locked away as she sat with Adrian's friends, the ones who had landed Elizabeth in hospital. "How's Elizabeth doing by the way?" Warrington questioned, his eyes alight with mocking concern.<p>

"It'll be a long recovery, but she'll be okay," she answered, making sure her voice sounded anxious. She did want their punishment to be something of a surprise.

"That's good," Warrington said brightly, a hint of condescension in his tone. She wanted his punishment to be special, maybe give him a potion that broke his body out in hives? Or perhaps she'd make him go bald, or curse him so that he always felt a throbbing burn around his neck. But she could always give him foul nightmares, if she plucked a hair off his head, he'd have night terrors for weeks to come. Of course a dreamless sleep potion would sooth them for a time, but if she repeated the curse then the potion would be ineffective.

"Well it could have been worse," Miles stated, stuffing into a chickens leg. Lyrisadora decided a vomiting potion would surface for his penance; she'd sneak it into his goblet of juice tomorrow morning.

"I suppose," Lyrisadora murmured, slumping her shoulders to add effect. She spared a glance at Milicent Bulstrode who was sitting next to Pansy. Lyrisadora considered cursing her with a permanent stomach ache, that would linger like a gone off chicken stew.

Lyrisadora ate her lunch as Adrian chatted with his friends. She glanced at Harper and Montague, she still hadn't decided what she'd do to them. She could always jinx their Quidditch gear, make Harper's shoes squeeze too tight every ten minutes? No, shoes could be removed too easily. Perhaps a constant knowing hunger, Bonegum potion would suffice for that one and it could last for up to twelve days once the stomach soaked it in. And she'd give him a heat rash too, just in case the potion wasn't as effective.

With Montague, she decided on a bone aching curse, something to give him constant pain in his joints, so every movement hurt.

"What are you smiling about?" Adrian asked her curiously, she hadn't noticed her lip curling.

The smile fell off her face in an instant, before she hastily plastered a sheepish one on. "Just last night," she lied shyly, looking away.

To her relief he gave her an amused smile and wrapped his hand around her waist from underneath the table. "I can make tonight even more rememberable," he said coyly.

She smiled at him politely. "Not tonight, I have work to do," she said; that Bonegum potion would need at least four hours to simmer.

The smile slid off his face and Lyrisadora wondered what she had done wrong, she frowned at him, did he really want to have sex that bad? She knew she had said she didn't mind having more of it with him, but she had made it clear that if she was busy or tired then he had to respect that. "Okay, then," he said finally, his tone mild. "Another time then," he said, removing his arm as he inched away from her.

Lyrisadora didn't say anything, deciding to focus her thoughts elsewhere, she still needed to talk to David, the hectic morning haven stolen away her chance. She looked over at The Hufflepuff table, catching David animatedly talking with his friends. She fixed her gaze on him, trying to catch his attention, her eyes burning into the side of his head.

David cautiously turned around, she gave him a questioning look, he gave her a discreet nod before turning back to his friends.

When lunch started to draw to a close, Lyrisadora told Adrian she had to quickly pick up a book from the library, promising to meet him at the courtyard. David was lingering outside the Great hall doors at the bottom of the steps. His head flicked up once he caught sight of her. "I tried to find you at breakfast," he said.

"There was a bit of an emergency," Lyrisadora told him. "Did you find anything?" she questioned lowly.

David grinned, reaching into his robe pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "I made notes," he stated.

Lyrisadora took the paper from him, noting his eager expression, she gave his shoulder a affectionate squeeze and smiled warmly at him. "Good work," she said, before looking at the paper.

-_Leaky Cauldron is Mrs and Mr Willows favourite pub._

_-Mr Willows was an Auror for seventeen years_

_-Mrs Willows was allergic to dogs and cats_

_-Mr Willows was a vegetarian_

_-Mr Willows was paranoid and weird_

_-Mr Willows always stuffed his face with sweets_

_-._

Lyrisadora looked at the seemingly useless information critically, she'd have to analyse this later, the small details were often the most important. Speaking of which, Lyrisadora narrowed her eyes at the dab of ink, each bullet point had a line to signal each point, at the end of the paper, a clear line had been done to outline the next point. "Is this all you heard?" she questioned, looking back at David.

David frowned, his brow creasing. "I think so….yeah, that should be everything," he answered hesitantly.

Lyrisadora looked back at the small inked line, as if it were mocking her. "So nobody else seemed to know anything?" she pushed.

David paused, his brow creasing, his fist clenching, as if it hurt to think. Lyrisadora eyed him with concern. "There were these two girls…..one of them mentioned that…Mr Willows wasn't a saint," he struggled to reply. "I can't remember the rest though…" He was starting to look embarrassed.

Lyrisadora thought for a moment, she could always used her legilimency, the temptation prickled her skin, something about Mr Willows not being a saint struck a chord, sure it could just be idle gossip, but all gossip had to stem from somewhere. "Come here a sec," she said, stirring him towards a more secluded section under the stairs.

"Uh…" David eyed her warily, as she bent down to his level.

"How's your head?" she asked gently, not wanting to damage anything.

"…Well, I guess it hurts a bit…but it's just a headache…why are you asking?" he questioned apprehensively as she stared at him.

"I'm just going to try something, just hold still," she said warmly, keeping her smile reassuring, ignoring the flush to his cheeks as she peered into his mind.

At first glance there didn't seem to be anything wrong, everything was functioning normal. Her eyes narrowed, there seemed to be a dull patch somewhere, she zoomed through his memories, the patch was. There was a gap between two memories.

_"…Well it isn't like Mr Willows was a saint…" a blurred vision said, blonde hair and a gold and red tie_. Lyrisadora frowned, that voice was familiar.

Another Gryffindor girl was with her, with dark skin. Indian? Wait….she knew these two. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil! _"Are you sure though…..Misunder…"_ the memory faded.

The memory skipped to David alone in a corridor, staring at the piece of paper in his hand.

Lyrisadora pulled out from his head, noticing the Hufflepuff boy's dizzy expression. "David," she spoke, straightening up, trying to think of the best way to tell him he had been obliviated.

"Lyra," a cheerful voice interrupted her, she swung around, seeing Adrian approaching her. She hid her frown, why hadn't he gone to the courtyard?

She glanced at David, noting the boy had taken a step back, eyes fixed on Adrian in alarm, Lyrisadora hid a wince, it didn't probably look good that she was familiar with his former bully. "I thought you'd be in the courtyard," she said.

Adrian pulled out a quill from his pocket, specifically her quill, Lyrisadora's hand went to her robe pocket, she hadn't remembered dropping it….."You dropped you quill," he said, handing it over to her. "I thought you'd be in the library?" he questioned, eyeing her curiously, his eyes sliding to David, she inched a little closer to the boy, as if instinctively. Though she wasn't quite sure why.

She thought quickly. "I was on my way there, but then I ran into David, he said he was having some trouble with bullies again," she lied, glancing over at him, giving him a subtle look, less he give the game away.

Fortunately David seemed to get the clue. "Yeah," he concurred, avoiding Adrian's gaze. "I guess I'll talk to you later," he said with forced casualness.

Lyrisadora smiled at him. "Don't be afraid to tell me if they start again, I'll sort them out," she promised.

David managed to give a convincing smile. "Thanks," he said, even adding a relieved sigh for good measure, sparing Adrian a glance before he hurried away.

When she looked back at Adrian, he was watching the scene passively, before he met her gaze and gave her an amused smile. "Ever the protector of students," he said jokingly, placing his arm around her shoulder. "He seems quite fond of you, should I be jealous?" Adrian said lightly, still smiling teasingly.

She gave him an easy smile. "David's just a sweet kid," she commented. "So try and make sure Miles doesn't mess with him, I've grown quite fond of him," she added, giving him a warning look.

Adrian smiled slyly and kissed her cheek. "I'll keep an eye on the kid," he promised pleasantly. "Now let's go get that book you wanted," he said.

Lyrisadora kept her smile in place, figuring she could just use the excuse to pick up a book on curses. Her mind ticked away as she processed what she had learned, David had been obliviated, the 'why?' and the 'who?' remaining unanswered.

* * *

><p><em>Dear mother,<em>

_Elizabeth Orion knows about the Lucretia situation, but I've sorted it out, she's now bedridden and is at home with her parents. _

_Lyrisadora's oblivious, and I'm trying to keep it that way, but they're going to be keeping in contact with each other. That's a problem._

_I know Lyrisadora is still hiding something, she's distant still, but not too distant, but she seems wary of me. _

_She still doesn't trust me fully._

_From Adrian _

* * *

><p><em>Dear Mrs Pucey,<em>

_I was just wondering about Adrian; it's a personal matter that is a tad too sensitive for discussion. I think you were right about him being temperamental, I'm worried about him, his emotions seem to shift suddenly and I'm a tad loss on what to do._

_It's hard to describe, he seems more easily irritated by me, he wants to always be in my company. Other's have commented that his behaviour is clingy and possessive. I have my own opinions on the matter._

_I was hoping to seek your advice on the matter._

_Yours Sincerely _

_Lyrisadora Malfoy_

* * *

><p>Mrs Pucey Smiled at the two letters in her hand. "Bless them," she sighed as she looked at the letters fondly and picked up her quill, bringing out three pieces of crisp paper.<p>

She did have work to do after all.

* * *

><p><strong>I made a bad typo on ch 80. Adrian is an only child, I was referring to Adrian's aunt. Just needed to clear that up.<strong>

**If there's any spelling or typos, it's the price to be paid for chapters over 7,000 words. :p**


	82. Fly in the oil

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: american horror story**

* * *

><p><strong>"If you look into the face of evil, evil's gonna look right back at you"<strong>

**Chapter: Fly in the oil**

* * *

><p>It was just before dinner when the Weasley's executed their performance.<p>

Lyrisadora was with Adrian and Lucretia, stuck having a study session in the library, re-memorizing all the Ancient ruins number meanings like it was a mantra.

It began with a fizz, muffled and loud.

Lyrisadora perked up when the fizz was followed by a bang, her revision forgotten. She glanced at Adrian and Lucretia, the two looking clueless. A number of students had started to head towards the noise as it grew louder.

It was then when she remembered Fred and George's promise, her lip beginning to curl as she got up and headed towards the commotion. She hoped they wouldn't disappoint.

When she arrived in the hallway she saw Umbridge being chased by a n enchanted fire breathing dragon that shot a huge fireball at her. A crowd of students had already begun gathering, a majority already in fits of laughter.

And then Fred and George zoomed by, controlling the dragon in its wake as Umbridge ran for her life, the twins throwing fireworks around the hall, creating colourful explosions as the chaos grew. Lyrisadora tried to stop herself from smiling too much, following the rest of the students towards the DADA classroom, taking delight when Umbridge screamed when she fell into a newly conjured swamp, that had now blocked entrance to her office.

Lyrisadora's cheeks hurt, as it was becoming more difficult to hide her grin that desperately wanted to spread across her face.

Umbridge tried to aim a curse at them, stumbling out of the swamp, her efforts were diminished when the twins started aiming fireworks at her pink covered behind, forcing the woman to run, students heckling her as they watched the ongoing show.

When they arrived at the courtyard the twins gave their final farewell, sending enchanted pixies from their wands, the pixies swarmed Umbridge, causing her to wave her hands frantically as she tried to bat the things away.

The students cheered, Lyrisadora joined them, whistling at the twins as they journeyed away into a marvellous sunset. God they were brilliant, she should have given them more credit.

She felt a warm feeling in her chest, it was like she was excited, she stopped realisation dawning as an idea struck her, she rushed through the crowd, trying to find somewhere quiet. She stopped when she reached a dead end near the entrance to the Astronomy tower.

She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the feeling in her chest. "_Expecto Patronium_," she uttered, a bolt of light shooting from her wand. She buried a twinge of disappointment, she had hope it would have been brighter, but at least it a start. She headed towards the Potions lab, she could probably get some more practice in and she still had to finish up that Bonegum potion.

* * *

><p>Mrs Pucey finished writing the three letters, sending them off; addressed to Lyrisadora, Adrian and Madame Umbridge.<p>

Rosalie sat back down at her vanity, taking a nail filer to manicure her nails, her mind musing on the lunch with Narcissa. The blonde woman obviously hadn't been completely sold by her act, which was understandable, Mrs Pucey had expected as much. Narcissa Malfoy was vain, arrogant and often prone to denial, but an idiot she was not.

Rosalie had known Narcissa for a number of years, not through childhood since Rosalie was a good five years older than the blonde, but in adulthood they tended to circle the same group of friends. However Mrs Malfoy tended to prefer the company of the Mrs Parkinson. Rosalie grimaced, such a distasteful woman, her face was far too round.

Rosalie knew enough about the Mrs Malfoy to know the blonde wouldn't give up her little babies so easily, the boy especially, he appeared to be her favourite. However Lyrisadora seemed quite independent and from what Rosalie had learned, her mother had little control over her.

The letter Lyrisadora had sent had been like a little Christmas gift, the girl was still wary of her, but that was fine, Rosalie understood she had to patient. She also understood Adrian's increasing possessiveness was going to be a problem, she almost sighed, when his emotions became muddled his logic soon followed.

Some things just never seemed to change, Rosalie found herself smiling a little, his temper was still as childish as it had always been.

She recalled the first time she had seen it truly manifest when he was five….

_It was two in the morning and all Rosalie could smell was ash and burnt flesh, she had hurried towards the source, her curiosity grew when it became apparent the smell was coming from her husband's bedroom. She tightened her crimson robe around her waist, her long dark hair tangled and damp, her young face consorted into an impatient frown._

_She heard something slam against the wall, causing her hand to hastily grab the door knob and push the door open. _

_She had been greeted by the sight of her husband's hand gripped painfully in her son's hair, Adrian slammed against the wall, trying to struggle out of his father's hold, a big bruise on his face, his right pyjama sleeve burnt. Smoke was in the air and the smell was sickening, the duvet on the bed more or less black and charred. "What are you doing?" Mrs Pucey spoke icily, her gaze hard as she marched over, pushing Elatus away from her son._

_Her husband's jaw was stiff. "He stole my wand and set fire to the bed," Elatus snarled._

_"Only because of the whore," her little Adrian spoke, in a tone which was unnaturally cold for a five year old. _

_The couple looked back at their son, a child like scowl on his face. "Adrian, be quiet!" Elatus hissed._

_ Rosalie sneered. "Was it Belinda again, Elatus?" Rosalie asked, looking at him in distain. He dare bring another prostitute into their home? Under the same roof as her no less. Merlin he was becoming unbearable. _

_"That is none of your concern," Elatus warned, her husband's eyes narrowed. "I was just setting the boy right," he spat. "He set the girl on fire," he told her, his voice lowering, looking at Adrian as if the boy was defective. _

_Rosalie's eyes lit up, she looked over at her son, his face still set in an ugly scowl. "Is that true sweetheart?" she asked him curiously._

_She saw his fists clench as he glared at the wall. "She deserved it," Adrian answered acidly. _

_"Damn it boy!" Elatus snapped, she saw her son visibly flinch, his posture stiff._

_Mrs Pucey found herself smiling at her son, moving to run a hand through his hair. "Good boy," she praised, receiving a befuddled frown from him. _

_Elatus grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, pulling her away Adrian. "Do you realise what this could mean?" her husband snapped. She shoved him away, how dare he touch her like that! "I had to send her to St Mungos, he burnt _half her face off_; she could take us to court!" Elatus hissed._

_Merlin he was pathetic. "I'm confident your word will hold up stronger than hers," she retorted. "Besides, Adrian's just a child, he didn't know any better," she said mockingly, looking at her son with a newfound fondness. Elatus looked like he was about to explode. She grabbed Adrian's hand. "And using our son as a punching bag won't solve anything, the bitch got what she deserved," she stated coldly , pulling Adrian along with her to the door, leaving her husband to stew in his rage._

_She took Adrian back to his room, grabbing a new pyjama top from his draw, before letting go of his hand to bend down to his level, examining his face, noticing he also had a bust lip and that his right wrist was burnt. "Don't listen to him, my sweet," she reassured, replacing his damaged pyjama top with a new one, briefly frowning when she saw his right arm was more burnt than she realised. "Your father is a fool," she told him, healing up the burnt flesh before she put the new top on; She would have to put a potion on it in the morning to make sure all the damage was gone. _

_Her son's unpleasant expression didn't let up. "She shouldn't have been in his bed," he mumbled._

_She smiled, hovering her wand over his cheek. "That's right, your father was being disrespectful," Rosalie said, beginning to heal his cuts and bruises. "And sometimes, people deserve to be hurt," she argued, running a hand through his hair soothingly, he leaned into the touch, his hand grabbing at her sleeve, looking at her like a puppy starved of attention. "Your father's whore had no place here, she was filthy and vile," Mrs Pucey informed, clearing up his face. "You shouldn't feel sorry for her."_

_She saw something in his eyes, perhaps a sudden realisation? He chewed his lower lip nervously. "I don't," he said a little too quickly, before his scowl deepened. "I didn't like her any way," he told her stubbornly. "She was ugly," he continued to declare; it appeared he was trying to justify his actions. _

_Rosalie decided she best smother his guilt, she smiled warmly, finishing up healing him, before she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I understand. But you must remember sweetheart, that you can't lash out all the time," she lectured._

_He looked confused. "But you said she deserved to be punished…" he argued._

_"And she did, but in the future you'll need to be more discreet," she said placidly, stroking his cheek. "Do you understand?" she questioned smoothly._

_There was a pause, his frown lessoning as he hesitated. "Yeah," he answered."…I understand," he said more firmly._

_She felt a gush off warmth in her chest as she looked at her sweet boy, planting a kiss on his cheek, giving him a motherly smile. "You're such a clever boy," she praised, perhaps there was hope for her boy yet…_

Rosalie's mind returned to the present, the nail filer discarded as she played with her engagement ring; she considered selling it when her six months of mourning was up.

The night Adrian had set fire to that whore had been a night of realisation for Rosalie. Her son was strong and not at all clingy as she had originally judged him, it was a part of the reason she left him with his father when she started travelling regularly, Adrian had a backbone and was fiercely stubborn, and he could stand his own ground.

He just needed guidance every now and then, especially in romance, he seemed to be under the delusion that lust and love were the same thing, something his father had been a victim off. But there was still time to fix it, she hoped he'd actually take her advice.

He could be so annoyingly prideful.

* * *

><p>Narcissa found her husband in his study, himself bent over a large scroll. "You weren't at dinner," she spoke evenly, drawing in his attention as he looked up.<p>

"I was preoccupied," he replied mildly, tidying up the scroll. "I'll have the elves make me something for later," Lucius said, Narcissa gave a dismissive hum. "How did your lunch with Mrs Pucey go?" he questioned, moving towards her.

"It was informative," she divulged, hiding a grimace, she still wasn't quite sure what to make of the woman. Mrs Pucey seemed a little too interested in Lyrisadora, though that wasn't too strange, it wasn't unheard of for mother-in-laws to treat their daughter-in-laws like they were blood related. But Narcissa wouldn't know the feeling. Mrs Pucey may be seeking a surrogate daughter, which Narcissa didn't mind too much, she understood that Lyrisadora was marrying into a new family.

But she didn't like the idea of Lyrisadora replacing her with Mrs Pucey. "So was there anything to worry about?" Lucius asked.

Narcissa looked back at him. "She seems a little too interested in Lyrisadora," she told him. "She wants to get closer to her," she said.

"And?" Lucius questioned, clearly not understanding how serious the situation was, her eyes narrowed.

"What if Lyrisadora sees her more of a mother figure than me?" Narcissa challenged.

Her husband sighed in exasperation. "Cissy, don't be ridiculous, you aren't replaceable," he tried to reassure, but only ended dup infuriating her more. "Lyrisadora will come around eventually-"

"Oh Lucius shut up," she snapped, moving away from him, he looked at her in surprise. "She's been growing distant for years! This isn't some phase or adolescent rebellion," she said sharply, glaring at him accusingly, wondering if he had always been this blind to their daughter's feelings. "Our daughter doesn't want anything to do with us and I'm the only one who seems to care," she snapped.

Anger flashed in her husband's eyes. "And you think I don't? You think just because I'm not ranting and raving that I don't worry about her?" he more or less snarled.

"Well it would be nice to get some emotion out of you," she argued, her gaze condescending. "You're like a brick wall, you can't even tell your children you love them!" she threw in the insult, wanting it to hurt, wanting to see something of a reaction.

The only thing she received was a heated gaze, a snarl of the lip and a tense posture. "I did the best I could do," he protested cuttingly. "I tried to be a good father, I even acknowledge my mistakes, which is more than you can ever say."

How dare he! "You think I was bad mother?" she challenged. "Who do you think read them stories and comforted them when you lost your temper?" Narcissa questioned coldly. "I told them I loved them and that I was proud of them," she continued to argue.

"And do you think that was enough?" Lucius queried icily. "Do you think fake promises and shallow praise was enough to make them happy?" he mocked.

She felt something cold in her chest, she backed away from him. He didn't know what he was talking about, she had tried her best to be a good mother, what else had she meant to have done? "At least they didn't fear me," she tried to protest.

"Did you ever try and understand her though?" he countered. "I may have been harsh, but at least I paid her attention and listened to her," Lucius reasoned, his gaze softening when he looked away. "Did you ever take the time to find out what she wanted?"

Narcissa tried to force her hands from shaking, his argument feeling like a knife in her gut, because as much as she hated to admit it, he had a point and he was right, perhaps he wasn't the only one to blame.

* * *

><p>Adrian examined his mother's letter;<p>

_Dear Adrian,_

_Don't worry about Elizabeth, I'll keep that under control, but Lucretia's situation could be a problem, people will begin to notice something is wrong. I do wish you had been more careful, surely you understand that you shouldn't perform a spell unless you know how to use it properly? I need you to keep me update don her health, I might even be able to fix her mind before she turns into a vegetable. _

_But enough of that, you mentioned Lyrisadora was still distant? Don't push her or become too possessive, it'll only drive her away. You need to make her come to you, remember what I told you? She hates rejection; make sure you're the only one she can turn to. You've already got rid of one of her close friends, start isolating her and then keep your distance, she'll be so alone she'll have nowhere else to turn._

_Keep me informed of the situation. Also, I'd just like to point out that your letter writing skills are abysmal, please tell me I didn't waste my money on all those tutors for that sorry excuse of the English language? I suggest you improve._

_Yours sincerely _

_Mother _

Adrian's eyes narrowed, his letter writing skills weren't abysmal, he'd show her abysmal when he wrote back. He folded the letter up and placed it in his trunk .

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora sat on her bed, opening up the letter from Mrs Pucey, Sapphira was snuggled up on her lap;<p>

_Dear Lyrisadora,_

_I'd just like to say that you have wonderful penmanship; I wonder if you could teach my son a thing or two? His letter writing skills are somewhat lacking._

_I hope you will forgive my son's behaviour, I did warn you he could be temperamental. My suggestion would be to not argue with him too much, I'm afraid he has become a little too thin skinned upon recently. _

_I must warn you though, you must be careful, I have seen this type of behaviour before, when he was younger, after the Bulgaria incident, he had nightmares. And you mustn't tell him I told you this, he hates weakness and he would not like your pity. Over that summer he became more reclusive and though I'm not entirely sure, he may have tried to hurt himself, I did find razors in his room. _

_Keep an eye on him for me, I worry for him._

_Yours Sincerely _

_Mrs Pucey _

Lyrisadora's hand shook a little, as she swallowed a lump in her throat, she placed the letter down. Adrian had subtly implied that he had nightmares of the Bulgarian incident, but she hadn't dug at it, she hadn't wanted to. "I can fix this," she muttered to herself, she had to fix this.

She tried not to think of Adrian as she glanced at the note of Information David had given her, she still had work to do.

* * *

><p>Umbridge finished changing into her night clothes, her tarnished clothes now in the bin. Her best suit too.<p>

She loathed those twins.

She perked up when she received a letter, she opened it, eyeing it curiously. It appeared Rosalie Pucey had written to her, how interesting, the woman only really contacted her if she wanted something, which Umbridge understood seeing how she more or less did the same.

_Dear Dolores,_

_I know this may seem out of the blue, but I'm having a little trouble with my daughter in law, I wish to call a favour from you….._

* * *

><p><em>27th April 1996<em>

"Are you sure?" David questioned, when Lyrisadora told him he had most likely been obliviated.

"Positive," Lyrisadora said, briefly glancing around the library aisle. "Though I'm not sure why. Do you have any ideas?" she asked on whim.

David shrugged. "I can't really think of anyone , I don't have any enemies," he replied.

"What about Miles, he used to bully you," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but he hasn't done that in ages and why would he obliviate me? For the note?That information looks useless," he argued.

He had a point, the information did appear more or less useless, she had passed it on to Orsan anyway, hoping to get a different view to it, but she hadn't received a reply yet. "I don't know," she confessed, not wanting to admit her own limitations.

"Can't you bring the memory back?" David proposed cautiously.

"Yes, but it would be difficult, I've never done it before and I could seriously damage your mind," she told him, though she had to admit she wasn't half tempted to try.

"Oh…how bad?" he asked hesitantly.

"Severe brain damage and nerve damage; you could end up in a wheelchair or go insane, it's 50/50m," she told him bluntly.

"I think I can live with being obliviated," David said hastily, backing away.

"I figured," she sighed. She still had to find out information from Lavender Brown, she just needed the right moment.

* * *

><p><em>28th April 1996<em>

Lucretia felt confused, and she wasn't sure why, the last couple of days had been weird and she didn't know why. She felt so tired lately and the headaches were getting worse. But everything was fine, everything was supposed to be fine, so why did she get the feeling something was wrong?

Lucretia sat next to Lyrisadora and Adrian, ignoring the icy glares Cassondria occasionally shot her from nearby. Lucretia hadn't really wanted to sit near the honey blonde, but Lyrisadora was the only one who she could call a friend and Lyrisadora always sat with Adrian and Adrian always sat with his friends. So she didn't have much say in anything.

She poked at her lunch, she wondered why Elizabeth hadn't written yet, then again, maybe she was incapable right now, and they had said she'd need a lot of rest. Lucretia supposed she just had to patient.

"Are you alright Warrington?" Cordula questioned, making Lucretia look at Warrington. She had noticed the boy looked more tired these days.

"Yeah, peachy," Warrington retorted grumpily, stabbing at his pork, dark shadows under his eyes.

Miles rolled his eyes. "He's just grumpy because he's been having bad dreams," he said, before glancing at Warrington. "You could just drink some dreamless sleep potion."

"It isn't that bad," Warrington snapped testily, Lucretia couldn't help but disagree.

Harper rolled his eyes, his plate piled unusually high, Lucretia frowned, he didn't usually eat that much. "Don't get snappy, try not eating late at night," he said, stuffing a heaped spoonful of mash in his mouth.

Montague looked at him questionably. "How does eating late give you nightmares?" he questioned.

"I thought it was just cheese you weren't meant to eat at night?" Miles inquired.

"Same thing," Harper mumbled through a full mouth.

Lucretia shook her head dismissively, they were such weirdoes, her hand tightened around her fork when she felt another headache coming on. "Lucretia, are you okay?" she heard Lyrisadora ask.

"Just headache, it's fine," Lucretia responded automatically, before she paused, she didn't feel fine, so how could everything be alright? Lucretia frowned as her head began to hurt more. "I need some air," she mumbled, before rushing off.

All the while muttering under her breath that it was all fine, even though she wasn't quite sure why, she found herself near the Ravenclaw tower, not remembering how she got there but also not caring. Her head felt so weird, like it was full of cotton buds.

Sometimes she felt angry and she didn't know why, or she'd look at Adrian and just tense, yet she'd still hang out with him and tell him everything was fine.

"Loo," a voice called, it sounded familiar but she couldn't quite pinpoint it. "Lucretia," the voice called louder, before a hand was on her shoulder.

Lucretia whipped around in surprise, relaxing when she saw it was Patricia, why hadn't she recognised her voice? "Hi," she replied uncomfortably, looking around the hall, remembering she was near Ravenclaw Tower.

"Lucretia," Patricia spoke again, drawing in her girlfriend's attention. "Are you okay?" she questioned, looking at her with concern.

"I'm fine," Lucretia said mildly, starting to become sick of the question, if she said she was fine then she was fine damn it.

"I heard about Elizabeth," Patricia said. "…The twins couldn't have hurt her, they wouldn't do that," she said hastily.

Lucretia wasn't sure how to think of the situation, she assumed she was meant to be accepting of the situation as everything was fine. "Okay," she said.

Patricia frowned at her."Hey, are you sure you're alright?" she asked, moving in closer, placing a hand on the other girl's cheek. "Come on, talk to me," she urged.

Lucretia swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat, her headache fading. "I'm just stressed from revision, we have an exam tomorrow and I'm just overworked right now," she reasoned. "Besides, if something was wrong I'd tell you," she told Patricia firmly.

Patricia looked at her for a moment, before giving her a sheepish smile. "You're right, sorry for being a mother hen," she apologised jokingly.

"I find it cute," Lucretia retorted amusingly, pecking her on the cheek. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sneak out after curfew?" Patricia suggested. "We can hide in the toilets," she suggested coyly.

"I look forward to it," Lucretia said, giving her a quick kiss. Everything would work out, she told herself.

She tried to ignore the next headache.

* * *

><p><em>29th April 1996<em>

Professor Snape watched Lyrisadora's progress with the Patronus, it appeared she had been practicing, he expected her to produce a full body Patronus soon, it appeared she had her happy memory. "You're progressing well," he praised, deciding she deserved it, he received a surprised look, which was expected seeing how he rarely offered much praise.

"Thanks, sir," Lyrisadora replied, lowering her wand as the light faded. "Are we done for the day?" she asked.

They'd only been practicing for an hour. "Off to meet someone?" he inquired, a hint of distain in his tone, he hoped it wasn't that Pucey boy again, he was becoming bothersome.

"Just revision for my second exam, I do want to pass after all," she stated in a matter of fact tone.

Well she did have a point, he couldn't have seven years of knowledge wasted. "I'll see you tomorrow, I trust you'll be able to finish counting those potions viles by next week?"

She gave him an annoyed look. "Yes. Honestly, I don't know how you'll cope without me," she sighed, gathering up her things.

"Simple, I'll find someone with less cheek and more discipline," he quipped back, he stopped when he saw her pause, his eyes narrowed, he saw a look flash across her face.

But then she just rolled her eyes and brushed him off. "Of course you will," she retorted dryly. "I predict they'll be gone before the week is up," she remarked nonchalantly, flinging her bag over shoulder as she walked out.

He let out a long suffering sigh, she most likely was correct.

Lyrisadora tried to bury her worry, she shouldn't pay Snape any mind, as he was probably just joking in his own special way. She wasn't replaceable…well she sort of was…but only as the Potions master's assistant.

Adrian had said it like a joke, saying the Professor would just itching to get a new assistant since she mouthed off too many times. She hadn't found it funny, but she hadn't argued with him about it, it didn't seem worth much to argue over, plus he'd only think she was being insecure and defensive.

She quickened her pace towards the courtyard where Adrian had promised to meet her, she hadn't wanted the Professor to dish out another lecture to her, it would just result in another argument and she had been trying not to argue as much, it just seemed to cause unnecessary tension.

She waited by the arch way, looking around for him, she glanced up at the large clock that hung on the castle walls, she was right on time and Adrian wasn't normally late. So she waited five more minutes.

Five minutes soon turned into ten minutes, then fifteen. She had to leave when she realised she'd be late for class. She rushed over to charms class, finding him already sat down in the room, she clenched her fists, how dare he ditch her like that. "Where were you?" she snapped, marching over to him.

He frowned at her, before his eyes widened. "Oh shit, I completely forgot," he groaned, looking at her apologetically. "I got stuck doing extra revision for the test tomorrow," he told her, sounding sincere. "You understand how it is."

Lyrisadora felt her anger deflate, she supposed she understood how he could forget, besides this was probably just a one off. "Of course," she replied, before she shot him a glare and lightly punched his shoulder. "But don't stand me up again, it was embarrassing," she warned, taking a seat down next to him.

"Cross my heart," Adrian said casually, his eyes wondering over to a very upset looking Cassondria. "What's wrong with you?" he questioned.

"Miles is sick," Cassondria answered, taking a seat in the row in front of them. "I've had to send him to hospital wing," she sighed, wrinkling her nose in distain.

Lyrisadora kept her face unreadable as she ticked Miles off her list, now there was only Montague left, she'd already cursed Milicent Bulstrode this morning, the girl's face now looked like she had licked a donkey's ass. She heard Adrian sigh. "Did he get food poisoning or something?" Adrian asked testily.

"I don't know, I left when he started upchucking, the smell was nasty," Cassondria drawled, before she turned away.

Adrian glanced at Lyrisadora. "I suppose I'll have to go visit the idiot," he sighed.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Lyrisadora reassured, turning to the front when Professor Flitwick bounced in, the rest of the students filing in. The lesson was basically a recap, seeing how the exam was split into two parts, the first half being tomorrow afternoon, Lyrisadora made notes as a few students practiced charming objects and using spells.

Lyrisadora glanced at Lucretia who had taken a seat near Montague, her brow creased a little when she saw Lucretia struggling to cast a spell. "Adrian," she said quietly, peering at him.

"What?" he asked, lowering his wand.

"I think we should take Lucretia to the hospital wing," Lyrisadora stated. "Something is definitely off about her."

He let out a long suffering sigh. "Don't you think you're overreacting?" he said. "If something was wrong, she'd tell you," he reassured.

Lyrisadora was starting to become annoyed by his uncaring attitude. "Well maybe she feels she can't, not everyone asks for help," she argued, trying o keep her voice low, so the Professor wouldn't hear. "Now can you stop being a dick," she hissed.

He looked at her impatiently. "Alright then, fine we'll take her to the hospital wing," he agreed. "And can you cut down on the swearing, you sound like an uncultured swine," he said evenly.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but bit down on her tongue, she supposed she had been swearing a lot, but he had never had a problem with it before….or maybe he had, it was probably another thing she just hadn't picked up on. "I'm sorry," she apologised reluctantly, turning back to her work, telling herself fit was best for everyone if she just didn't argue.

She tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling in her stomach.

* * *

><p>Inside Adrian was panicking, if Madame Pomfrey peered into Lucretia's mind, then she'd know something was wrong. Adrian told Lyrisadora he had work to do after class, he was silently pleased when her brow creased slightly. It seemed his mother gave good advice after all, as long as he dangled his Lyrisadora's attention just enough, she'd want more and more of him. And she had been affected when he purposely stood her up over something so minor and had accepted his excuse so easy enough.<p>

But he'd celebrate that triumph later, Madame Pomfrey was a healer skilled in many fields, but as a healer for the school she needed to know a large variety, which meant she was not a specialist in a specific healing field. It was possible for her to be tricked with the mind arts, if Adrian played his cards right.

Lucretia's mind was damaged, but what if he could hide the damage, a sort of glamour charm for the mind, he headed towards the library, the spell would most likely be complicated, but he had to try. He had study period while Lyrisadora had Arithmancy.

One hour, he could do that; he had an initiative after all. But Pomfrey could still insist Lucretia leave the school for more advanced medical attention. He'd need someone in power to help him keep the girl at Hogwarts.

Adrian paused as he wondered through the library. There was one woman corrupt enough to do anything to save her own skin.

It was a risky move, but when one made a deal with the devil risk was always a bold element, however in his case the devil wore pink.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy halloween! This was quick edit, so forgive any typos. <strong>

**And when I said queen of france, I meant wizarding france, sorry for the mix up. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed this one!**


	83. Devil's advocate

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: Prince Charming, Into the woods **

* * *

><p><strong>"I was raised to be charming, not sincere."<strong>

**Chapter: Devil's advocate****  
><strong>

* * *

><p>The restriction section of the library was where Adrian found what he wanted, it was an illusion spell for the mind; <em>Ludere<em>.

Adrian had studied the text extensively, trying to absorb as much as possible, he spent ten minutes practicing the wand motion and another ten on the pronunciation. When he finally looked at the time, he realised he only had twenty minutes left to pull this one off. He made his way over to the DADA classroom.

The swamp was an infuriating inconvenience, which delayed him by five minutes as he waited for Filch to bring him across by boat. When he arrived at the office of the new Headmistress, he took a deep breath, the gears in his mind ticking away, if he played this, then he had to play it well. He knocked on the door.

"Come in," chimed the sugary voice from inside the room.

Adrian opened the door, an anxious look fixed on his face when he walked in. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something?" he apologised, making sure his expression wasn't too nervous.

"Not at all," Umbridge replied pleasantly, placing her pen down. "My door is always open to students in need," she said, summoning a cup of tea, pushing some opened letters into a draw.

Adrian obliged and sat. "Thank you, it's a…distressing matter that has been biting at me for a while," he began.

She tilted her head to the side curiously. "Go on," she urged.

"It concerns a member of the Inquisitorial Squad and Lucretia Veregreen," he said, noticing the way her head perked up in alertness. "I was doing my prefect patrol when I saw a confrontation between Lucretia and one of the Inquisitorial squad members…it didn't end well, she got knocked out," Adrian told her, he saw Umbridge turn a little more sickly. "I wasn't sure whether to speak up or not….the Veregreens wouldn't be happy if they thought someone had hurt their daughter…and I didn't want to be a rat," he continued.

She gave him a forced smile. "Of course. But you should have said something to me earlier," she said, her tone taking on a more harder edge.

He swallowed, fixing her a worried frown. "I know…..I just didn't want to be a rat and Lucretia had egged the guy on, I didn't want it to be biased, the Veregreens are not very forgiving people," he said, making his tone sound apologetic, adding a bit of guilt in.

"This incident would spark some inconveniences," Umbridge divulged tightly.

"Lyra is insisting Lucretia go see Madame Pomfrey, which is best seeing how we should make sure Lucretia's okay," Adrian informed. "But Pomfrey is known to be a bit of a worry warts, she frets over Potter over a simple paper cut," he continued. "…I just don't want things to get out of hand."

His words seemed to have stricken a chord as Umbridge straightened up more in her seat. "I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will find nothing wrong," she reassured sweetly. "I will have words with the Inquisitorial squad, it appears they've become a little too eager upon recently," she added.

"I understand if you feel the need to tell them what I said, some of the other Slytherins would be concerned to find out Lucretia had been injured, especially so soon after Elizabeth," he said apprehensively.

A flash of anxiousness appeared in her eyes, before she buried it with a wide smile. "I think it's best if we keep this between us, we wouldn't want to cause a misunderstanding," she laughed.

Adrian returned her smile. "You're right Professor, I don't want to cause any conflict," he said. "Anyway, I best get going, Lyra will be wanting to take Lucretia to the hospital wing," he said, standing up.

Umbridge stood as well, giving him a plastered on kind smile. "I hope you keep me informed," she said pleasantly.

"I will," Adrian agreed before making his way out of the door.

"_Also,"_ chimed her voice again, stopping him in his tracks, he turned back to face her. "That fiancé of yours," Umbridge spoke. "It's come to my attention that she's come to blows with members of my Inquisitorial squad," she said, her face morphing into concern. "Perhaps you could be a good influence on her," she suggested nicely.

Adrian took the hint and strained his smile. "Of course, Professor," he replied pleasantly, giving her a curt nod before disappearing out of the door.

He let his smile drop when the door closed behind him, he checked his watch, Lyra said they would snatch Lucretia up after the girl's Ghoul studies. He hurried towards the classroom, he had five minutes left to place the spell on Lucretia. He couldn't very whip his wand out and blast the spell at her…but he might be able to convince her let him have a look at her mind, he could warn her about Lyrisadora's intentions. If she let him get close to her head, then he could place the illusion spell on. However if she refused then things could become difficult.

He journeyed from the third floor towards the second floor, holding back the urge to run, as he approached the classroom, he saw around seven or so students exit the Ghoul studies classroom. When he saw Lucretia emerge from the classroom he waved at her, smiling disarmingly. Lucretia stopped and looked at him in confusion. "Uh…hi Adrian," she greeted unsurely as he neared her.

"Lyra needs to talk to you," he told her plainly. "Her class should be finished already."

"What does she want to talk to me about?" Lucretia questioned, cautiously walking alongside him.

"She's just concerned about you," Adrian said, placing his hands in his pockets, gripping his wand. His eyes slid towards her, noting how nervous she looked. "Are you still mad at me?" he asked lightly, changing the subject.

Lucretia looked at him in confusion. "Why would I be mad at you?" she questioned.

"For blackmailing you," he reminded her, analysing her reaction.

Lucretia frowned and looked like she didn't know what he was talking about, but that only lasted a few seconds, as remembrance seemed to suddenly dawn. She shifted uncomfortably, opening her mouth to speak. "Um, y-no-well I-no-I mean…." She stammered, looking very distressed. "I shouldn't be," she said, backing away from him.

He smiled reassuringly. "Relax, everything's fine between us, remember?" he said soothingly.

She hesitated. "Yeah, I know," she said, seemingly forcing her voice to be more confident. Adrian almost sighed, poor thing.

"You've been getting headaches lately haven't you?" he queried.

"Yes," she answered warily. "But eve-"

"Everything is fine, I know, they're nothing to worry about," Adrian interjected, waving a dismissive hand, burying an unpleasant feeling that had risen up in his stomach.

Something of relief washed over Lucretia's face. "That's what I've been trying to tell people," she said.

"They're probably just worried," he reasoned, trying to wrap this up, he paused for a second as if thinking, before his face lit up as if he had just gotten an idea. "How about I have quick look, just to make sure everything is fine?" he suggested.

"I'm not sure-"

"Oh come on, I know a little bit of the mind arts, think of it as a quick check up, I promise to be careful," he tried to reassure her.

She took a step back. "But-"

Adrian buried his frustration and gave her a comforting smile. "Don't you want to make sure everything is fine?"

Lucretia stopped, her Adam's apple bobbing. "Of course…" Her protest dying in her throat. "Okay," she caved, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Stand still," he instructed, pulling out his wand, pointing it at her face, noticing the way she gave an instinctive flinch. "_Ludere_," he uttered.

"I haven't heard of that spell before…" Lucretia murmured dizzily.

"It's an old one," he commented plainly, his inside recoiled a little when he saw how damaged Lucretia's mind had become, it was like all the little threads were coming undone one by one. He quickly hid the damage. "Hmm," Adrian hummed, moving away from Lucretia, executing the next stage of the manipulation.

"What's wrong, is everything alright?" she questioned worriedly.

"It seems fine, I don't know why Lyra was so insistent you go to the hospital," he mused. Lucretia frowned. He looked at her curiously. "She probably has a good reason for being so insistent," he reasoned. "Come on then," he beckoned, already seeing the seed of doubt being planted.

* * *

><p>Lucretia hid her uneasiness when she and Adrian met up with Lyrisadora. "You lot took your time," Lyrisadora said.<p>

Lucretia swallowed a lump in her throat, she opened her mouth to speak, but Adrian was quicker on the trigger. "I just told her why you wanted to see her," Adrian explained.

"Oh," Lyrisadora said, giving Lucretia a sheepish smile. "Sorry if this seems like a forced intervention," she apologised. "But I think it's best if we get Madame Pomfrey to have a quick look at you," she reasoned, placing a supposed reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Lucretia couldn't help but feel a little patronised, but if a quick visit would stop them from badgering her, then she supposed she might as well get it over with, and Adrian had agreed with her that everything was fine. "Alright," Lucretia agreed, going along with them as they made their way to the hospital wing.

When they entered the Hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey was handing Miles a bucket, the boy then promptly threw up into it. Adrian gave his best friend a look. "Holding up okay there mate?" he questioned amusingly.

Miles glared at him and groaned, before upchucking into the bucket. Madame Pomfrey sighed in exasperation before she hurried over to them. "What can I do for you three?" she questioned.

Lucretia sighed. "They're convinced something's wrong with me," she said nonchalantly.

Lyrisadora frowned at her. "You've been having headaches for a while now," she commented, before looking at the healer. "Can you check everything's alright in her head?"

Madame Pomfrey looked at Lucretia. "Do you mind if I have a check?" she questioned.

Lucretia rolled her eyes. "Just get it over with," she murmured, avoiding their gazes.

"Please sit on the bed," Madame Pomfrey instructed, pulling out her wand.

Lucretia obliged and moved towards the bed. "Will this take long?" she sighed.

"No, it'll only take a few minutes," Madame Pomfrey reassured, sitting down next to her. "Just hold still and keep your eyes on me," she instructed gently, clasping Lucretia's chin.

Lucretia kept her eyes trained on the older woman, her head feeling weird, not as weird as when Adrian had taken a look, but there was a sort of gentle pushing in her head. Madame Pomfrey frowned. "See anything wrong?" Lucretia questioned.

"…No, it looks fine," Madame Pomfrey replied uncertainly, releasing Lucretia's chin. "But, there isn't much activity going on," she observed, standing up.

Lyrisadora looked at the healer curiously. "What do you mean?"

Madame Pomfrey appeared to try and choose her words carefully. "When you look inside someone's mind, there's a certain activity, it's constantly changing," she explained, she glanced at Lucretia. "Everything seems to be functioning right, but…it seems still, not lively as it should," she told her.

"But it's all fine though?" Lucretia asked, her posture tensing.

"I believe it is, but I think it best if you went to see a professional mind healer," Madame Pomfrey advised.

"We'll have to get permission from Umbridge," Adrian said casually, before he glanced at the healer. "But it isn't dire though?"

"It doesn't seem so," Madame Pomfrey answered.

Adrian shot Lyrisadora a look. "See," he said pointedly.

Lyrisadora's frown didn't let up. "We should get her to a mind healer, just to be safe," she argued, looking at Lucretia.

Lucretia almost sighed in frustration, they were making a fuss over nothing, and if Madame Pomfrey thought everything was alright…then it should be. Lucretia swallowed a bad taste in her mouth, she had to be fine. She felt a stab of fear, she couldn't start worrying over nothing, she'd just make things worse and get scared over nothing. "Lyra, just leave it," Lucretia said firmly, moving away from them.

"Lucretia, I just want to make sure you're okay," Lyrisadora insisted, looking at her pointedly, Lucretia averted her gaze. "I think the headaches are something to be taken seriously."

"It's just stress," Lucretia argued, stepping back. "I'll just take a few potions and I'll be fine," she protested, trying to convince herself. "Can I go now?" she questioned, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

Lyrisadora pursed her lips, before letting out a deep sigh. "Alright, fine," she said, massaging her temples.

Lucretia wished they'd lighten up. "I'll see you later then," she said, before walking away.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora watched Lucretia go; she'd need to keep an eye on her. She looked at Adrian. "We need to talk to Umbridge," she stated firmly.<p>

Adrian gave her an uncertain look. "Are you sure she'll listen?" he said.

"She better," Lyrisadora muttered. "Come on," she said swiftly, walking towards the door, Adrian followed, seemingly ignoring Mile's waves for attention.

"Remember not to lose your temper," Adrian reminded as they marched down the corridor.

Lyrisadora hid an annoyed look. "I'll be as calm as can be," she replied dryly.

Adrian made a doubtful sound. "I just want you to be careful," he said, stepping into the boat as the two crossed the swamp.

She glanced at him, looking at him curiously. "I will be, I've faced worse," she reassured him, casting filch a distrustful look, eager to get out of the boat when they made it to the other side.

They continued towards the DADA classroom."Ah, but have you faced an onslaught of pink," he teased, making her smile. "Because I think I'd go colour blind if she wore that pink tartan again," Adrian sighed.

She buried a laugh and nudged him playfully. "Shush," she said as they arrived at the classroom.

Students began to pile out, looking all too eager to leave, it was the fifth years, Lyrisadora avoided Draco's gaze when he caught sight of her, hastily entering the classroom when the last of the students were gone.

Umbridge was in the middle of collecting textbooks, her wand waving as the books piled up. Umbridge looked at her with interest, Lyrisadora smiled evenly. "Professor, there is a matter I need to bring to your attention," she told her.

Umbridge smiled sweetly. "Which would be?" she questioned.

So Lyrisadora explained the situation and when she had finished, Umbridge remained silent for a second or so. "I see," Umbridge said, with an air of disinterest. "If Madame Pomfrey says the girl is fine, then I see no reason to worry," she said innocently.

"Madame Pomfrey is not a specialist, she may be wrong," Lyrisadora argued stiffly, eyeing the Professor guardedly. "And I think the Veregreen family would appreciate the school's concern for their daughter."

Umbridge looked uncertain, before her face morphed back into that confident sickening smile. "And I assure you, Lucretia will be well taken care of, but Miss Malfoy I think you're being a tad irrational," she said, her words laced with fake concern.

Lyrisadora fought to keep a snarl from appearing. "Something is wrong with Lucretia, and no one seems concerned," she more or less snapped.

Umbridge's smile slipped off, her gaze cold. "Why do you insist on causing trouble Miss Malfoy?" she asked regrettably, taking a step closer to her. "Does loyalty mean nothing to you?" she cooed.

Lyrisadora met her cold glare challengingly, a smile playing on her lips. "My loyalty is earned, not given," she replied evenly.

"Lyra is just concerned for Lucretia," Adrian intervened, stepping alongside Lyrisadora. "We just want to make sure she's alright," he tried to smooth things over.

Umbridge looked at Adrian for a moment before back at Lyrisadora, sweet smile slipping back into place. "I'll contact the Veregreens, if they insist their daughter be looked at then I'll comply," Umbridge said. "But until then, Lucretia will stay in school, besides we don't want her missing her exams," she added. Lyrisadora looked at the Headmistress coldly. Umbridge tilted her head to the side. "Do you have a problem with my decision?" Umbridge stepped closer towards her.

Lyrisadora swallowed, holding back an onslaught of insults, she felt Adrian's hand brush against hers, she closed her eyes and pursed her lips, before letting out a deep breath and smiling. "No, of course not," she replied evenly. "We should be going," she said pointedly, stepping back towards the door.

"Have a nice day dears," Umbridge chimed.

Lyrisadora turned away and briskly walked out of the door, Adrian faltering to catch up with her. Her breathing became steady when she was out of the stuffy room and into the corridors. She clenched her fists in anger, feeling useless. Adrian took her hand, she glanced at him, as he looked at her with concern. "Don't go blowing something up," he chided gently. Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "An outburst is what she wants," he told her.

Lyrisadora sighed. "I know…I could see it in her sick little eyes," she spat bitterly, tugging her hand from his grip as she folded her arms. "What am I supposed to do now?" she questioned, turning to him.

Adrian gave her an exasperated look. "Listen, Madam Pomfrey gave the all clear," he began, Lyrisadora opened her mouth to protest. "Yes, I know she recommended Lucretia see a specialist, but what if that was just paranoia, she worries, a lot," he argued.

For second she was hesitant to argue back, but Lucretia had seemed off and what if there was something seriously wrong with her? "But she worries for good reason," Lyrisadora protested. "Maybe I am overreacting, but Lucretia has been acting odd lately, she's having trouble casting spells," she tried to argue, Adrian gave her a skeptic look, she tried to word her argument better. "She's been more forgetful and has been having headaches, that's a good indicator something is wrong-"

"Lyra."

"-I just want to be sure," she continued, looking at him pleadingly, ignoring the way his posture had become tenser. "What if we try to sneak-"

"Just let it go!" Adrian snapped angrily, losing his composer, catching her by surprise, she watched him take a deep breath, calming down. "I'm Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped," he apologised placidly, looking at her apologetically. Lyrisadora eyed him suspiciously, why had he lost his temper like that? He ran a hand through his hair, as if struggling to continue. "I'll catch you later," he said abruptly, giving her a fleeting glance before leaving.

Lyrisadora frowned in confusion. "Wait," she called, hurrying after him. "Adrian what's wrong?" she shouted down the hall, ignoring the alarmed glances from the other students. He disappeared down a staircase, she tried to catch up, but then the staircase went and changed as he got off. "Damn it," she growled. She really did hate her luck sometimes.

She got off on the first floor, trying to hide her frown, his mother had warned her not to argue and she tried, but she couldn't just keep silent about her concerns for Lucretia. She sighed, maybe she was looking too deep into this, maybe she was wrong and Lucretia's headaches were only brought on by stress.

At least that would the easier thing to do, to just ignore it like everyone else seemed to be doing.

She stopped, distracted from her thoughts when she saw Lavender Brown walk by, the gears in her mind started ticking. "Hey Brown," Lyrisadora called, walking towards her.

Lavender looked at her in surprise. "Uh…hello," she replied awkwardly, which was perfectly justified seeing how the two had barely spoken two words to each other before now.

"Apparently you're the one spreading rumours about the Willows death," Lyrisadora stated coldly.

"No I haven't!" Lavender protested, looking aghast. "Where did you hear that from?"

"The portraits talk," Lyrisadora lied smoothly, shrugging. "My cousin knew the Willows family, so I don't appreciate the lies you've been spreading."

Lavender looked outraged. "I haven't been spreading any lies," she snapped.

Lyrisadora raised an eyebrow. "Get over yourself, I know you were the one who spread that rumour about Mr Willows, about him not being a _saint_," she pushed, hoping the girl would spill the beans already.

Lavender grew pale. "Well…I mean I was just-Anyone would think the same, I mean meeting a mysterious woman at odd hours of the evening, anyone would assume," she tried to reason.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Sounds more like judging, for all you know they were related," she scoffed.

Lavender's eyes narrowed. "No they weren't, the woman had an American accent and looked nothing like him," she protested.

Lyrisadora made a doubtful sound. "How do you even know they were a thing? What if it was just a one off meeting?"

Lavender rolled her eyes. "They met up more than three or five times, my mother saw them," she stated.

"Why would your mother stalk them?" Lyrisadora baited.

Lavender's eyes were fierce. "My mother isn't a stalker, they met up at the hotel she works at, and she knew him because her friend's cousin was friends with his wife," she stated in a matter of fact tone. "So I'm not a liar," she said strongly.

Lyrisadora smiled. "No, just a gossip," she replied coyly, before making her leave, finding out what she wanted to know.

Lavender watched her go, a confused frown forming on her face, no doubt wondering what had just happened.

* * *

><p>Astoria mailed a letter to her mother at the Owlery, a couple or birds flew in, dropping late letters into a basket where they would wait to be collected.<p>

Astoria's eyes perked up when she saw a letter dropped on the dirty straw lined floor, missing the basket, she wondered over to pick it up, wrinkling her nose in distain when she had to get the owl droppings off it.

She scanned the front and frowned, the letter was addressed;

_To L_

_Slytherin House, _

_Hogwarts_

Who addressed a letter and not put the person's full name? Maybe it was some sort of espionage! Astoria started to get excited, before her frown returned, she supposed the right thing to do would be to leave the letter where it was….but that was boring, so she decided she'd find who the letter belonged to and give it to them, maybe try and find out why they were getting mysterious letters.

The person was in Slytherin house, so it couldn't be that hard, she just needed to check everyone who had the first letter 'L' in their name. It'd be easy. She stuffed the letter in her robe pocket, next to her wand.

She did a quick look around before she quickly left the Owlery, checking her watch for the time, she could probably fit in a quick smoke.

* * *

><p>Adrian sat behind one of the green houses, that could have gone better, he groaned, how was he supposed to explain his outburst? He had managed to remain composed when Lyrisadora had started really pushing that Lucretia leave the school to see a specialist, even managing not to snap at her when she started challenging Umbridge, especially seeing how it would make him look like he didn't have a s much control over her as Umbridge believed. Umbridge scratched his back and he scratched hers. He tried not to visualise the unpleasant image. As long as he kept Lyrisadora out of trouble, then he'd stay in the colour blind woman's good favour.<p>

But then Lyrisadora had started to argue, she wasn't going to give this up, which made him feel like he was a loss on what to do, she had seemed so complying the last few days, but it appeared she still was as argumentative as ever. He sighed. Merlin she could be a pain in his ass.

"What's wrong with you?" a curious voice questioned, jolting his attention.

Urk, it was that Greengrass girl, the more annoying one. "Oh god, not you," he moaned, rolling his eyes as Astoria frowned, the last thing he needed was an annoying kid badgering him.

"There's no need to be rude," she huffed, before pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

Adrian looked at her in surprise. "Why the hell do you have those?" he questioned.

Astoria used her teeth to pull a cigarette out, as her other hand fumbled with her wand. She rolled her eyes, placing the pack back in her robe pocket. "Because this is the only place I can come to have a smoke," she said, as if it were obvious, using her wand to light up the nicotine stick.

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you thirteen?"

"Yeah….your point?" Astoria questioned, before taking a long drag. "If you don't like it then leave."

"You're aware I'm a prefect right?"

"I did notice the badge," she replied lightly, blowing out another puff.

"I could give you a detention and confiscate that pack," he said leisurely, wondering if she;d get the hint and scram.

"I'm well aware," the third year commented, shrugging, before glancing at him. "Or I could just give you a smoke and we call it quits," she added, pulling out the pack.

He paused and mulled her offer over."Are they low tar?" he questioned.

"No," she replied, handing him one.

He shrugged, it would have to do, he pulled out his wand and lit one up. "So why are you out here?" Astoria questioned, a confused frown forming on her face as she looked around. "You look like a sad rhino," she added, taking another drag.

Adrian coughed, spitting on the ground. "I came for the air," he said sarcastically.

Astoria arched an eyebrow. "How's that working out for you?"

"Oh it's fantastic," he replied dryly, taking a puff.

"Hmm, did you and Lyra have a fight?" Astoria asked, looking at him curiously. "Because when you two fight, you both make moody faces and disappear for a couple of hours," she observed.

He looked at her as if she were insane. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" he questioned, quickly growing irritated with her once more.

"No, not really," she sighed. "I do have an essay to do though…I should probably do that later….but anyway." She looked back at him. "Is Lyra mad at you?"

Adrian jaw became tenser as his irritation grew. "No," he deigned to answer her.

Astoria didn't look convinced. "Liar," she said plainly. "Why don't you go apologize?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I have nothing to apologize for," he told her coldly. "I just snapped at her, that was it," he let slip. He inwardly cursed himself. "Why don't you mind your own business," he growled, his temper mounting, he fizzed the cigarette out in the dirt.

Astoria finished off her cigarette, backing away slightly. "I'm just curious, it isn't my fault you can't control your temper," she stated, looking at him defiantly. "I sure wouldn't blame Lyra if she-"

Adrian got to his feet and towered over her, he glared at her icily. "I dare you to finish that sentence," he warned.

Astoria glared up at him fiercely. "….She went and left you! Wouldn't even blame her if she ran off with a Mudblood just to get away from you," she finished.

Adrian's wand was out in a second. "That's it!" he exclaimed.

Astoria made a run for it, but he yanked her back by the arm, she glared at him. "You better let me go, or I'll tell people you touched me," she threatened.

What the actual fuck? "What?" he said, looking at her as if she were insane.

However she appeared very serious. "And people will believe me because you like sex and everyone thinks I'm as innocent as unicorn," she argued.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "I doubt it, besides I'll just hand you in for smoking on school grounds, that might discredit your story," he said pleasantly, reaching into her pocket to grab the pack of cigarettes, pulling out a letter in the process.

Astoria's eyes went as wide as galleons. "Give that back!" she yelled, trying to grab it.

Adrian lifted it out of her reach and frowned, scanning the address, noting the lack of a full name. "Who's this for?" Adrian questioned, his anger deflating.

Astoria bit down on her lip. "It's mine," she lied lamely.

"You're an awful liar," he said, looking at her questionably. "Do you know who this is for?"

She hesitated. "No…but I was going to find out and give it to them," she protested.

"Sure you were. Now get out of here," he ordered briskly, twirling his wand threateningly.

Astoria scowled and didn't move until he shot a stinging hex at her feet, making her scamper off like a frightened cat. Adrian looked at the envelope, noting a coffee cup stain on the crisp paper, he assumed 'To L' was Lyrisadora, if the sender didn't want the letter traced to her, then he supposed it made sense to refer to her as a codename.

And if it wasn't her, then he gained access to sensitive information. He placed the letter into his pocket as he made his way back towards the castle.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora stood in the Potions lab, trying to concentrate and produce a full body patronus while Snape observed, eyes narrowed critically. "Are you channelling it?" he questioned.<p>

Her brow creased. "In the midst of doing that," she chimed, her wand glowing.

Snape circled her. "You need to feel the power-"

"Surging through my veins and channel it out, I know that, sir," she interrupted testily, trying o focus.

She could feel the heat of his glare, but he remained silent, no doubt waiting for her to finish so he could chew her out later. She breathed in a deep breath and closed her eyes, gripping her wand firmly before she breathed out. "_Exspecto Patronium_!" she exclaimed, a burst of light emerging, brighter than before, taking her by surprise.

"Stay focused," Snape instructed sharply, as the light blinked.

Lyrisadora kept her wand steady, as the light grew, she felt a warm feeling in her chest as the light started to morph into a bird. She watched in fascination as her patronus morphed into a crow, the bird flew around. The power started to become easier to control, as she moved the crow around the room. " I did it!" she squealed, letting the crow fizzle out as she lowered the spell. She beamed at the Potions master. "Did you see what I did?" she queried excitedly, feeling giddy. "My patronus is a crow!"

Snape raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching upwards in amusement. "It was hard to miss," he responded tonelessly.

But Lyrisadora ignored the blatant sarcasm and grinned, feeling full of positive energy. "I'm so happy!" she exclaimed, before embracing the Potions Master.

Snape looked at her irritably. "That's most likely a backlash from the spell, it'll wear off in an hour or so," he informed clinically, before he scowled when she continued to hug him, her cheerful grin stuck in place. "Are you quite done?" he questioned.

She let him go, he pushed her towards a seat. "I didn't read anything about a backlash?" she said curiously, frowning to herself.

"It only affects a handful of people," Snape replied dryly, going off to root through his potion cupboard. "Drink this, it'll calm your mood down," he ordered, shoving a potion in her hand.

She scowled at him, why would she want that? She hadn't felt this wonderful in ages, she placed the potion in her pocket. "I'll drink it later," she said, jumping to her feet. "I'll see you later," she promised cheerfully.

"Wait! Come back here you ninny!" he ordered in alarm, trying to grab her, but she was out of the door like a lightning bolt.


	84. Like Gears in a Clock

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: Ayjee Grogan**

* * *

><p><strong>Trust is only a five letter word, but it can be misused in so many different ways.<strong>

**Chapter: Like Gears in a Clock****  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora hadn't felt this carefree in a long time, positive magical backlash was amazing, she felt a bubble of excitement build up in her as she grinned, walking briskly down the hallway, giving her fellow students the odd hello, receiving some surprised looks in the process.<p>

She just wanted to hug someone, she needed to find Fred and Ge….oh well, she could always find Eliz….she felt her happy mood dampen a little, she hastily tried to brush it off. She'd go find Adrian, he'd probably be in the common room, she'd go cheer him up, he had been way too highly strung lately, especially with that outburst of his.

She hurried off to the Dungeons.

* * *

><p>Adrian sat in the common room, himself hunched over on a window sill, the mysterious letter in his hand, it was infuriating him to no end.<p>

_Dear L_

_'Girls are like apples of gold'. I sold lynx knitted' scarves. Idiot lied across paper at kennels cave assets, assuming mark asks Ms Eidith Anchor, eggs for Lesters' won't be delivered on time, will have to use Carsels'. Assuming Abigail's eyes are red. Eyes and ears are advantage._

_Eyes, cold lunch akin and loud awe, at shores. Let's ask Ms Etty Mathews, amazing apples, astounding. Lots and letters, locks of stainless wheels let avid listeners, alight align' through the door they go.' Gates age, lending astounding away, was as bad attuned at Mallory's acre skirts. Lending advantages' to the opposing side, "2 weeks ago", it was said.'_

_All lilies at Storms Ale, left shores lone and bear, afraid, alone, Leon's lump crumbled._

_Sincerely _

_A.O _

It looked like complete nonsense! It was either code or the person who wrote it was completely insane.

The marks obviously meant something, he tried forming a word from the first letter of every word, but that didn't amount to anything, he supposed he could try out Caesar code…

"What's that?" Lyrisadora questioned, making his head shoot up, she was walking towards him, a curious smile on her face.

He stuffed the letter into his pocket. "Just a letter from my mother," he answered casually, before turning to her, giving her an apologetic look. "Listen, I'm sorry I lost my temper with you earlier," he sighed, looking reluctant to apologise.

Lyrisadora frowned at him. "What was that about anyway?" she questioned, her happy go lucky smile dimming as her tone became more serious.

He sighed. "Listen, I understand you're concerned about Lucretia, but if you push her too much you might be doing more harm than good," he reasoned.

He was glad to see something tick across her features, the seed being planted. Her frown deepened. "Don't be silly," she said, her tone unusually light as she appeared to brush off his concerns. "We're friends now, she knows I have her best interests at heart," she said dismissively, smiling brightly.

He looked at her warily, noting she was acting unusually chirpy. "I'm just concerned-"

She whacked him on the arm playfully. "Stop being a worry warts," she chimed, wrapping her arms around his waist, pulling him in close. "I know what I'm doing," she reassured him in a cheerfully annoying tone.

He raised an eyebrow. "Right….are you okay?" he asked slowly, moving out of her hold as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "You seem…very cheerful," he observed cautiously.

Lyrisadora waved her hand carelessly, nearly whacking him on the face. "It's just some positive magic backlash," she told him dreamily.

"Um…right," he spoke, pushing her towards the couches. "Maybe you should sit down for a bit," he suggested mildly.

"If you say so," Lyrisadora said blissfully, taking a seat on the couch, Adrian plopping down next to her.

"So, how did this magic backlash happen?" he questioned curiously.

She didn't answer straight away, instead snuggling up to him and hugging him tightly. "From conjuring a full body Patronus , I've been learning," she answered.

Huh, so she'd been learning a Patronus, he supposed that explained why she had been so insistent she studied alone. "That's impressive," he complimented, smiling disarmingly. "Aren't you a little genius," he cooed.

She smiled. "Thanks," she replied brightly, smiling adorably up at him, Adrian couldn't help it, his smile became more genuine when he saw how happy she was. "I might try and make another owl with alchemy, I could start a collection!" she rambled happily, she looked up at him. "I've gotten better, I bet I could even make a gold one this time," she boasted breezily.

He smiled at her indulgently. "Of course you could," he said.

The mood was promptly spoiled when Professor Snape stormed into the common room, catching the Slytherin's by surprise. The Potion's master narrowed his eyes at Lyrisadora, who simply smiled cheekily back. "Where's the potion," he snapped.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at them both, watching as Lyrisadora gave the Potion's Professor a grin and untangled herself from Adrian. She pulled out a medium sized bottle. "I was going to drink it later," she protested.

Snape's eyes narrowed. "Of course you were," he said irritably. "Drink half of it," he ordered sharply, leaving no room for argument.

Adrian caught a few of the younger Slytherin's flinch at the tone, Lyrisadora however just rolled her eyes and drank half the contents before handing the bottle back to him. He saw her smile dim and a frown replace her bright features. "There, happy?" she snapped.

"Ecstatic," Snape replied dryly, he cast Adrian a cold look, before he exited the common room with a swish of his robes.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "Well that was nice while it lasted," she sighed, before glancing at Adrian. "Have you seen Lucretia recently?"

"Can't say I have," Adrian replied evenly, musing on what was the best approach to drive a wedge between Lyrisadora and Lucretia. "So, since you seem so determined to get Lucretia to a mind healer, how are you going to do it?" he asked curiously.

Lyrisadora shrugged, leaning back on the couch. "I'm still not sure, I'll need to talk to Snape, he should be able to help," she explained.

"Well, it isn't like it's too serious," he reasoned. "And you don't want to rush things," he advised.

"Hm, true, but the sooner we figure out what's wrong with her, the better," Lyrisadora said, before stretching back on the couch. "I might give David a quick check too," she said.

Adrian masked his alarm with an innocent curiosity. "What's wrong with him?"

Lyrisadora's eyes did a quick glance around the room before she snuggled in closer to him. "He's been obliviated," she answered lowly, he gently ran his hand through her hair.

Adrian frowned. "Why would someone obliviate him? He's a Hufflepuff," Adrian scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Lyrisadora shrugged, staring at the armchair opposite. "I'm still trying to figure that out," she sighed. There was a long pause. "So, how's your mother?"

For a second he was confused on what she was on about, his hand halting, before he remembered the lie he had told. "She's fine," he answered, forcing his voice to remain perfectly even, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. "She just wanted to discuss the business investment with the Warringtons," he continued.

Lyrisadora strained her neck to look at him, an intrigued look on her face. "You're actually investing in their business?" she queried.

"Well, more or less," he answered coyly. "I've gathered other investors to invest in the business, and if it does well, then I'll invest to," he told her the half truth, seeing how he would be sending another letter to his mother detailing the business arrangement.

Lyrisadora tilted her head to the side. "I was under the impression you wanted nothing to do with the business?" she said.

"I thought I'd throw Warrington a bone, bless him," he told another half truth, smiling at her amusingly.

To his relief she gave him a small amused smile. They were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat, they both looked up, catching Draco in front of them, looking a tad uncomfortable. "Lyra," Draco greeted curtly, completely blanking Adrian.

Lyrisadora's face was as blank as stone. "Draco," she replied curtly.

"Umbridge wants you to get the Prefects and the Inquisitorial Squad working together," Draco informed clinically.

Adrian and Lyrisadora raised equally surprised eyebrows. "Excuse me?" Lyrisadora questioned in surprise.

Draco gave her a disgruntled look. "Apparently she thinks the Inquisitorial squad has become…too eager," he began to divulge, Lyrisadora rolled her eyes, sitting up more as she more or less used Adrian's chest as a backrest. "Plus some of the Prefect have been clashing with them, it's a bit of a mess, she wants you to organise everyone," Draco told her. "She expects you to set up a meeting for 6:30 AM tomorrow-"

Lyrisadora's eyes bulged. "What!"

"-And she wants you and the Head boy to set up a new rota so everyone is organised," Draco continued , ignoring her outburst. "The rest of the Inquisitorial Squad have been informed, the prefects haven't though," he told her, a vindictive smile creeping onto his lips. "Good luck, sis," he chimed before scurrying away before Lyrisadora could throw a nasty jinx at him, her hand having moved to her wand.

"Little prick," he heard her hiss under her breath, before she let out a long suffering groan. "Well isn't that just fantastic," she exclaimed, roughly getting to her feet. "As if I don't have enough of my plate," she murmured.

Adrian couldn't help but find her irritation entertaining. "Maybe you should have been nicer to Umbridge," he said lightly, getting to his feet.

She scoffed, appearing o find the notion ridiculous. "And maybe her parents shouldn't have procreated," she retorted. "Come on, I need to go find all the prefects and tell them about the meeting, and I'll need to get Bradley to write up a new rota," she started planning, running a hand through her hair.

Adrian gave her quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll catch up with you, I just need to put my mother's letter away," he told her.

Lyrisadora shrugged. "I'll just wait for you down here," she said, waving a dismissive hand.

Adrian smiled. "I won't be a sec," he reassured, heading towards the boys dorm, burying his frustrations over the coded letter, he could always work on it tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth sat in bed, looking and feeling bored out of her mind, a heap full of books laying discarded on her bedroom floor.<p>

Her room looking like a sunset, the colours a mixture of orange and yellow, with hints or red, her German Sheppard, Boltan, lay spread on her bed, his furry head buried in the crook of her arm. She fiddled with her wand, her head resting on the wooden headboard, her eyes flickered on the unfinished letter that rested on her bedside table.

She still was unsure on how to start and finish it, how to explain everything, with also the lingering paranoia that Adrian would read it before Lyrisadora, the possibility was possible, no matter how slim. She still wasn't sure on how to write to Lucretia.

Her hand absently went to her still legs, she stared at the outline in the covers, swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat, she still wasn't use to the feeling, it was like they had been cut off, like a whole half of her body was just….gone.

She'd never felt so immobile, she frowned, she wasn't quite sure if that was the right word, it was hard to describe. She supposed anger was a secondary feeling, mainly at Adrian. But she had tried not to think about him much, it tended to just make her want to throw things and scream, and her parents had nearly dropped dead when she started screaming hysterically on the first night back home, her magic going haywire.

Elizabeth sighed, her eyes flickering to the letter, building up her nerve. She still needed to explain things to Lyrisadora, make her understand what Adrian was doing, she reached for the paper, swiping it up, along with a pen, Bolton popped his head up and tried to lick her hand, she smiled at him fondly and stroked his coat. At least she had her dog, the smile slipped off her face when she realised how pathetic that was.

* * *

><p><em>28th April 1996<em>

It was approaching three in the morning, Lyrisadora was preoccupied in the common room; sat on a couch with Adrian's sleeping form next to her, his head resting on her lap. While she was busy trying to sort out a new rota that accommodated the prefects and the Inquisitorial Squad, she had wanted the Head boy to do it, but apparently Bradley was just _too busy_ to get it done, something stupid with Quidditch, as if Ravenclaw even had a chance. Lyrisadora sneered, clenching her pen tightly. At least he had promised to help her with the presentation tomorrow, saying he'd get a map of the school drawn up so they could explain the new reassignments.

She scowled, looking back at the clipboard, a list of prefect and Inquisitorial squad members names underneath a fresh rota. Bloody hassle. She yawned tiredly, clenching the bridge between her nose. She glanced down at Adrian when she heard him start to snore, a fond smile creeping its way onto her face. He could be an ass at times, possessive, cruel, easily jealous, rude, obnoxious, selfish…..but at least he looked adorable when he was sleeping.

She ran a hand through his hair soothingly, at least he seemed to be more supportive of her concern for Lucretia, and he had even apologised for losing her temper. A faint frown creased her brow. She was a bit concerned about his mood swings, but she supposed he was still mourning, still trying to sort his emotions out.

She felt her eyelids feel heavy, her head feeling heavier. She needed sleep, she looked at the half finished rota, her eyes starting to close.

* * *

><p>Her eyes snapped open. Shit, how long had she been asleep? Her eyes snapped to the old Grandfather clock, it was 6:29 AM. "Fuck," she hissed, her eyes moving to Adrian who was still asleep, she rolled her eyes. Merlin he was so useless sometimes. "Wake up," she snapped, roughly pushing his head up, jolting him awake.<p>

"What?" he questioned sleepily, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

"We're going to be late for the meeting," she stressed, jumping to her feet. She picked up the rota and attempted to finish it, she took a quick glance at her crinkled robes and groaned. Turning up to a prefects meeting in yesterdays uniform was not how she had planned things to go, but she didn't have time to change, she'd just have to get the creases out with her wand, she caught her reflection in the shiny stone, her hair messy. "Adrian, grab the comb from my bag and tie my hair up," she ordered sharply, not taking her eyes off the half finished rota.

She distinctly heard him muttering darkly under his breath, but nevertheless did as he was told, rustling through her bag to grab the brush. Her brow creased as she tried to figure out where to pair two Inquisitorial squad members Bulstrode and Pansy, seeing how technically Pansy was a Prefect but also an inquisitorial squad member…it was confusing, Adrian tugged at her hair as he tried to get the knots out.

She'd pair Pansy and Bulstrode with sixth years Hufflepuffs Mervyn Wynch and Damian Perris, they'd be able to keep the two girl's in line. Anthony Goldstien and Padme Patil could pair up with Draco and Miles, which meant she'd have to pair Grabbe and Goyle with seventh year Gryffindors Angelina and Kenneth Towler, since they would be able to defend themselves. "Not too tight," she told him as he gathered her hair up.

Adrian conjured up a black ribbon and made her hair up into a pony tail. "Can we go now?" he questioned testily.

Lyrisadora was barely listening to him. "Grab my bag," she instructed, eyes glued to the rota as she tried to figure out where to pair Granger and Weasley with, the two of them rushing out of the common room.

Sixth years Gryffindors Nicole Grimmett and Ross Gibbered were the last Prefects left to sort…but there were still three Inquisitorial squad members left, the numbers were uneven! Lyrisadora nearly screamed in frustration.

The two stopping outside of the door of the Prefects classroom, the noise of muffled shouts could be heard. Lyrisadora steeled herself, placing the rota under her arm as she smoothed out the creases in her robes and opened the door.

The room was clearly divided up, Slytherin prefects and Inquisitorial members on one side, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Prefects on the other. And they were all yelling at each other.

"…Filthy little Mudblood bitch!.."

"…Death Eater scum!"

"..Shit for brains!"

"Go fuck yourself Monta-"

"…Piss off Warrington!"

"..You inbred nazi-"

"…I Wouldn't dare work-"

"…And go back to hell, you hag!-"

Lyrisadora searched for the head boy, finding Norman Bradley waving his arms in distress, apparently this gesture was meant to calm them down. For god sake, he had _one job_! The dark haired Quidditch player may have the brains to be a Ravenclaw, but his common sense levels were pathetically low. She glanced at Adrian, who was looking quite entertained by the whole spectacle.

Lyrisadora scowled and turned back to the scene. "SILENCE!" she bellowed, making a number of the students jump in surprise as the yelling stilled. "Sit. _Down_," she commanded coldly, sweeping them all over with a warning glare, she'd curse and hex every single last one of them if she had to.

To her amusement they all obliged, some sitting back down in chairs, others hastily sitting down on the floor, missing the chairs entirely. And much to her annoyance, the Head boy sat down on the floor too. "Bradley, stand up," she more or less sighed, rolling her eyes as she stepped into the room, Adrian shot her an amused smile as he found a seat near the front row, on the Slytherin side.

Bradley smiled sheepishly as he got to his feet. "Sorry," he replied, giving her a strained laugh, he quickly looked away and cleared his throat when he saw her un-amused scowl. "Right, everyone get back in their seats," he instructed sharply.

He was met by reluctance as a few of the Slytherins grumbled to themselves. Lyrisadora held back a sigh, glancing at the time, noting it was only 6:45 AM, they still had an hour. Merlin help her. She fixed on her most charming smile. "I understand it's still early, a lot of you are tired and hungry, so the sooner we get this done, the quicker you can leave," she said smoothly, she pulled out the rota. "Umbri-"

"It's _Professor_ Umbridge," Pansy corrected rudely.

Lyrisadora wanted to choke the pug faced little bitch. "Oh, my mistake," Lyrisadora replied cheerfully, forcing a bright smile. "_Professor Umbridge_, has decided it best if the Prefects and Inquisitorial squad cooperated together," she went on, her gaze sliding to Umbridge's personal enforcers. "Seeing how certain _incidents_ have some to light," she said coolly. "The Inquisitorial Squad members will be split into pairs and paired off with two prefects, you will cover a certain section of the school," she explained, looking towards Bradley, looking at him expectantly.

It took a second for him to get the hint. "Oh yeah," he said quickly, pulling a large blackboard into view and flipping it over, a map of the school shown, divided into floor levels, different coloured chalk on the side.

"Thank you Bradley," she said pleasantly, before turning back to the students. "Now, I'll be putting up the new rota-"

"Have you added Pike?" Harper asked out of the blue.

"Excuse me?" Lyrisadora questioned, forcing the irritation out of her voice.

"He's a squad member," Harper more or less sneered.

Lyrisadora frowned and glanced at her clip board, looking at the list of Squad members underneath her rota. "He isn't on the list," she stated testily.

"He joined yesterday," Harper told her flippantly.

Lyrisadora nearly snapped the clip board in two. Those bloody twats! Now she had to reorganise everything, she'd need to spread the Inquisitorial Squad out more, but she couldn't very well assign Pike to just anyone, she needed to pair him with someone who could keep him in line. There was already an odd number! "I see, is Mr….Pike, here?" she questioned evenly.

A gangly rabbit looking Slytherin raised his hand. "Present," Pike called, a few of the fifth year Slytherin's sniggered.

"Well I'll sort that later," she more or less snapped. "Obviously some of you may dislike this new arrangement," she said, catching a few glares being tossed around. "But our _esteemed _Headmistress, doesn't care," she struggled to force the acid from her tone. "So we have to buckle up and do the best we can do," she told them smoothly. "Which means I expect you to all….tolerate each other, there will be no hexing when the other's back is turned," she began to lecture, her gaze stern as she paced around the room. "Or curses, spitting, punching, kicking," she went on, eyes landing pointedly on Crabbe and Goyle. "If the prefect or Inquisitorial member you were paired with goes missing, you will be the number one suspect," she warned coldly. "Inquisitorial members, you patrol when the prefects patrol and you stick to your designated section," she said icily, coming back to the front of the classroom. There was silence, a number of loathsome glares were being sent her way, she arched an eyebrow. "Any questions?"

She was met by a barrage of them.

* * *

><p>"…Well that went well," Adrian mused when the meeting was over, the classroom now empty bar himself, Lyrisadora and Bradley.<p>

Lyrisadora let out a deep sigh, not having the energy to make her glare appear genuine, she glanced over at Bradley who was pinning the rota up on the notice board. "Make sure you make a few more copies, Bradley," she instructed the Head Boy.

Bradley shot her a friendly smile. "Consider it done," he said, before moving closer towards her. "Nice job of keeping them more or less in line," he complimented. "Ever considered becoming a teacher?"

Lyrisadora scoffed. "God no! I'd rather lick a Troll's foot," she retorted, before glancing at Adrian. "Come on, I need tea, and a lot of it," she announced.

"Bye then!" Bradley gave them a fleeting goodbye, she gave him a lazy wave as she followed Adrian out of the door.

She yawned as she walked towards the great hall. "This is going to be a long day," she murmured tiredly.

"Aw, chin up princess," Adrian teased. "At least no one had to get sent to the hospital wing," he tried to find a silver lining.

Well there was that, she had half expected the Prefects classroom to be destroyed by the end of it. "True," she mused.

They entered the great hall, Lyrisadora took note that Miles looked a little less sickly, she decided she'd hold off another dosage, seeing how he was assigned for tonight's shift on the third floor. Warrington looked sickly and worn, clear dark circles under his eyes, Montague's affliction was less noticeable, but she caught the odd wince of pain when he reached for a glass. Harper looked paler too, his plate was piled high, his hand clutching his stomach. Millicent was absent, no doubt withering away in bed.

Lyrisadora took a seat next to Adrian and started to fill her plate, she took a quick glance around the table, she wondered where Lucretia was, she assumed it was probably just lateness. Cordula and Cassondria entered soon after, Cassondria looked at Lyrisadora in distain, before heading over to Miles, giving him a comforting smile, leaving Cordula on her own.

Cordula only faintly scowled, before taking a seat opposite Lyrisadora, more or less ignoring her, that suited Lyrisadora just fine. There was a screeching of owls, the mail arriving, Lyrisadora briefly glanced up, she still hadn't received a new letter from Orsan, she wondered what he was playing at. Or maybe it was a hint that he hadn't been happy with the information she gave. She hid a scowl, it wasn't like she had many resources, she had students but they could only be oh so helpful, still though, she had gathered a good amount of new information, she'd send off a letter before lunch.

She took a bite of her porridge, her eyes still preened on lookout for Lucretia, she should have been here by now. "Cordula, have you seen Lucretia?" Lyrisadora questioned.

Cordula perked up and shrugged. "I saw her heading towards the library, she's probably just gone off to study or something," she said dismissively.

Well, Lucretia had been struggling with some spells…. "Lyra," Draco's cold voice broke her away from her musing.

She looked up at him, wondering what he wanted; she noted the clenched letter in his hand. "Yes, Draco?" she inquired evenly.

His gaze was as hard as flint. "We need to talk, privately," he said in controlled tone.

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, she sighed lowly. "Very well," she replied, getting up from her seat, ignoring Adrian's querying look.

Brother and sister silently exited the great hall, barely even sparing the other a glance. When they were at entrance stairs, Draco wasted no time in getting to the point, pushing her around a corner. "Why haven't you written to mother?" he snapped.

Lyrisadora's posture became a little more tenser. "It slipped my mind," she responded tonelessly.

This did little to quell his temper. "You've upset her," he more or less snarled, his fists clenched around, what she assumed, was their mother's letter. "Why are you being so selfish?" he questioned accusingly.

She remained silent, so maybe he had a point, maybe she should have contacted her mother, but for what? More empty conversations that just seemed to waste time, she had more pressing issues to deal with, and her mother….would just have to let her go, surely she realised by now that her daughter could take care of herself? Lyrisadora felt a small amount of guilt.

"Well?" Draco spoke, looking at her in impatience. "Answer me," he ordered sharply.

She didn't appreciate his tone. "What's there to talk about?" she questioned, making him look confused. "Mother and I have nothing to discuss, what more is there to write to her, more worthless conversation?" Lyrisadora challenged bitingly, eyeing him coldly, he returned it with mutual displeasure. "And if mother doesn't like it, then I think it's about time she faced the ugly truth, don't you?"

Draco's jaw stiffened, his gaze feral. "You're a bitch," he snarled, grabbing her arm roughly, his fingers digging painfully into her arm. She masked her pain with a glare. "Mother doesn't deserve to be treated like this, she deserves better," he sneered. "And a better daughter for starters," he hissed.

She wrenched her arm from his grip. "I could say the same for you," Lyrisadora retorted, eyes a glint with a vindictive anger. "I think father deserves a less spineless son for one ," she spat, feeling satisfied when she saw a distinct flinch from him. "You're so pathetic you have to bully others just to feel comfortable in your own skin," she continued, aiming right at the heart, unable to hold back. "No wonder father doesn't think you'll make the ranks, they'd pick you off like a slug from a boot," she sneered, she saw the way his face consorted in fury, his hand twitched to his wand, her hand was out in lightening speed as she grabbed her wand.

He stabbed his wand into her neck, she stabbed hers into his stomach, and now it appeared they were at an impasse.

The two siblings glared at each other, an undeniable loathing between them both. She was sick of it, she was sick of him. Her brother was an ignorant vile spoiled brat and she was tired of trying to reason with him. He pressed the wand deeper into her neck, she glared at him defiantly. "_Well_?" she questioned icily, looking at him expectantly, she doubted he had the nerve. Draco sneered.

"Now, now kiddies, play nice," a taunting voice interrupted, diverting their attention. Adrian looked at them in dark amusement, arm folded as he eyed the scene with interest. "Why don't you put those away before a teacher catches you?" he chided, stepping closer.

The two siblings didn't move straight away, but then, after some hesitation Draco lowered his wand, Lyrisadora removed hers, her temper dying down. She cast Draco a warning look, he looked at her with distain, before stalking off, pushing past Adrian, making the older boy arch an eyebrow at the behaviour, before he turned back to Lyrisadora. "Did he not get his morning hot chocolate?" Adrian questioned innocently, drawing in closer to her.

"Just a simple family….disagreement," Lyrisadora supplied evenly, pocketing her wand, she frowned, looking down. "…I went too far, didn't I?" she sighed, meeting his gaze.

He smiled pleasantly. "No, you were only teaching him his place," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Quite beautifully I might add," he told her.

She was struggling to disagree, it had felt liberating putting Draco in his place….but she had hurt him…but so what? How many people had he reduced to tears with that spiteful tongue of his? "He did deserve it," she reasoned.

"Exactly," Adrian agreed, giving her a reassuring smile. "Why would you feel guilty? Do you think Draco cares if he hurts you?"

Her eyes narrowed. "No," she bit out, her guilt washing away, she shook her head. "Just forget about him," she said, giving him a smile. "Let's have breakfast," she said, feeling a warm comfort when he gave her a kiss, at least he understood.

* * *

><p>Lucretia was hunched in a corner, she didn't quite know where she was, she scrunched up her face as she tried to remember….she had taken a turning to head to the great hall for lunch…but it wasn't lunch, it was….what time was it again?<p>

Her head felt so funny, the potion Snape had given her had seemed to calm the headaches, maybe she just needed more? Yes that was it! She just needed to take more potion, just to clear her head. She stood up, looking around dizzily, this corridor was familiar…she was on the seventh floor…yes she recognised the Fat Lady painting.

Where was the potion again...oh it was in her dorm, yes she just needed to go to her dorm, her dorm in the Slytherin dormitories, she reminded herself, she started to walk down the stairs. Everything would be fine, Madame Pomfrey had said so herself, there was no reason for her to be acting so….lost.

Lucretia felt frustrated as she journey downward to the dungeons. Honestly, this was getting ridiculous, all this because of stress, she couldn't wait for exams to be over. Then everything would be fine again.

* * *

><p>Adrian used his free period to try and decipher the letter, Lyrisadora was in an exam, so she wouldn't be there to bother him.<p>

He sat in the library, a book on codes opened up next to him as he stared at the odd letter in front of him. He had had a look at Caesars code, but it didn't seem to match up. There was a section in the book that went on about the first letter of each sentence being a letter of a word, but he had already tried that.

He tried using the second word, but when he tried it on _'Girls are like apples of gold', _he didn't get anything, his eyes narrowed at the marks, the marks were only on certain sentences, he had assumed those were the coded words, but nothing seemed to fit. He had checked for invisible ink, checked the letter under some light, but nothing was revealed, there was no magic hiding any hidden message, it was all in the words.

He tried to take a different approach to the code, he examined the first line _'Girls are like apples of gold'. I sold lynx knitted' scarves. Idiot lied across paper at kennels cave. _He then ignored the first bit_. 'Girls are like apples of gold', _made some sense seeing how the sentence structure seemed straightforward,the,_ I sold lynx knitted' scarves. Idiot lied across paper at kennels cave, _seemed less structured.

He tried finding a word in the first letter, I-S-L-K-S-I-L

He let out a growl of frustration, he tried the second word. O-Y-N-C-D-I-C-A-T-E-A. His eyes narrowed at the text, maybe the next line would be more useful. _..assets, assuming mark asks Ms Eidith Anchor, eggs for Lesters' won't be delivered on time, will have to_…

S-S-A-S-I-N

Adrian stopped, a sudden realisation starting to dawn. O-Y-N-C-D-I-C-A-T-E-A-S-S-A-S-S-I-N

O-Y-N-C-D-I-C-A-T-E

A-S-S-A-S-S-I-N

Adrian started to get excited, he looked at the first jumble of words, feeling he was missing something, if the code was to work out every second letter…but the I was singular…

S-Y-N-C-D-I-C-A-T-E

Okay, the C definitely didn't belong, he observed the marks, and perhaps they marked the sentences that weren't part of the code? And why were "2 weeks ago in speech" marks? Where they ouside the code, maybe a clear message.

So it was Syndicate Assassin? Now that did sound interesting.

It took him half an hour to fully decode the rest of the message

_Dear L_

_Syndicate Assassin goes by Reynard. You know the stamps I traced, one of the villages was attacked called Little Honefleur._

_2 weeks ago._

He rewrote it.

_Dear L_

_Syndicate Assassin goes by Reynard. You know the stamps I traced, one of the villages was attacked called Little Honefleur, 2 weeks ago._

_Sincerely _

_A.O_

That made much more sense. Adrian reread the message again, he was positive this letter was for Lyrisadora, but then again, there was still a chance it wasn't….

His mind was filling with questions, who the hell were these Syndicate people? He wondered what was so important about some stamps. He narrowed his eyes at the village name, it sounded French. How interesting…

* * *

><p>"….You didn't finish the whole bottle did you?" Snape questioned suspiciously when Lucretia Veregreen approached him for more potion for her headache.<p>

"No," she answered plainly, her gaze blank, Snape's eyes narrowed. "I just want to stock up so I don't forget, plus I don't want to keep bothering you," she said simply.

Well one less student bothering him did sound good, besides he already had Warrington whining for more dreamless sleep potion, it was becoming bothersome. "Very well," Snape said curtly, handing over another bottle. "But remember, one sip twice a day, morning and evening," he instructed clearly. "No more than that," he said sternly, the last thing he needed was the girl getting ill.

"Yes sir," Lucretia replied curtly, pocketing the bottle in her pocket. "I'll remember," she said sincerely.

He supposed he didn't have to worry, Veregreen tended to have her head screwed on tight…and she seemed alright,just more quiet than normal, but normal enough. She had said she had gone to the hospital wing, nothing major had been reported. "Good, then run along," he dismissed her in a clipped tone, he had homework to mark and that insufferable confectionary of a woman was giving him no end of frustration.

* * *

><p><em>Mother<em>

_My grammer and letter righting skills is fine the way it is! Anyway, I need you to secure investors four the Warrington family business, I want to see how there little business turns out._

_I managed to use a illusion charm to hide how dameged Lucretia's mind is, it didn't look good. Lyra wants to sneak her out and get her to a healer, as well as another student. David Hewitte…funny story….I had to obliviate him. It was necessary. He seems fine though, I was very careful the second time round._

_ I kept my distance with Lyra, it seems you where right. Lyra and her brother's relationship is a disaster, I caught them trying to curse each other. Lyra hasn't been righting to her mother, she doesn't want anything to do with them it seems. _

_I think I might give Lyra a gift, just to sweeten her up, please send grandfather's old book on Alchemy, she seems to like the hobby. _

_Sincerely you're adoring son_

_Adrian_

Adrian smirked; let's see how his grammar perfectionist of a mother liked _this _letter. He'd leave the coded letter out of it, it wasn't any of her business after all, and he didn't want her knowing too much.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Mrs Pucey,<em>

_Things seem to be going well with Adrian, I was concerned when he suddenly snapped at me over an incident, but he apologised; and I think he was just annoyed by my persistence on the issue._

_Thank you for your advice, it was quite helpful, that's mainly why I wanted to write back. Though I confess, I am still curious about what you said in your last letter, about Adrian having nightmares and you suspected he had hurt himself. I do not mean to cause offence, but I was just concerned and wondered if you could tell me more?_

_Yours sincerely_

_Lyrisadora_

* * *

><p>It was approaching dinner, as Adrian and Lyrisadora finished off their business in an empty classroom on the fourth floor. Lyrisadora panted as she collapsed on Adrian's chest, having finally finished reaching orgasm, she kissed him deeply and smiled, both of them falling to the floor, leaning against the room wall. "Told you no one comes in here," she murmured, breaking away to nuzzle her head into his neck.<p>

Adrian smiled coyly, he supposed this set up was more private, Warrington had been so ratty lately because of his nightmares, Adrian just thought he was being melodramatic, he was sure the nightmares weren't _that_ bad. He saw her lazily wave her wand to clean the mess off, allowing him to pull his trousers back up. "Exhausted already?" he hummed, seeing her pull her knickers and tights back on. "I was hoping to go another round," he teased.

He could distinctly see her roll her eyes, before snuggling back into his hold. "Get lost," she muttered.

He rested an arm around her shoulder, his mind absently returning to the coded letter. A.O could be Auror Orsan, it would explain the need for a coded message. But he wanted proof, he glanced down at Lyrisadora's peaceful form, if he could just catch her with a coded letter, then that would be all he needed, but that would be difficult, he couldn't watch her all the time and his mother had warned him about being too attentive.

No, if he was going to keep a constant eye on Lyrisadora, then she needed to want him to, she had already started seeking out his company more and more since her key friends were now absent, he just needed to break down a few more relationships.

Her brother's was more or less ruined, he just needed to keep it that way. There was also her developed closeness with Lucretia, that might be harder, Lucretia's memory was fleeting, it was hard to manipulate or blackmail a person when in the next second they forget why they were afraid of you.

He stroked a hand gently through her hair, he just needed to make her realise why they needed each other so much. He felt a nagging tug in his chest, it was strange and unfamiliar, giving him the impression that what he was doing was wrong, like a faint nagging voice in his ear that made him feel that he had gone a bit too far.

He frowned and swatted the thoughts away, why on earth should he feel guilty? His eyes slid back down to Lyrisadora, noting she was staring at the stone floor, appearing lost in thought. Maybe….maybe he'd give her a chance to be truthful, just before he went any further. "Lyra," he began evenly.

"Uh hm?" Lyrisadora muttered.

He kept his eyes fixed on her face. "You wouldn't ever betray me, would you?" he questioned calmly.

He felt her body tense for a second before it hastily relaxed, he felt his fingers dig a little more into her hair. "Of course not," she said, straining her neck upwards to meet his gaze.

"Really?" he queried his tone ever neutral. "It's just…you seem so secretive lately," he said. "And you did tense up a bit, just now," he added conversationally.

"You just caught me by surprise," she protested evenly, moving out of his hold to sit up more.

His gaze turned colder."You're lying," he called her out, looking at her accusingly; she looked like a spider caught in its own web. "Tell me the truth," he instructed coldly.

Her hands visibly clenched, but he noted that her eyes had never wavered, he made sure to keep his mind blocked up, projecting his anger and disappointment. If she had been attempting to look into his head, then the flinch she gave meant she had stopped. "I…did manipulate you, before," she spoke quietly. "I wanted to gain more control in our relationship," she confessed, averting her gaze. "I did toy with your feelings."

He already knew that, but obviously she wasn't aware. "I see, I did suspect," he murmured.

"I'd understand if you were angry…" she said, looking at him critically.

He gave her an easy smile. "Why would I be angry? You're a Slytherin, it's in your nature," he said soothingly, opening his arms up. "Come here," he said warmly. It seemed she had made her choice, _oh well_, he had given her a chance to be honest, the next thing he did was entirely her own fault.

She hesitated, but nevertheless entered his embrace. "I understand if you don't trust me…" she continued, looking to pry at his real feelings.

He rolled his eyes. "Frankly, I'd be more concerned if you didn't try and manipulate me every now and then," he scoffed. "Remember what you were like before I influenced you?" he phrased it like a joke.

"What do you mean?" she inquired warily, her brow creasing as she glanced at him.

"Well when you think about it, you would have still been under your father's thumb, his obedient little girl," he continued.

She frowned at him. "No I wouldn't have," she said defensively.

He rolled his eyes. "No need to get so defensive, I was just making an observation," he retorted.

She looked away, embarrassment perhaps? "I would have changed," she muttered, it sounding more of an argument to herself.

"Of course you would have," he said, not even bothering to sound sincere, he felt her stiffen. "I'm sure without me, you would have been even more amazing," he said kindly, looking at her warmly. "You never needed me, after all," he laughed, kissing her forehead.

She didn't smile, her expression uncomfortable. "…You're damn right," she mumbled, the confidence of the words being smothered by the unsure tone, the insecurity already starting to fester and grow, like a parasite.

The last elements of his conscience just faded away as a smile tugged at him lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Can't believe I actually managed to get this done so fast! I'll probably spend three or so more chapters on this emotional downward spiral until revelations are made. There's still certain developments that need to get done first. <strong>

**Let me know what you guys think!**


	85. Disgusting Sweets

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: Caitlyn Siehl, **

* * *

><p><strong>"When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it."<br>**

**Chapter: Disgusting Sweets****  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Adrian looked at his mother's letter with narrowed eyes.<p>

_Dear Adrian,_

_I've attached your note; I cannot even bring myself to call that thing a letter. With my corrections, if you wish to contact me properly, then I recommend you send me a proper letter. _

_Yours Sincerely _

_Mother_

Adrian looked at his re-sent letter, the paper drowning in red ink. He rolled his eyes_; honestly_ his mother just couldn't take a joke.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora was finding it hard to sleep, though to be fair for the last couple of weeks she had found it difficult to sleep on her own, she blamed it on the nightmares.<p>

She hugged her cat closer to her, Sapphira snuggled underneath her arm, like a hot water bottle. Something about what Adrian had said had just irked her, it was clear from the way he sounded that it was just a tactless observation….but it begged the question, would she really have still been that shy girl who was afraid of her father? She knew he had influenced her throughout the years, but the way he had said it, saying he was sure she would have been _amazing_ on her own.

She wasn't quite sure what she would have been without him.

More importantly, she wasn't quite sure what she _was_ without him, he was a constant in her life, someone she confided in and sought comfort from. He had always challenged her morally, telling her to think outside the box, never judging her for the things she had done.

He and Snape were the only ones she could confide in, and she was going to have to leave them behind. When she left, Adrian would be over a thousand miles away, she'd be on her own, facing the world without him to back her up, to be a refuge when things got too much to handle.

Lyrisadora stared at the ceiling. She knew she could be brave, she wasn't afraid of the danger, she was more afraid of how she'd change.

* * *

><p><em>1st May 1996<em>

Lyrisadora held back a sigh, herself and Bradley facing a group of very angry Prefects, which was expected seeing how it had come to light that Umbridge was now monitoring the students' mail, something she wanted the Prefects to help enforce. "I know, this is frustrating," Lyrisadora said placidly.

Ron Weasley rolled his eyes. "Biggest understatement of the century," he said, a number of the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Prefects nodding in agreement. "Umbridge is already forcing us to work with those slimy bas-"

"Language Ron," Hermione interjected sternly

A faint flush creeped up Wealsey's cheeks."…Jerks. And now she wants us to help her spy on everyone's mail?" he said indignantly.

Angelina nodded strongly, looking towards Lyrisadora. "You have to talk to her, Malfoy," she said.

From the corner of Lyrisadora's eye, she could distinctly see Bradley frown irritably. "_We'll_ try our best," Bradley stepped in. "But I doubt she'll listen," he stated.

"But I'll try and convince her, perhaps reach a compromise," Lyrisadora said, they still didn't look happy. "I'm aware it isn't much of a promise, but if we want at least some control, then we'll have to be subtle," she said.

"Exactly," Bradley back her up. "Just be patient, Malfoy and I will try our best," he placated.

Hannah Abbot pursed her lips in frustration. "Let's just hope she doesn't cause a riot before then," she murmured.

Lyrisadora gave her a thin smile. "We can only hope," she commented. "You lot should get going, lunch is nearly over," she advised, secretly glad when they started to leave, their waves of protests was understandable, helping Umbridge more or less turn the school into a prison was enough to make any sane person feel dirty.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora decided she should get a medal for managing to be pleasantly civil to Umbridge for a full half an hour. "….So as you can see, the different ideals are just not going to work," Lyrisadora argued diplomatically, steadying her stare with Umbridge's beady eyes, as the pink dressed woman sat behind her desk.<p>

Umbridge tilted her head to the side, looking at Lyrisadora with a calculated curiosity. "And you request a compromise?" she asked sweetly.

The blonde Slytherin nodded. "The Prefects are willing to work with the Inquisitorial squad, but getting them to intercept their classmate's mail will only inspire more rebellion," she continued smoothly. "Besides, they'll only no doubt sneak mail to their classmates some way or another," she argued evenly.

Umbridge seemed to consider her point. "…I suppose you have a valid point," she replied. "The Prefects will not take part in the monitoring of the mail," she informed. "However, I expect them to be more cooperating with the enforcement of the new rules," she said crisply. "If I find out they haven't, then there will be no more compromises," she declared pleasantly. "Are we understood?"

Lyrisadora plastered on a charming smile. "Of course, I'll make sure the others understand," she said sweetly.

Umbridge's smile widened. "Wonderful," she chirped.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora sat in the Great hall, her fingers tapping on the table wood as she faced another dilemma.<p>

With the post being monitored, getting the coded letter to Orsan would be difficult. Lyrisadora was safe in the knowledge a number of the Inquisitorial squad members would read the letter as rubbish and throw it away in the mail bin, but that still didn't make sending her letter off any easier , for once she really could have used Draco on her side. But that bridge was now more or less blocked and burnt. Besides, she wasn't going to swallow her pride and apologise, it wasn't even her fault!

She quickly tried to usher those thoughts away, she had more pressing matters to deal with, she'd need an owl, and someone to pass the letter along. If she got someone conspicuous to mail the letter, then she could slip the letter out under the Squad's noses.

She could always hide the letter in an object, a secret compartment, a slow smile started to Spread across Lyrisadora's face, a box of Lemon drops would send the right message, she was confident enough Orsan would get the hint. Now she just had to think of someone to pass the mail the message….

The name came to her at lightning speed, David Hewitte would be the perfect candidate, he'd already proven he was willing to do whatever she requested, she absently hummed an amused tune.

And who said Hufflepuff's weren't useful?

* * *

><p>Adrian was having a wonderful day! He was pretty certain he had got an Outstanding on his Herbology exam, and Lucretia seemed to have calmed down, even Lyrisadora seemed less tense around the girl. And his mother had finally sent him that book on Alchemy, he absently padded the bulk in his school bag, he couldn't wait to see the look on Lyrisadora's face.<p>

Though, Warrington was still being annoying, Adrian was starting to wonder why these stupid night terrors had started to begin with. Miles was still occasionally ill every off day and Harper was constantly hungry. They really put a damper on his mood sometimes. But still, besides their whinging, things couldn't be better.

That was until he saw Lyrisadora talking to that Hufflepuff again, the two at the entrance of the courtyard, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as Hewitte smiled brightly up at Lyrisadora; it was pathetic. The little worm probably thought he was all special having Lyrisadora pay him attention, Merlin Hewitte was stupid, Lyrisadora was simply just using him; then again the little idiot probably didn't care.

Adrian hid his sneer with a smile as he approached them. "Afternoon my darling," he sang, causing the two to break off from their conversation.

Lyrisadora smiled. "How did your exam go?" she inquired.

Adrian shrugged. "I felt they were insulting my intelligence," he answered coyly.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a, it went well," she commented, before glancing back at Hewitte. "I'll catch up with you later, David," she said pleasantly.

"Am I interrupting something?" Adrian questioned, fixing the Hufflepuff with a friendly smile, he felt a surge of pleasure when he saw the younger boy squirm.

"It's nothing urgent," Lyrisadora reassured evenly, her face the picture of politeness. Sometimes Adrian hated that dutiful student façade she put on, it could be so fake and off putting.

"Yeah," David spoke, having finally found his voice. "I'll just talk to you later," he reaffirmed, smiling politely, purposely ignoring Adrian's warning look. Well that wouldn't do, he might just have to teach the idiot his place. "Bye Lyra." Well that settled it; he needed to set Hewitte straight on a few things, the little sod had the gall to think it was acceptable to address his princess with such familiarity.

He watched the Hufflepuff retreat, before looking over at Lyrisadora. "What is it with you and Hufflepuffs?" Adrian questioned lightly. "Are you running a rescue service?"

She swatted him on the arm. "Don't be horrible," she sighed. "I'm just looking out for the students," she argued mildly.

He smirked in amusement. "Hmm, right. Anyway, I have a surprise for you," he told her, taking her hand and leading her to a more secluded area.

She arched an eyebrow. "Will this surprise get me expelled?" she questioned.

"Depends on how you use it. Close your eyes," he instructed playfully.

She did so, he pulled out the dusty old book from his bag and placed it in her hands, her eyes opened when she slumped forward by the sheer weight of it. She examined the cover. "You got me a book on Alchemy?" she said, tracing the gold lettering of the cover.

"Not just any book, a limited edition five hundred year old book on Alchemy," he told her smugly. "With safely guarded secret teachings inside," he added, hungrily taking in her awe expression. "My grandfather acquired it while he was travelling through Egypt," he informed. "It was gathering dust, so I decided it would be better put to use if you had it."

She looked at him with a grateful smile. "Thank you," she said, before giving him a tight hug, kissing him on the cheek. "You're a sweetheart," she gushed.

"Anything to make you smile," he replied sweetly.

She scoffed, letting him go. "Cheesy much," she remarked, but smiled at him nevertheless.

"You love it really," he teased.

"Whatever," she replied, shrinking the book down to place it in her bag. "Anyway, I have a study period next, so we can-"

"I already agreed to hang out with Miles, he's having trouble with his Transfiguration work," Adrian interrupted evenly.

The smile on her face dimmed. "Alright, then how about Thursday?" she suggested.

"I already have plans," he said plainly, wondering how bad she had missed his company. "We can hang out Friday afternoon."

"But I still have work to do for Professors Snape, not to mention I still have to prep for my Potion's exam," she protested.

Ever the scholar. "Can't you prep the day before?" he reasoned, seeing if she would compromise her studies for him.

Lyrisadora frowned. "I won't have time," she tried to argue.

He let out an irritated sigh, her eyes shone with concern. "I'm free Saturday, we can go to Hogsmeade."

The concern in her eyes melted away. "Saturday's fine," she replied, a smile forming back on her lips.

"Then I'll see you then," Adrian replied, giving her a kiss goodbye.

Now he just needed to figure out how exactly he was going to deal with that Hufflepuff boy.

* * *

><p>Lucretia tried to keep her hands steady, she was pretty certain she had failed her Herbology exam. Sure she was positive she had passed the practical side of things, but the exam was another story.<p>

It just didn't make sense, she should remember, she had revised religiously over the course of the year, but her memory was foggy, jumbled. She knew some of the answers, but finding the rest was like trying to grasp sand, it just leaked out.

She tried to keep her back straight as she trudged down the corridor, she didn't understand what was going on, everything was meant to be alright, but it wasn't.

But then it was, it was supposed to be alright, it _was_ alright. She clutched her head as she felt another headache coming on, she fumbled for the potion in her pocket, her breathing shaky as she took a hasty sip, the main subsiding. Nothing really made any proper sense anymore, it was…..puzzling...it was puzzling. Yes it was puzzling.

If everything was fine, then why didn't she feel fine, when she was supposed to be fine?

Maybe Lyrisadora was right….but she was wrong, because if she was right, then everything wasn't fine….which it was. So there wasn't anything wrong with Lucretia, because everything was fine and there shouldn't be anything wrong with her. Why was she upset anyway? There was no reason to be upset, because everything was alright-

"Lucretia!" a voice called.

-So she shouldn't be worrying, because everything was going the way it was supposed to be going. She felt a hand on her shoulder, gaining her attention. "Lucretia?" a Gryffindor spoke, Lucretia looked at her, taking in the creamy dark skin, homely look and round face. She knew her, didn't she? "Lucretia look at me," the Gryffindor said desperately. Yes, Lucretia was sure she-

"Patricia," Lucretia spoke, recognition dawning, remembering her girlfriend, her face went pale as death. Had she really just forgotten her own girlfriend?

Patricia looked at Lucretia in concern. "Yeah it's me," her girlfriend said. "Why are you acting weird?" she asked, her voice wavering, the smile on her face strained.

Lucretia was silent. "I don't know," she whispered, averting her gaze to the ground, her body feeling strange and a bad taste in her mouth. "I-I-I-I-"

Patricia squeezed her shoulder. "I'm gonna take you to the hospital wing-"

"No," Lucretia said firmly, pushing the other girl away. What would going to the hospital wing do? She'd already been, and they'd said she was healthy, what else could they do? She was already taking a potion for her headache. Then a thought occurred to her, maybe it was a damage they couldn't undo, she felt like she was going crazy. But she wasn't crazy, people didn't just go insane….they didn't….no they didn't….she wasn't insane. But did they think she was? Were they trying to lock her up? No, Lyrisadora wouldn't do that! She let out a whimper. "Leave me alone!" she cried urgently, running away.

"Lucretia!" she heard Patricia call, trying to race after her.

Lucretia ran, losing her through the halls, bolting up a staircase, her head pounding. What the hell was wrong with her?

Her hands had started feeling weird.

She hurried down a corridor, having no idea where she had got off, she knew she was not on the first floor-

She stomped thinking when she ran into someone. "Watch it!" a harsh voice snapped. Lucretia backed away, realising she had walked into Harper, Miles Bletchley with him.

"Sorry," Lucretia breathed, moving away from them.

Miles frowned at her. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, a frown creasing his features as he stepped closer to her.

Lucretia felt another headache coming back on. "I'm fine," she muttered to herself, her hands shaking .

_ . .Fine._

"What was that?" Harper questioned irritably. "Why are you muttering?"

She hadn't realised she had been, she looked at them in alarm. Oh god! They probably thought she was crazy! Her heart started pounding faster, her hands shook violently, going numb.

"…What's up with her hands?" Miles questioned, exchanging a look with Harper.

She wasn't insane! She was fine, oh Merlin she felt sick-

"How should I know?" she heard Harper scoff. "She sounds like a lunatic."

_-Lunatic. Lunatic. Lunatic. Lunatic. Lunatic-_

Her eyes started welling up. She had failed her exam. They thought she was crazy, they wanted to lock her up.

"We should take her to the hospital wing," Miles said, his voice sounding weird.

Lucretia's eyes went wide. "NO!" she screamed, making them both jump, she made a run for it, but Harper grabbed her.

"Bloody hell! What's wrong with her," Harper snarled, tightening his grip around her.

She tried to struggle out of his grip, but Harper was a Quidditch player, his muscle mass outweighed hers, her struggles being nothing but pathetic. "Don't hurt her!" she heard Miles exclaim.

"What's going on?" a familiar voice questioned, Lucretia's head snapped up, feeling her insides twist, when she saw it was Adrian.

"She's insane," Harper hissed, his words stinging like a knife. "She started screaming out of the blue."

She felt Adrian's eyes land on her; he was silent for a moment, before he said. "Bring her in here," he said, gesturing to the classroom ahead of him.

Lucretia struggled, wanting to get away from these creeps, they dragged her into the classroom, Adrian locked the door once they were inside. She stiffened when Adrian approached her. "Fuck off!" she snapped, continuing to struggle, her panic growing.

"Lucretia, calm down and take slow breaths, " Adrian said sternly. Harper squeezed her tighter; she started finding it even harder to breath. "…Everything is going to be alright," he soothed, placing hand on her shoulder, making her recoil. "So calm down," he continued, his tone calm and gentle. Lucretia's breathing slowed. Her heartbeat was still racing, she swallowed repeatedly, and she closed her eyes and tried to calm down, her head aching. She tried flexing her hands, wanting them to stop feeling weird. "Let her go Harper," Adrian instructed.

Harper's hold loosened, as the boy backed away from her, Adrian pulled up a seat and gently pushed her towards it. "What's wrong with her?" Miles questioned, looking at Lucretia in alarm, she looked at them all dizzily, like a mouse cornered by a group of cats.

Adrian ignored him. "Don't rush your breathing," he chided clinically, his eyes never leaving Lucretia. "Keep moving your hands, Lucretia, like this," he said, clenching and un-clenching his hand to demonstrate.

Lucretia's eyes still felt wet as she clutched and re-clutched her hands. "T-They fe-e-e-el weird," she choked. Why couldn't she talk properly? She looked at Adrian for answers, wanting the fear and confusion to go away.

"That's because you're having a panic attack," Adrian explained evenly. "As long as you calm down, it'll stop," he reassured.

She looked around the room; Harper was watching her warily, while Miles was solemn. She swallowed. A panic attack? Why would she have one of those? Was she mentally ill? She clenched her fist tightly, why in Merlin's name was she feeling like this?

"Hey Lucretia," Miles said, distracting her from her thoughts. "Remember when we were kids and Adrian got chased by a horse?" he asked pleasantly.

Lucretia frowned….she did remember, her mind started clearing up as she recalled the memory, imagining it as clear as day. She looked at Adrian. "W-W—Warrington dared you t-t-to try and r-r-ride it," she told him. "It was at the H-H-Higgs garden p-p-party, w-w-we were eight," she stammered, her voice sounding far away.

Adrian gave her a comforting smile. "I ended up leading it all the way through garden," he recalled. "It crashed into the chairs, food and everything; I think I might have even ruined an engagement proposal."

Miles grinned. "The food went everywhere, Cassie wouldn't stop screaming about it for days, apparently she had to wash the cake out of her hair," he laughed

"Y-your dad was so a-angry," Lucretia said, a smile tugging at her lips. "And y-you told h-him to fuck off," she added.

Adrian smirked. "He made me write a letter of apology to the Higgs family, for my _shameful_ behaviour," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm pretty certain he was banging Mrs Higgs at the party anyway, they disappeared for a solid two hours."

Miles grinned. "Maybe she was just showing him her new drapes," he laughed.

Lucretia sniggered, her breathing returning to normal, she could feel her hands properly now. She closed her eyes and sighed in relief, Adrian seemed to notice the worst had past. "Feeling better?" he questioned lightly.

"Yeah," she answered, avoiding their gazes.

"Good," Adrian responded casually.

"What was that all about?" Miles questioned, sitting himself on the table next to her. "You freaked out when we mentioned taking you to the hospital wing."

She swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. "I'm just….stressed." Her hands rested on her lap as she squeezed them tightly. "I failed my Herbology exam," she muttered, seeing how this was the answer that would make more sense.

"It's only Herbology," Harper scoffed, but quickly cowered when Miles and Adrian glared at him coldly.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Miles tried to comfort awkwardly. "You haven't even got your results yet."

Lucretia remained silent, her head feeling numb. Adrian let out a deep sigh. "Boys, could you give me and Lucretia a minute?" Adrian said lightly, eyes resting on Lucretia.

She couldn't explain why, but for some reason she felt a rush of fear. "Yeah sure," Harper shrugged, making his way towards the door, Adrian flicked his wand to unlock it.

Miles moved away to follow Harper, Lucretia clenched her hands into fists. "Don't," she blurted out before she could stop herself. She may be confused about a lot of things, but alarm bells were ringing at the thought of being alone with Adrian. She looked at Miles imploringly, pleading him to stay.

Miles looked at her questionably, his eyes glancing over to Adrian, seeing the other boy's irritated glare. "….I think I'll stay…." Miles said unsurely, as if he were caught in the middle of a murder scene.

Harper rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm hungry, so as fun as this was, I'll be seeing you," he said, giving them a fleeting wave, shutting the door behind him.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Adrian looked at Miles and shrugged. "Have it your way," he said, before looking back at Lucretia. "Have you been taking a potion for your headaches?"

"Yes, of course," she answered, finally managing to meet his gaze.

He tilted his head to the side. "Then what's wrong?" he inquired.

For some reason that question enraged her, like he was….mocking her. "I don't know!" she snapped. "If I knew I'd…..fix it." The anger started to fade from her tone, her shoulders slumping. "…My head hurts," she murmured in a broken voice, wishing things would go back to making sense.

There was a long pause. "…Have you tried calming potions?" Adrian suggested.

Lucretia shook her head. "No," she answered, feeling uncomfortable.

Adrian was looking at her intently. "I could get you some, they'd make the pain go away," he promised her gently.

Miles frowned. "Adrian, are you sure…." He trailed off when Adrian gave him a piercing look.

"I'm trying to be helpful Miles," he told his friend icily.

"Would they get rid of the pain?" she asked anxiously.

Adrian gave her a comforting smile. "Yes, I can get them from a company, no questions asked, we don't want your parents worrying," he reasoned.

Lucretia's blood ran cold when she thought of her parents, if they thought she was mentally ill they'd chuck her in the loony bin. "Get them for me," she ordered sharply, her mind made up.

"Shouldn't your parents know?" Miles argued.

Lucretia shook her head violently. "They'll think I'm a freak," she protested, looking at Miles pleadingly. "Miles….you know what my mother's like…"

Recognition flashed across Mile's eyes, no doubt remembering the incident, he nodded faintly. "Okay," Miles said, before turning to Adrian. "When can you get her the potions?"

"Within two days," Adrian replied evenly, before looking back at Lucretia. "Everything will work out, I promise."

Lucretia desperately wanted to believe him.

* * *

><p>Snape finished off grading the fifth years essays, it seemed a good number of imbeciles would be absent from his class next year, thank Merlin.<p>

He glanced back at Lyrisadora who was finishing up placing a group of potions back in a box to put in the storeroom. He remembered he needed to tell her something before he forgot. "I'll need you for this Saturday," he drawled, effectively making her freeze. "It involves the mission," he went on.

He frowned when he saw how stiff she had gone. "I can't," she said, making him raise an eyebrow. "I already have plans," she told him firmly.

"Then cancel them." As if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'll need you for the whole day, it's of vital importance," he said curtly.

He saw her visibly shift, making his eyebrow rise higher. "I made plans with Adrian, I can't just cancel on him," she argued. "Can we not reschedule?"

"No," he said sharply.

He frowned, was she not getting it? This was about the mission, the extremely _dangerous_ mission, the mission to defeat the Dark Lord, the one the Order had been planning for months and was relying on her to be ready….and she was putting a _date_ first.

"Have you lost your mind?" Snape questioned slowly, wondering if the magic from the backlash had meddled with her head. "This is about the _mission_, the faking of your death, the one where you could _die_ mission; don't you think it's more important than a date?"

"I'm not saying it isn't," she snapped, her eyes narrowing. "It's just inconvenient for me."

Snape's eyes narrowed, he wondered if she was deliberately trying to antagonise him? "Cancel the date," he commanded icily.

"…Okay," she said, avoiding his gaze, turning back to the box.

Snape looked at her curiously at the submissive action. "Will Mr Pucey throw a tantrum if you cancel?" he sneered.

"No," she retorted bitingly, shooting him a glare. "I just don't want to disappoint him."

"Excuse me?" Snape questioned, standing u_p. Disappoint him_? Where had this come from? "Since when have you cared?"

She eyed him irritably. "He set time aside for me, if I cancel on him without a good excuse, then he'll think I'm being a bitch," she argued.

"Again; why do you care?" Snape repeated the question. "I thought you had him wrapped around your finger?"

She was silent for a moment. "Things are different now," she told him evenly. "I don't want manipulate him anymore," she said.

Well, he supposed that was fair enough. But still, something about the way she was acting, just irked him the wrong way. "Would he really make such a fuss if you cancelled a stupid date?" he sighed, rolling his eyes.

Again, she didn't answer straight away. "He'll understand," she finally said, her tone perfectly even. "You're right , the mission is more important," Lyrisadora concurred, meeting his gaze this time.

"Good," was all Snape could say, his gaze still fixed on her curiously, in the back of his head a voice nagged at him. "Honestly, you act like you're afraid of him," he found himself saying.

Lyrisadora frowned. "I'm not afraid of Adrian," she said, rolling her eyes. "I could wipe the floor with him any day."

For some reason he found this a relief. Of course Lyrisadora wasn't intimidated by that little idiot, if she could face the Dark Lord and torture, then why on earth would she be intimidated by a school boy. "I should hope so," Snape drawled. "It'd just be embarrassing if you lost to him in a duel."

Lyrisadora sneered at him. "Thank you for your support, sir, now I need to get going," she told him firmly, strapping her bag over her shoulder. "Unless you want me to polish the cauldrons?" she quipped.

He rolled his eyes. "Then what would I have students do in detention?" he scoffed. Besides Lyrisadora always did a half-assed job when scrubbing the cauldrons.

She gave him an easy smile before leaving the classroom. Snape drummed his fingers against the desk, his frown not letting up, something about the power shift in Lyrisadora and Adrian's relationship nagged at him, but maybe he was just looking too deep into this.

Either way he had more pressing matters to deal with than adolescent romances, he still had to book an appointment with a mind healer, Lyrisadora had been insistent that Miss Veregreen get checked out.

* * *

><p>David tried not to appear nervous when he entered the owlery, being met by the two Inquisitorial Squad members standing by, Warrington and Tracy Davies.<p>

Warrington looked like a zombie, leaning against the wall for support, while Davies looked bored out of her mind, staring out the window. David made his way over to his owl; Merchant, a grey messy feathered bird. The small package in his hand, Tracy Davies eyes locked on him like hawk. "What are you doing?" she questioned sharply, an Irish lilt to her voice.

David held back his sarcastic response, it was an _owlrey_, what else would he be doing here? Bird watching? "Mailing a package to my gran," he said politely, the auburn haired girl snatched the package from him, Warrington wondered over; nosey git. Davies unwrapped it, the small box revealed; she opened it up to find the sweets inside.

David had to fight a smile. Warrington picked up the lemon drop. "What are these?" Warrington questioned.

"It's a Muggle sweet," David replied evenly.

Warrington sneered in distain, but Davies didn't seem as bother, as she popped the sweet in her mouth, her face soon formed a grimace. "Urk!" she exclaimed, spitting it onto the floor. "They're disgusting," she spat, closing the box and shoving it back in David's hands. David absently wondered what Lyrisadora had dipped the sweets in to make them taste so vile.

David forced a frown. "But my gran loves them," he protested innocently.

"Your gran's taste buds have probably rotted away," Davies retorted, swatting the sweet out of Warrington's hand, he gave her an unimpressed look. "Hurry up and get out," Davies snapped.

David was happy to oblige and quickly let his owl out. "_Fasciculas_," he uttered, paper shooting from his wand as it wrapped the box up again, he quickly signed the name 'Auror Orsan', and attached it to the owl. "To the Auror Office," he whispered to the bird, eyes hastily shifting to the dull looking Slytherins, it appeared they had already forgotten about him. He took the bird to the window, Merchant flew off into the sky.

David shot the squad members a friendly smile, receiving a glare in response, before he left the owlrey. Well that had been easy, he supposed the Slytherin house weren't as vigilante as he was led to believe, or maybe those two were just thick, either way it had gone off without a hitch.

He was still curious as to what was so important about the letter Lyrisadora wanted him to post, more importantly, why was she sending a letter to an Auror? Maybe the Auror was a friend of Mr Willows, yeah that made sense! Besides, Lyrisadora had said things were complicated at the Ministry, and he was aware there were rumours of corruption….he was a bit wary that this wasn't just about a article paying tribute to the departed family.

He walked past the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. He didn't really want to ask her too many questions, he didn't want her thinking she couldn't trust him. And he'd be lying if he told himself he didn't like her talking to him, she was pretty friendly and was sort of hoping they could hang out for real, just as friends though….because well that's all she'd ever be, he knew that and….David stopped, why did he get the feeling someone was-

"_Stupefy_," a cool voice spoke, the spell hit him dead on.

The next thing David saw was stars.

* * *

><p>"…..So I won't be able to go out on Saturday," Lyrisadora told him.<p>

Adrian hid his displeasure with a small smile, the two of them outside the entrance of the Great hall, a number of students walking past, heading to dinner. "Not even for the evening?" he questioned.

She smiled sheepishly. "I most likely won't be back until late, it's sort of an all day thing," she replied. "I know it's last minute," she added, a distinct hastiness to her voice. "But he did just spring this on me."

"I noticed," he replied evenly. "I got the impression he treats you like a servant," he added flatly.

Lyrisadora frowned. "What are talking about?" she retorted, looking quite miffed. "He treats me with respect."

Adrian couldn't hold back his snort. "_Respect_? Oh, princess that's adorable," he cooed, making her frown deepen. "This is _Snape_ we're talking about, the only person he probably respects is Dumbledore, and don't you think his standards are quite high?" he reasoned.

Lyrisadora glared at him, clear hurt in her eyes. "Piss off," she snapped, pushing past him, heading towards the great hall. "If you're just going to insult me-"

He grabbed her hand and yanked her back. "Now don't go having a tantrum," he scolded calmly, making her eyes meet his.

"Get off me," she instructed coldly, her eyes narrowing, as she tried to wrench her hand from his hold.

"Only if you calm down," he replied silkily, shooting her a droll smile. "I was only making an observation; I assumed you weren't so thin skinned," Adrian rebuked softly.

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you deliberately being a jerk because I cancelled our date?" she questioned, looking at him in frustration.

Well yes, it was partly because of that. "Do you think I'm that petty?" he asked lightly.

"Yes," Lyrisadora replied firmly, his smile widened. "Now let me go, before I curse you," she warned curtly.

He smirked, pulling her closer, her glare intensifying. "Remember your manners then," he replied playfully.

Her mouth formed a thin line, as she closed her eyes. "…Adrian, _Please_ let go of my hand," she said tightly, eyes opening to narrow at him.

He let her go like he was dropping a ball. "That's better," he praised, her displeased scowl didn't let up. "Now why don't you grab something to eat, I think I'll skip dinner," he said.

Her scowl morphed into a puzzled frown. "Why are you missing dinner?"

"I'm not that hungry, besides I need to take out a book from the library, to prep for the Charm's exam on Monday," he lied casually. "And I know for a fact they'll be a mad dash for it during tomorrows study period."

Her frown softened. "Alright then, I'll see you later," she said dismissively, turning away from him.

"Don't I get a goodbye kiss?" he queried pleasantly. She arched an eyebrow at him, appearing annoyed at him. He gave her a pout, his brow creasing, he heard her sigh, a clear sign of defeat, before she turned back to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He wrapped his hands around her waist and sunk the kiss in deeper, he felt her lean in, he promptly pulled away before she could kiss back, pleased to see a clear blush creep onto her cheeks. "Have a pleasant evening," he chimed, removing hands as he walked away, not sparing her a second glance.

He made his way up the stairs, heading towards the Room on Requirements, where that little Hufflepuff of his was waiting, David Hewitte's wand safely tucked away in his inside robe pocket.

He kept his mind focused on what he wanted, soon catching the doors to the room appear, when he stepped inside, he found himself in a room with no windows, the door melting away behind him, the only other things the room was a dark blue trunk in the centre, the sound of banging could be heard from the trunk, Adrian smiled and walked over to it, before giving it a hard kick, silencing the protest from inside.

He let out a deep sigh, before pulling out his wand and flicking it the trunk, it unlocked, the lid flying open, revealing David Hewitte squashed inside like cherries in an overstuffed jar. "Sorry to keep you waiting David," Adrian sighed, smiling ruefully. "I had a bit of a domestic to deal with," he explained, the Hufflepuff looked at him with wide frightened eyes, his complexion a sickly grey porridge colour, a fresh shine of sweat on his face. It looked like the poor thing didn't like small spaces.

It really was lucky he managed to find the Hufflepuff when he did…well mostly luck, he had been stalking him for a good hour or so before he had made his move.

"Is this about Lyra?" David asked shakily. Adrian raised an eyebrow, so apparently the Hufflepuff wasn't completely clueless. David swallowed a large lump down his throat. "Listen, we're just friends, I mean I understand if you-"

"Shut up," Adrian interrupted coldly, flickering his wand to clamp the boys lips shut. His voice was annoying. Adrian levitated the boy out of the trunk and slammed him on the ground. "Are you implying that you and Lyra could ever amount to anything?" he questioned silkily.

David back away against the wall, violently shaking his head, his lips glued shut.

Adrian cornered him. "Poor David, you really don't know her do you?" he cooed, tilting his head to the side. "You don't honestly think she wants information about the Willows for a silly article?" He queried.

The boy's shoulders stiffened, clearly he hadn't expected Adrian to know about that, Adrian's lips tugged upwards in amusement, he released the silencing spell on the boy. "….How did you know about that?" was the first thing David asked.

He obviously didn't know how to ask the right questions. "Lyra's my fiancé, we're _very_ close," Adrian answered, his eyes narrowed at the Hufflepuff. "I don't want you talking to her, hell, I don't even want you looking at her," he warned coldly.

"But…why?" David questioned timidly, looking up at Adrian in confusion. "Why can't Lyra and I be friends?"

Adrian started to feel his temper build, this little shit just wasn't getting it, Adrian couldn't have Lyrisadora's attention wavering to this sorry excuse for a student. "Aww, you think you're her friend," he taunted sweetly, making David more or less try and merge himself into the wall. "Oh David, you barely qualify as a servant," he continued. "But I don't blame you for falling for her act so easily, she's a wonderful liar after all, she even fooled me for a while," he sighed, stepping closer, wand pointed at the younger boys stomach. "And I bet she made you feel so _special_, all those sweet words and gentle touches." His tone slowly became more threatening. "When all the while she was just _using _you, she would have discarded you eventually, forgotten about you, and moved onto the next person who fitted her needs," Adrian informed icily, he glared at David sinisterly, the Hufflepuff was more or less hyperventilating by now. "Because that's who Lyrisadora is, David," he informed clinically, glaring down at the trembling boy, Adrian's hand twitched, hesitating.

In a way he was helping David, making him realise that people like Lyrisadora would only use and discard him. He knew the perfect spell to use, something that would warn David off ever talking to Lyrisadora again, it wouldn't be as ruthless as the Cruciatus, so the damage wouldn't be _that_ bad. David needed to learn a lesson, he needed to understand that Adrian wouldn't stand idly by and let the Hufflepuff fawn over his fiancé.

A lesson needed to be learnt, and actions always spoke louder than words.

"_Adolebit_," Adrian shot the curse, David started screaming and writhing on the floor, Adrian's hand tightened around his wand, holding it steady. He needed the message to sink in. Besides, Lyrisadora didn't need friends like David, they'd only hold her back, they'd just be a distraction, diverting her attention away from him-

"PLEASE!"

Adrian gritted his teeth, but didn't let the curse up, the power coiling around him like an addictive caress. All Lyrisadora needed was Adrian, that's all she'd ever need, he was the only one who truly understood her. No one else ever would. David didn't know Lyrisadora; he had barely scratched the surface.

Adrian finally removed the curse, when he released the curse, David was crying, curled up into a ball and begging to be let go. "You love her attention, don't you David?" Adrian questioned softly.

The Hufflepuff shook his head violently. "No I don't!" he lied.

Adrian's eyes narrowed, what was the point of lying? Adrian knew David had fallen for Lyrisadora's charm, her sweet promises that enticed the hardest of hearts. Adrian's jaw felt stiff, a bad taste in his mouth. "Why are you lying, David? Don't you think Lyra's charming?" he questioned softly still. Why wouldn't the boy just admit his own faults? His own weakness, even Adrian had to admit he had once been fooled by Lyrisadora's charisma, her fiery spirit that sparked a fascinating interest.

David looked at him with terror in his eyes, not knowing how to respond. "…..Y-yes…."

Now they were being honest. "What do you like about her?" Adrian asked tonelessly, barely able to control his emotions, his hand shaking slightly as he kept his hand trained on David.

The Hufflepuff trembled. "Um…she's nice…I don't…" Adrian's eyes narrowed as he repeated the torture. "Ahhhh! S-she's smart! She's p-pretty!" David howled, wanting the pain to go away.

Adrian swallowed bile down his throat, he had expected the answer, but that didn't ease the anger that came. He could just imagine what David thought about when he looked at Lyrisadora, he was going through puberty after all, Adrian knew what it was like. All those raging hormones making your mind go insane, the teases, the _urges_, the smells, it had practically drove him crazy. No doubt Lyrisadora knew about David's little crush with, she probably loved it, Adrian knew she always wanted attention, gentle words and warm touches, that's what she was like, he was certain that was why she had singled out David, such an easy admirer, so eager to please.

Adrian could just imagine all the sick little things David had wanted to do to Lyrisadora. "Do you think about her when you touch yourself?" Adrian whispered, a deadly frost laced in his tone. looking at the young boy in disgust.

David shook his head desperately. "No! I don't, I swear! Please ju-"

He was lying again, Adrian felt rage build within him; this little shit had the audacity to lie to him again? "_Eructo."_

Adrian stepped back when David started vomiting. "S…S-stop!" David barely managed to get the words out as vomit spewed out from his mouth.

Adrian's gaze was cold as he stared down at him, why had Lyrisadora made him do this? Teasing vulnerable boys to get what she wanted, she was a hypocrite really, always scolding him for being cruel, when she was just as bad as he was. Always playing with people's emotions, bending them to her will, he bet she loved the dominance of it, he knew she got a thrill out of it.

"Please! J-just let m-me go," David sobbed, his mouth dripping with vomit, looking absolutely pitiful.

Adrian looked at him passively, his face revealing nothing, he lifted the spell, the vomiting stopping, watching as David panted on the ground like an injured animal. Adrian decided he had got his point across.

Now he just needed to make sure David didn't run off and blab of tonight's events. An obliviate was too risky right now, and Adrian wasn't overly fond of the spell. No, a simple wizard bound vow would do the trick, he just needed to get David desperate enough that he'd agree to do anything if it meant he could leave here alive.

A simple death threat should do the trick. "You're disgusting," Adrian sneered. "I should just kill you," he sighed, as if it was an afterthought. "But I am still mulling it over."

"Don't!" David implored, snot dribbling down his nose as his eyes welled up with fresh tears.

Adrian watched David like a lion ready to attack its prey. "I suppose it would be a hassle, having to bury the body, and since you'd be buried alive, you might alert attention, or I could just strangle you….I can't have you telling people what's transpired," he reasoned, pausing as he waited for David to snatch up the bait.

"I won't tell!" David exclaimed, his gaze fearful, as sweat trickled down his forehead. "I promise I won't."

A slow smile creeped up Adrian's lips, people were so predictable. "Do you really mean that?" he asked smoothly.

The Hufflepuff nodded hastily. "I do, I swear!"

Adrian could feel the magic in the air. "You promise not to tell anyone of what's occurred? And do you promise to stay away from Lyrisadora Malfoy?" He said sternly, bending down to dig his wand into David's throat, just to reiterate his threat.

"I promise!" the younger boy more or less screamed, his eyes pleading.

And the vow was made. Adrian stood, smiling pleasantly now they could both go on their merry way, he didn't like it when things got too messy. "I'm glad we were able to reach an understanding," he said. "Now get up," he ordered coldly, his eyes narrowing.

It took David a moment to gain his balance as he stumbled to his feet, partly leaning against the wall for support. Adrian examined his sickly appearance and frowned, that would raise suspicions. He pointed his wand at David again, relishing when he flinched, before Adrian twirled his wand and neatened up the Hufflepuff's yellow and black uniform.

"If anyone asks, you'll say you're just a bit under the weather," Adrian told him smoothly.

To be fair the Hufflepuff did look like he would throw up on his own accord, his hands shaking. "….Okay," he mumbled, avoiding Adrian's gaze like fire would sprout from his eyes.

Adrian neatened up the Hufflepuff's hair, making David cringe. "Such a good boy," he cooed, pinching the younger boy's cheek, before his eyes narrowed. "Now get out," he instructed coldly, having given the boy enough of his time.

* * *

><p><em>2nd May 1996<em>

Lyrisadora was looking at David in confusion, having finally cornered the boy near the library,after many hours of searching. "….David what's wrong?" she questioned, seeing how pale he was, catching the odd wince, as if it hurt to be in her presence.

David's shoulders hunched, his gaze firmly resting on her knees. "I mailed the letter," he said tightly, not answering the questioned.

"David look at me," Lyrisadora asked softly, reaching out to lift his chin.

He flinched away from her like a scared cat. "Don't touch me!" he snapped, still refusing to look at her, she looked at him in shock, wondering what had gotten into him. "I want you to stop talking to me," David said abruptly.

She frowned. "Why?"

He clenched his fist tight. "You're a Slytherin…..my house doesn't like that…..please stop talking to me," he was more or less begging by now.

Lyrisadora was a loss for words as she stared at him; he looked so on edge, bullies perhaps? He had insisted the Slytherin's had stopped bothering him….the Hufflepuff house wouldn't really hurt one of their own, would they? Zacharias Smith was an absolute prat and ass, but he wouldn't physically harm anyone, right? "David, is someone threatening you?"

There was the slightest hesitation. "You're a liar," he blurted out, making her freeze. "You lied to me, about why you wanted information on the Willows family," he continued, briefly meeting her eyes, before he hastily looked back down. "You were just using me."

Lyrisadora felt her stomach churn, not sure how to explain herself, because he was basically telling the truth. She had manipulated and used him, it had necessary after all. She hadn't wanted to hurt him….she just had a job to do. "David," she sighed. "I'm sorry," she apologised quietly, looking at him ruefully, she took a step forward, he took a step back. "I wasn't being cruel, I just needed informa-"

"Just leave me alone!" David interrupted, his voice borderline desperate, his hands shaking. "I should have just ignored you," she heard him mumble, before he ran off.

Lyrisadora swallowed a painful lump in her throat, the words striking a chord.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Mail wasn't checked after dinner, it most likely was supposed to, but seeing how the people who were meant to check it were teenagers, it didn't exactly run like clockwork. There was another advantage of the Inquisitorial squad being on patrol with the Prefects, which gave Lyrisadora the perfect opportunity to check her mail.<p>

She still hadn't received a letter from Elizabeth yet, she was starting to grow worried, the unpleasant feeling only grew when Adrian had commented that maybe Elizabeth was just resentful, she was crippled after all, she no doubt felt upset and angry at the world. And even though he didn't directly include her, the implication was still there. Was Elizabeth angry at her? She had called Lyrisadora her best friend…but maybe things had changed, Lyrisadora had just wanted to give the girl some space to heal.

She'd need to write to her, as soon as she got chance. Lyrisadora walked into the owlrey, noting how the owls had been locked in their cages, drawing some loud protests from the birds. Lyrisadora wondered over to the mail bin and started searching, managing to find 'To L' in the pile of letters.

The seal had been opened, which was expected, but Lyrisadora assumed the Slytherins would have just perceived it as nonsense and tossed it away.

She quickly scanned the contents of the letter, sitting down on the hay layered ground, pulling a pen out from her pocket, as she decoded the message.

_Disgusting sweets. I will check out the hotel, have you done any research into Reynard and little Honefleur , from my last letter? _

His last letter? Lyrisadora frowned; Orsan had sent a previous letter? Her blood ran cold.

This was going to be a problem.

* * *

><p><strong>I practically spewed this one out! Had plenty on time on my hands for a change. <strong>

**Let me know what you guys think!**


	86. There's a Crack in The Facade

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: Izaya Orihara **

* * *

><p><strong>You think you're special? You're not. Everyone lies, Everyone hides things<br>**

**Chapter: There's a Crack in The Facade****  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>3rd May 1996<em>

Lyrisadora still was on edge at breakfast, her mind ever settled on the letter, someone had it and she had no idea who, she half hoped it had been thrown away, but she couldn't exactly ask around, seeing how she'd then be revealed as the recipient.

She tried to act normal around Adrian, not wanting to give away that something was wrong, however she sensed that he knew something was off, his brow creasing ever so faintly. She was relieved when the mail came, she absently touched the pocket where Elizabeth's letter rested, she'd need to mail it soon.

"I could mail it for you," Adrian said out of nowhere, his eyes lingering on the letter visibly nesting in her pocket.

"It's fine," Lyrisadora replied, flashing him a polite smile. "I'll just mail it at lunch, but thanks for offering."

He accepted her decision easy enough, turning back to his breakfast. She supposed it was nice of him to offer, it would have saved her a journey to the owlrey.

The sound of wings swished into the hall, the owls swooping down. A letter dropped in front of her, catching her by surprise, she expected it to be from Mrs Pucey; the woman still hadn't replied yet. But paused when she saw the messy handwriting, recognising it as Fred's.

She hastily opened up the letter, ignoring Adrian's inquiring frown. A shiny purple 25% off coupon dropped from the letter, she quickly read the contents;

_Dear Lyra,_

_Business is booming, you should have seen our grand opening; we managed to get a performing parrot. George is of course pinning for yo-_

She smirked when she saw the handwriting change to George's.

_Common sense, Merlin knows it's surely lacking around here since Fred set off a dungbomb in the store AGAIN-_

Fred's handwriting returned.

_But that's nothing compared to the major blunder dear Georgie made when he broke the bubble machine-_

There was a splat of ink staining the paper.

_Anyway, we hope that leech of a fiancé of yours is treating you right; please bear in mind that we're only looking out for you Lyra my dear, you have horrible taste in men._

_So feel free to use our coupon to buy some treats to keep dear Adrian in line, I personally recommend the electric shock shake. _

_Yours truly_

_Fred and George_

A fond smile crept onto Lyrisadora's lips, she glanced down at the coupon, her smile dropping when Warrington passed by and swiped it up, a distasteful sneer appearing on his face. "Looks like you're still cosy with the Weasley twins, Malfoy," Warrington announced icily.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed, her wand resting on her lap, in her grip. "Give it back Warrington," she instructed.

Warrington was opposite her, coupon crumpling in his fists as he smiled at her nastily. "Accepting gifts from blood-traitors? Adrian, how can you stand her?" he questioned snidely, turning to Adrian.

Adrian eyed the scene with calculated observation, Lyrisadora didn't wait for him to reply, standing up and pointing her wand at Warrington. "Shut up and give it back," she more or less snarled, refusing to let him belittle her further.

Warrington reached for his wand. "Lyra," Adrian finally spoke, his voice hard, he looked at her sternly. "Calm down."

She shot Adrian an irritated look. "Stay out-"

Adrian's eyes narrowed. "Sit. Down," he ordered firmly.

She looked at him in confusion, wondering why he wasn't taking her side, her lips thinned, noting the coldness of his gaze. She looked back at Warrington, hating how smug the other boy's expression was, a number of the other Slytherins had taken interest now, watching to see what she'd do.

She hesitated, gripping her wand tightly, before she sat back down, biting down on her tongue hard. "Warrington," she heard Adrian's voice again, she glanced up out of the corner of his eye. "Stop being a bastard," Adrian reprimanded callously.

Warrington scowled. "I'm just making a point," he protested stiffly, receiving a further harsh look from Adrian. Warrington tossed the scrunched up coupon towards Lyrisadora, before grumbling under his breath, wondering further down the table away from them.

Lyrisadora swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat, her feeling mixed, on the one hand Adrian had sort of fought her corner, but he had still embarrassed her, ordering her around in front of the other Slytherins.

But she supposed she could have handled the situation better; cursing Warrington would have only brought more consequences. "Such charming friends you have," Adrian interrupted her thoughts.

Her head snapped to his direction, she looked at him indignantly when she saw he was reading her letter. "Do you mind?" she snapped, snatching the letter from him and quickly folding it up.

Adrian shrugged. "They could have at least have gave you more discount," he commented, eyes flickering to the coupon, picking it up to smooth it out. "And do try and control your temper more, Umbridge is just itching to have a valid reason to punish you," he lectured lightly.

She scowled at him. "You could have intercepted sooner," she protested, unable to stop herself from arguing.

He looked at her blankly. "I thought you'd be able to keep a level head, so much for optimism," he retorted.

Lyrisadora snatched the coupon from him, glad to see it was still intact, before she placed it in her pocket, her brow creasing. "You didn't have to order me….you could just have said it more nicely," she protested, refusing to look him in the eyes.

Adrian leaned against the table, giving her doubtful look. "Would you though?" he queried lightly. "You're quite defiant," he said evenly. She rolled her eyes at him, acting like he was talking nonsense. "Besides, you order me around all the time," he pointed out.

"That's different," Lyrisadora protested, feeling defensive.

Adrian raised an eyebrow at her. "How is it?"

Lyrisadora felt tongue tied, not knowing a way to fire back without making it sound like a double standard, or hypocritical. "Just leave it," she finally said grumpily.

He appeared entertained by her irritation. "So, are you going to reply to them?" Adrian asked, drawing back her attention.

"Yes," she replied evenly, looking at him critically.

"Hmm, be careful," he advised mildly, taking a spoonful of his oatmeal. "You might attract unwanted attention to them."

"Excuse me?" Lyrisadora questioned coldly, having little patience for his sly comments today.

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "You know what I mean," he said, looking at her pointedly.

Lyrisadora's hands tightened into fist on her lap. The prophecy lingering in her mind like a haunting melody, '_and the twin will die_', always there in the back of her mind, to be misplaced but never forgotten. "I'm not hungry anymore," she said quietly, pushing her food away as she got up to leave, for once she was relieved Adrian didn't care to follow her this time.

* * *

><p><p>

Lucretia lazily prodded at her breakfast, feeling like she was in a daze. The potions Adrian had given her were calming, she hadn't felt this carefree in months, there were no worries or frantic thoughts, it was like she was almost falling asleep, but never quite managing it.

She didn't even bat an eyelash when Cassondria pushed past her, jolting her against the table and spilling her cereal, everything was just calm and numb, like she was floating on a boat along a still ocean.

* * *

><p><p>

"…..Remember not to rush Elizabeth," Irene reminded, a round chalk faced like of a woman, her eyes scrutinising as she watched Elizabeth lean on the parallel bars, a soft cushion charmed mat beneath her.

Elizabeth held back a glare, trying to ignore her dad's piercing look, reminding her to be nice to the physical therapist. All three of them were in the parlour, the furniture moved and the room converted into a place where Elizabeth could have her physical therapy.

Elizabeth bit back a sigh, her arms shaking; she hadn't even taken her first step. "You don't have to hurry Beth cakes," her father said gently, the nickname irking her. "….You might make things worse if you dive into this," he reasoned, his brow creased into a frown.

"I'm not going to get better if I just laze around in bed," Elizabeth snapped back, her voice harsher than intended; she swallowed a knot in her throat and looked at her father apologetically. "Besides, I felt my toes last night, I just need to try out my muscles more," she argued, ignoring their anxious looks. "Just give me a second," she said, trying to focus, closing her eyes while she tried to envision her toes moving, imagining her joints bending. "I can do this."

She could do this…well, there was no _could_ about it, she_ had_ to do this; needing someone to help her use the toilet was becoming insufferable. Her mother had told her she'd adjust, which of course was easier said than done, but she supposed her mom was just trying to be encouraging, but it didn't really make Elizabeth feel any more optimistic.

She heard Irene speak. "Do you want me to help stretch out your muscles again?"

"No," Elizabeth replied, finding the whole procedure tedious, a scowl forming on her face, she felt something twitch under her skin near the thigh area. She swore she was starting to get some feeling back in her legs, she just needed to try. She gritted her teeth as she forced herself to focus more, trying to ignore all the distractions, trying not to think about her friends who hadn't written to her and the son of a bitch who had put her in the situation to begin with.

Her legs would move, she could imagine it moving, and she just needed to….she moved forward-

And fell flat on her face.

Her face squashed against the surface, her father and Irene by her side in a second. "You should take a break," Irene said sternly, which meant Elizabeth would be stuck in bed for the rest of the day.

Elizabeth held back a groan as they supported her to her feet and sat her down in a chair. She felt an oppressive numbness swell in her chest. Her dad shot her an encouraging smile. "How about I get the cook to make you some pancakes?" her dad suggested brightly. "Then you can settle down and read a good book? Doesn't that sound good sweetheart?" He gave her a pat on the shoulder.

She forced a smile."Yeah…sure, thanks dad," Elizabeth replied mildly, trying not to look too down, her dad was only trying to be sweet, but….did he have to talk to her like she was seven?

* * *

><p><p>

Lyrisadora had learned to more or less filter Umbridge's voice out during DADA lessons, it did wonders for her sanity. Lyrisadora was pretending to read from the textbook, jotting down bland descriptions on her scroll as the rest of the class worked in silence, waiting for the lesson to draw to a close.

She hadn't spoken to Adrian since breakfast and purposely ignored his piercing looks, even taking a seat at the back of the classroom to avoid him, however she failed to escape him when the class was dismissed, the students piling out, his hand clamping down on her upper arm. "You aren't still in a mood are you?" Adrian questioned, pulling her away from the door.

Lyrisadora's lips became pursed as she frowned at him. "_No_," she said mockingly, trying to move out of his hold.

Adrian let out a long suffering sigh. "You're such a pain," he told her, his tone endearing, his lips tugging upwards as his hand slid around her waist. "It's like you're deliberately being difficult."

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow, letting him pull her in closer. "Only because you deserve it," she countered.

"Adrian are you coming or not?" Miles questioned suddenly, making them both turn around to acknowledge him.

Adrian shot Miles an irritated look. "Just give me a minute," he more or less hissed, before his gaze softened when he smiled back at Lyrisadora. "How about I make it up to you?" he suggested, giving her a hopeful look, looking so eager to please, Lyrisadora was finding it harder to hold a grudge, she supposed she could humour him. "How about I renew some library books for you? Or send off your mail?" Adrian said.

She paused, before she spoke. "Well….I suppose," she said slowly, before giving him a firm look. "…If it'll shut you up," she muttered, reaching into her pocket to pass him the letter, he placed it in his pocket and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She savoured the contact, her eyes briefly closing as her lips tingled.

He pulled away and smiled evenly. "I'll catch you later," he said pleasantly, before waltzing off with Miles down the hall.

* * *

><p><p>

Astoria was having a miserable day, Yurika was being a rod up the ass, she just wouldn't shut up about how 'smoking was _bad_', going on about how 'your breath stinks like an ash tray'. The girl had no tact. Astoria scoffed and rolled her eyes, stomping down the halls. Yurika was meant to be her best friend, and best friends tolerated each other no matter what, after all, Astoria didn't comment how she thought Yurika's perfume smelt like Goblin piss.

It didn't help matters that when Astoria had kindly told her friend where to shove her lecture, Yurika had gone of a tirade of Japanese, and Astoria may not be fluent, be she knew enough to recognise that 'Kuso'. 'baka' and 'hakuchi' were not compliments.

But who cared, Astoria certainly didn't, so siree! If Yurika wanted to stew in a corner like a grumpy seagull, then let her stew.

Astoria stopped her inner ranting when she saw Miles Bletchley push a fifth year Ravenclaw boy against the stone wall, while Adrian Pucey watched idly by. Astoria hid behind a pillar, what was the Ravenclaw's name? She knew him from somewhere….Cornfoot wasn't it? His name was somewhere on the Greengrass family tree. She Observed as Miles poked the boy in the chest, before the Ravenclaw handed over some money. Astoria pursed her lips and frowned, Bletchley and Pucey had always been a couple of jerks, her memory jogged back to Adrian stealing the letter from her, a slow smirk crept onto her face.

She'd bet a whole galleon that the Head girl wouldn't be pleased if she knew her boyfriend happily stood by and let his friends shake down other students. It'd be a nice sweet payback to serve. Astoria grinned and sneaked away back down the corridor out of sight. She just needed to find Lyrisadora, Astoria's frown deepened, the Head girl was usually either; in the library, with Adrian, in the common room or in the potions lab brewing up who knew what.

Astoria decided to check out the common room first, it wasn't like she had anything else to do during lunch break, Yurika had kindly seen to that. Besides, tattling on Pucey just left a warm feeling in her chest.

* * *

><p><p>

Snape briskly made his way to the Defence against the Dark Art classroom, a potion in his hand, having been requested by the new Headmistress to make a potion to cure her from a nasty rash that had recently formed on her skin. Snape didn't know the details, but apparently the rash had occurred yesterday at breakfast after the insufferable woman had opened her mail.

Such a curious thing. Snape wasn't sure whether to smile or laugh, so he just settled on vindictive glee.

When he arrived at Umbridge's office door, not a sound could be heard, well besides the muffled mewing from those blinding cat artefacts, he entered nonetheless; he had a class to prepare for and he was not going to waste his time waiting for Umbridge to throw her usual coughing fit.

The office was empty, so he waltzed over to the desk and placed the potion down, when something caught his eyes. When he placed the potion on the desk, an opened letter peaked out from under a pile of books;

_Yours sincerely _

_Rosalie Pucey_

Snape's brow creased. So Mrs Pucey was writing to Umbridge, peculiar, one might put it down to the two being old friends, but he wasn't so naïve. Maybe it was because he was wary of Adrian and he found the boy's relationship with his godchild unhealthy, or maybe sixteen years of spy work had left its imprint of paranoia, either way something about this felt off.

It was then when he heard the sound of a door opening from downstairs; he pushed away his suspicions for a later date as he made his way out of the office. When he stepped out into the classroom, he was relieved that the person who had entered was not that toad of a woman, but instead it was just Warrington.

Warrington looked a bit surprised to see the Potions professor, but if he was curious as to why Snape was here in the first place, he didn't voice it. "Is Professor Umbridge here, sir?" Warrington asked.

Snape couldn't help but noticed the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced. He slowed his pace as he neared the boy. "No," he answered plainly, he noted the Slytherin's faint irritated scowl. "Is there a particular reason why you wanted to see her?"

To his annoyance, Warrington didn't answer straight away. "Just Inquisitorial business," the Slytherin answered evenly.

Snape tried not to scowl, he was not ignorant to the divide of loyalty that had arisen since Umbridge's new appointment, and he had expected it of course; after all Slytherins would be Slytherins. But that didn't mean he'd easily accepted it, especially seeing how it was becoming clearer that Slytherins in the Inquisitorial squad wouldn't lose much sleep over hurting a fellow snake. "Does it concern a student in my house?" Snape questioned coldly, fixing the boy with a hard look, peaking into his head.

Warrington's eyes widened a fraction, his eyes hastily looking anywhere but Snape's. "…Partly," he replied hesitantly.

Snape's eyes narrowed more, already knowing who the particular student was. "Hm, very well," he said irritably. "I'm sure Professor Umbridge will be delighted by your eagerness," he said testily. "But I'm afraid lunch is nearly over, and I won't have you losing house points for being late," he rebuked mildly, fixing Warrington with an icy look.

The boy didn't need to be told twice. "Of course sir," Warrington replied hastily, hurriedly leaving the Potions master be.

Snape grimaced, striding out of the classroom, making his way back to the Dungeon. He'd bring up his suspicions with Lyrisadora next time he saw her, he still had the outing to plan, and sneaking into St Mungos was going to be a bit of a hassle.

He couldn't help but sigh in exasperation; he really should ask Dumbledore for a raise some time soon, when the Ministry stopped playing about and reappointed the man, the old man was running him ragged.

* * *

><p><p>

Lyrisadora was finishing up in the potions classroom, when Astoria barged in. "I saw Pucey and Bletchley shaking down a student for money," she tattled, marching over to Lyrisadora.

It took Lyrisadora a second or so to process what the girl had said. "Where about did you see them?" Lyrisadora questioned, already imagining the lecture she was going to dish out on Adrian.

A smug smile made its way onto Astoria's lips. "On the first floor, they ganged up on a Ravenclaw, that Cornfoot boy I think," she told her. "Will they get a detention?" Astoria asked, eyes looking malicious.

Lyrisadora held back a sigh, assigning a detention to an Inquisitorial squad member would be difficult, especially with Umbridge around meddling; it could cause more tension and displease the headmistress further. And Adrian was a prefect, so Lyrisadora couldn't give him a detention, only a teacher could do that.

She'd just have to bring the matter up with Professor McGonagall, the Professor was a good neutral party on the issue and it would save Lyrisadora a heap of trouble. "I'll inform a teacher," Lyrisadora finally replied, not missing how Astoria's smile dipped. "Why so eager to get them in trouble?" she questioned evenly.

Astoria shifted on the spot. "They're jerks, someone needs to teach them a lesson," she reasoned, shrugging dismissively.

Lyrisadora folded her arms and gave the younger girl a stern look. "So, no specific reason why you think it's your civic duty to grass them up?" she inquired mildly.

The third year scowled, averting her gaze away, before she rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh. "Pucey threatened to hex me," Astoria divulged, Lyrisadora felt a surge of frustration, couldn't Adrian at least try and be pleasant to people? "….All because of a stupid letter," Astoria added bitterly.

Lyrisadora perked up at that. "What letter?"

Astoria bit down on her lip. "I found it in the owlrey…" she began to confess. "I was going to deliver it to the person…when I found out who it was…" Astoria started to argue.

Lyrisadora felt her muscles become tenser, her mouth becoming dry, she looked at Astoria firmly. "Who was the letter addressed to?" she questioned, making sure her voice remained even.

Astoria shrugged. "That's what I was trying to find out. It just said '_To L'_, which was really weird and why I wanted to find out who it belonged to," she continued to explain. Lyrisadora's stomach twisted painfully, Adrian had the letter, he might have even decoded it by now….no, there was still a chance he hadn't. "…And then Pucey got a hold of it and threatened to hex me, and then he actually threw a curse at me, which hurt by the way-"

"When did Adrian take the letter from you?" Lyrisadora interrupted.

Astoria paused, thinking for a moment. "Under a week ago," she answered flippantly.

Dread started to twist in Lyrisadora's stomach, he most likely had decoded the letter by now and he probably assumed 'L' was her…it would explain why he had been acting so privy lately, especially with the whole, 'would you betray me?' question.

"….Are you okay? You look ill," Astoria's bright voice interrupted her thoughts.

Lyrisadora quickly forced a smile. "I just have a lot on my mind," she replied. "Thank you for telling me about the bullying, I'll have a word with Adrian," she said.

"You won't mention the letter thing will you?" Astoria questioned, her brow creasing in concern. "I mean he did threaten to hex me? What if he tried to murder me out of revenge?" she reasoned, scowling to herself.

Lyrisadora gave Astoria a reassuring smile. "We can keep this letter business between us," she replied, she paused when she considered something. "Actually, you might be able to help me with that," she said slowly, looking at Astoria pointedly.

Astoria looked up at her curiously. "How so?"

"Fancy earning a galleon?" Lyrisadora inquired.

"What for?" Astoria questioned, looking at Lyrisadora in interest.

"I know who that letter belongs to, so I need to get it back," Lyrisadora said.

"Can't you just ask him? He is your boyfriend," Astoria reasoned, tilting her head up at the older girl. "Why so secretive?" she asked flippantly, a suspicious undertone to her voice.

Oh she was a sweet little snake, Lyrisadora decided she quite liked her. "Sometimes he needs to be kept in the dark with certain things, you must have witnessed how difficult he can be," Lyrisadora explained.

Astoria smiled grimly. "He is a nob."

"Yes he is. So I'll need you to steal the letter while I distract him," Lyrisadora continued. "You'd have to steal it when his dorm mates are on Inquisitorial squad patrol, the letter will most likely be in his trunk, so you'll need to use the spell_ recludo_ to unlock his trunk."

There was a brief silence, Lyrisadora waited as Astoria chewed on her bottom lip. "Hmmm," Astoria hummed, eyes narrowing. "Throw in a cauldron cake and we have a deal," she said briskly.

"Don't get caught and I'll throw in two cauldron cakes," Lyrisadora commented amusingly.

Astoria grinned. "Deal."

* * *

><p><p>

In St Mungos, the withering Mind Healer Nicholas Proudfoot was on his way out of his office, his eyes layered with bags, eager to return home to sip on a nice hot cup of Herbal tea.

"Nicholas darling, it's been too long," a smooth voice interlude his thoughts. He knew that voice, a memory flashed by, glazed eyes, cold touches and a distinct splatter of Elf Wine staining the sterile white floor.

Mind Healer Proudfoot whipped around, greeted by the old sight of Rosalie Pucey, a devilish smirk etched on her beautiful face. It was like seeing a ghost, but there she was as clear as day, wavy dark hair looking immaculate as ever, eyes shining with a dangerous glint. "Rosalie?" he greeted in alarm, having not seen the woman in nearly twenty years. "Why are you here?" he questioned warily, shifting when Rosalie closed in on him.

"I have a favour to ask of you, Nicholas," she answered pleasantly, the smell of her musk perfume filling his nostrils.

The herbal tea could wait.

* * *

><p><p>

Harper had insisted they all play Exploding snap, convinced he'd win this time. So since they had an hour to waste before they started their patrols, Adrian, Miles and Warrington decided to humour him. Adrian lent his chin on his fist as he leaned over on the table, observing the game's progression, the rest of his friend's chatting animatedly. He slightly envied Montague for managing to weasel out of this, the other boy heading off to hang out with Zabini.

"…Are you sure eloping would be a good idea?" Warrington reasoned, after hearing Mile's lengthy discussion on how he and Cassondria would move to Italy. "What about money?"

Harper frowned, absently nibbling on a chocolate bar. "And what if her parents just go find you and take her back?" Harper added

Miles frowned. "Well….I haven't worked out all the kinks of the plan yet…." He replied, his shoulders slumping, Adrian held back a sigh.

Warrington gave Miles a puzzled look. "I thought you were going to beg for her parent's forgiveness?"

"That's plan B," Miles replied.

There was a pause, Adrian, Harper and Warrington looked at Miles like he had just confessed he loved a muggle.

Adrian arched an eyebrow, noticing one of the many flaws in Mile's plan. "Shouldn't the eloping be plan B? Something tells me they'd be more forgiving if you didn't kidnap their daughter," Adrian commented dryly.

Miles shrugged. "Cassie thinks eloping is more romantic," Miles replied plainly.

It was official; those two idiots deserved each other. Adrian smiled evenly. "I'm sure it will be," he said mildly, turning back to the cards on the table, before placing his card down. He froze when he felt a pair of slender arms slide down his shoulders and rest on his neck, before a kiss was planted on his cheek; he glanced up, finding Lyrisadora leaning on him. "So much for studying," she said, shooting him a smile.

Adrian looked at her curiously, he had assumed she would still be working. "I could say the same for you," he retorted simply.

She nuzzled his cheek. "Did you mail my letter?" she questioned.

He smiled at her disarmingly. "I posted it during lunch," Adrian lied smoothly, placing a hand on her arm.

She flashed him a smile, before she looked over at the card game. "You lot really like Exploding snap," she stated, raising an eyebrow.

Harper's eyes narrowed. "It's a good game," he said defensively.

Lyrisadora just shrugged, sliding onto Adrian's lap, he hid a wince, trying to distribute her weight more as he placed his hands on her waist, Lyrisadora seemed oblivious to his discomfort, and leaned in on the table. "I could teach you a new game," she offered. Adrian faintly frowned, wondering why she was suddenly being so friendly towards his friends. "It'd be a nice change."

"We like our game how it is," Warrington protested coldly, Lyrisadora shot him a sweet smile.

However Miles looked like he disagreed. "_Well,_ a new game might be more fun, exploding snap has kind of gotten boring," he argued, giving them a shrug.

Harper frowned in displeasure."But I was winning," Harper protested.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "No you weren't," he said, before glancing at Lyrisadora. "What game is it?"

Lyrisadora pulled out her wand and transformed the Exploding snap cards in playing cards. "I believe it often goes by the vulgar term 'bullshit'," she answered pleasantly, gathering up the cards as she shuffled them. "The aim of the game is to lie, the person who gets rid of their cards first, wins the game," she started to explain, dealing out the cards.

Adrian eyed her with interest, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her in, he leaned in towards her ear. "Why are you being so friendly?" he whispered lowly.

Her smile became a little more fixed. "I'm just keeping my enemies close," she murmured into his ear, before kissing him on the cheek. His frown twitched, as he held her a bit tighter, her smile widened as she turned back to his friends. "Now who wants to start?"

* * *

><p>In an undisclosed location in Paris, Nymphadora Tonks was tied up in what appeared to be a basement, shackled to the wall. She hadn't planned for things to turn out like this, in fact before this, things had been going pretty well in fact.<p>

She had found new information about the Syndicate, even found a rough location of where they usually frequented….and then it had all gone to pots.

It hadn't even been her fault, a simple slip up. She had been spying on some of the Syndicate henchmen, well at least she assumed they were henchmen…..they looked like henchmen. Tonks shook her head, pushing the absent thoughts away. It had been at the docks, the two were discussing a next 'shipment', and she had been hiding behind some crates, when a fly flew into her mouth, making her choke….loudly.

She had put up a fight, broken one of those scumbags legs in the process, and then she had gone and tripped over a lobster cage, a bloody lobster cage! Allowing them to catch her, something Mad-eye would not be pleased to hear if she ever got back home, and she was half afraid to tell him, he'd no doubt give her that 'I told you so' look and never trust her again. It really wasn't fair, she had been doing so well, hadn't even knocked over or tripped up over anything.

Tonks scowled, struggling against her binds that chained her to the wall, it wasn't like she had asked to be born as graceful as a flobberworm, and believe it or not her mother had tried to instil some grace in her. Tonks recalled when her mother had enlisted her in ballet when she was seven, she winced at the memory, not one of her mother's wisest of moments. Half the Ballet studio had to be closed for a week after her infamous dance disaster.

Her head popped up when she heard the door creak open, light bleeding through, making Tonks squint. A woman was thrown down, a tall man following behind, his face silhouetted, his robes a dark brown, layered up like pieces of cardboard. He dragged the woman over to the wall on the right, acting as if Tonks wasn't there.

The woman winced and hissed in pain, Tonks swore she heard the woman mutter 'slimy rat', earning a slap, the sound reverberating against the walls, as she was chained up. Then the man spoke, his accent giving away he was Spanish. "Be thankful I still need your tongue," was all he said, his voice as smooth as silk.

And then he was gone, darkening the basement once more.

There was a harsh silence, the air feeling stale, Tonks stared at the spot the new arrival was chained to. She could barely make out the woman's figure, catching the slight outline of her face, noting that it was a bit pointed, her skin probably tanned, seeing how there wasn't much light shining on it. She stiffened when she felt the woman's eyes land on her. "How long have you been down here?" the woman said, her accent American, Tonks wasn't exactly sure where from, it didn't really sound southern, or Washington.

"I got brought in last night," Tonks answered, the ache in her stomach a reminder of her malnourishment, the bastards could have at least given her something to eat, a slice of mouldy old bread maybe? "What did you do to piss them off?"

There was a pause. "I'm a reporter," she said simply. "Or…was," she added uneasily, a distinct sigh being let out.

Tonks wondered why the American was so far away from home. "What's your name?"

There was silence, the woman didn't answer, maybe the walls had ears? Tonks supposed it was possible, which was why she wasn't very eager to reveal her own name. They had tried to get her name from her, refusing to accept the fake alias, but Tonks had kept to her story. She knew she needed to escape before they started probing deeper and got more creative in their methods.

Tonks had tried to break the shackles by pulling against them, but this only made things worse, it appeared they were enchanted to become shorter the more the prisoner struggled. The cuffs became tighter and dug painfully into the flesh.

She was hoping they'd bring her upstairs for questioning; it would give her something of an opportunity to escape. She looked over at the other prisoner, a frown forming, she really wished the woman would just give her a name. "So should I keep calling 'the American', or are you going to give me a name?" Tonks sighed.

The American hesitated before speaking. "Just call me Nancy," the woman, who apparently was called Nancy, said reluctantly. "What should I call you?"

Tonks thought for a moment, before giving her alias. "Betty," she supplied, her nose crinkling in disdain, wishing Shacklebolt had picked a better cover. She looked around the dark damp room. "So, that Spanish guy, you know who he is?" Tonks questioned.

"….He goes by Reynard," Nancy answered coldly. "He's an assassin, and he's very good at his job," she added bitterly, before drawing silent once more.

Tonks shifted, trying to strain her neck to get a better look at Nancy, straining her eyes in the dark. "Do you know who else is up there?" she inquired anxiously.

She heard Nancy's head snap up, before she heard the hesitant shake of her head. "No, just a couple of henchmen, I only recognised the assassin," Nancy replied, Tonks felt the woman's eyes land on her. "Why do they want you?" she questioned, a suspicion lacing her tone.

Tonks supposed a certain trust needed to be established. "I was caught snooping around the docks….turns out these lot take easy offence to simple curiosity," Tonks answered, a smile tugging at her lips.

Nancy let out a strained laugh. "Yeah, I noticed," she said, before a long silence stretched. "…..Any specific reason why you were snooping around the docks?" she asked evenly.

Tonks opened her mouth, hesitating for a second as she tried to think of a lie or a half-truth, still not sure if she could properly trust this woman.

But then there was a sound, followed by yelling, diverting both their attentions. It was coming from upstairs, the sound of spells being fired reverberated and vibrated from above, shaking the ceiling. "…Hmm, it looks like Aluka finally pulled through," Nancy muttered.

"Wait, who's Aluka?" Tonks questioned, looking at the woman in alarm, jumping when a blood curdling scream pierced through the walls.

There was a dark amusement that coloured Nancy's voice when she spoke. "A very temperamental vampire who owes me a life dept," she answered, making Tonks' eyes widen in surprise.

Then door burst open, a blinding light shining through.

* * *

><p><strong>Finally managed to dish this one out! There probably wont be an update next week since I'm heading back home up North.<strong>

**There should be more action in the next chapter, we get to check in on Tonks a bit more. **

**Review!**


	87. You'll be the death of me

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: President Snow, Mockingjay**

**Surprise...I ended up bringing my laptop home with me, and I hadn't planned to update, but then my family abandoned me at home for eight hours. so enjoy. **

* * *

><p><strong>It is the things we love the most that destroy us<strong>

**Chapter:You'll be the death of me**

* * *

><p>To Adrian's displeasure, Lyrisadora had decided to use him as a seat rather than summon one to the table. He wouldn't have minded much if she just stayed still instead of wriggling on his lap, causing him to sport half a hard on, finding it harder to focus on the game.<p>

Harper placed a card face down on the pile. "One queen."

"A queen?" Warrington questioned, looking at Harper suspiciously.

Harper grinned, looking at the pile of cards in the middle of the table. "Call it then," he challenged.

Warrington's eyes narrowed, looking over at Miles. "What do you think?" he queried. Adrian looked on in amusement, waiting to see if Warrington would fall for the double bluff.

Miles shrugged. "I lost count on the queens," he replied.

"Are you going to call it or not?" Lyrisadora sighed, looking at them in impatience.

Warrington hesitated, looking at the big pile of cards, then at Harper who was twitching nervously. "Bullshit," he called, turning the card over, finding it to be a queen.

"Nope, I think not!" Harper exclaimed, pushing the cards towards Warrington , as the others grinned in amusement.

"Fucking hell Harper," Warrington swore, reluctantly gathering up the cards.

"It's only a game Warrington," Lyrisadora scoffed, a smirk forming on her lips.

Adrian nearly let out a sigh of exasperation, even when she was playing nice she couldn't help but try to wind Warrington up. He decided it was best he intervene before things got ugly like they did at breakfast. "He's just grumpy because of his bad dreams," he said, shooting Warrington a warning look. "You know, you really should go to the hospital wing," Adrian advised.

"All she'll do is give me more potions to help me sleep, and they wear off too quickly," Warrington argued.

Lyrisadora shrugged. "It'll only get worse if you leave it," she said evenly.

Warrington shot her a grimace, before looking back at his cards. "Like you care," he mumbled.

Adrian hid his irritation, wishing Warrington would swallow his pride and just go to the hospital wing, he glanced at Lyrisadora, his gaze halting when he saw a small smirk on her lips, hidden behind her cards. Miles spoke up. "Two," he said, placing his cards down, before glancing at Warrington. "Madame Pomfrey will be able to tell what's wrong with you," Miles reassured.

Warrington didn't look convinced. "Like she did with you? All she managed to do was provide a bucket," he retorted.

Miles frowned. "Yeah well….she thinks it was food poisoning," he argued, sounding like he knew the probability of that was unlikely.

Now that Adrian thought about it, he supposed something had been off with his friends, Warrington's night terrors had seemed sudden, like Miles sudden vomiting. He frowned, hearing Harper hungrily munch on his third chocolate bar of his 25th box, that was another thing that was weird, Harper didn't normally pig out. And Harper had let loose that Montague was secretly feeling pains in his bones, of course Montague refused to go to the hospital wing, apparently he didn't want the other Quidditch players knowing, in case he was sent off for illness. And since Harper was clearly a great friend, he blabbed to Adrian, Miles and Warrington as soon as he got a chance. "When did the nightmares start?" Adrian asked mildly.

Warrington paused, his brow creasing. "A week ago I think, same time when Miles started vomiting," he answered warily.

There was a brief silence, Adrian couldn't help but notice Lyrisadora had stopped wriggling. Harper pursed his lips into a confused scowl. "That's a weird," Harper commented.

"Maybe you both ate some bad food," Lyrisadora argued, shrugging carelessly, before placing two cards down. "Two threes," she chimed.

"Bullshit!" Harper called, his eyes darting to her.

Miles quickly looked at his cards. "She's lying," he said firmly.

Warrington flipped the cards over, revealing one ace and a six. "Take your cards Malfoy," he said, shoving the pile towards her.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she muttered, before checking the time on the clock nearby. "We'll have to end it there anyway, you lot have patrol with the prefects," she reminded, stacking her cards up, before swishing her wand, transforming them back into Exploding snap cards.

"But I had three cards left," Miles protested. "I was winning."

Adrian scoffed. "I would have called your lie and you would have ended up with a heap full of cards," he replied.

"What if my card happened to be the truth," Miles argued.

Adrian arched an eyebrow. "We were going higher….all your cards were low, weren't they?"

"Screw you," Miles said, pushing himself away from the table, Harper finished off his sweet before standing up, as Warrington stretched in his chair. "Let's go then, the last thing I want is that Patil bitch having a go at me for being late," he muttered, before shooting a peeved off look at Lyrisadora. "Couldn't you have paired me with someone less annoying?"

Lyrisadora shot him an easy smile as she wrapped an arm around Adrian. "Suck it up Miles, I'm not reorganising the rota," she replied pleasantly, earning a disdainful look.

"Have fun," Adrian said. "I'll head out in a minute," he added, giving Lyrisadora a coy smile as he wrapped his arm around her.

Warrington rolled his eyes. "Just keep it out of the dorm room," he muttered as he walked past them.

Adrian planted kisses along Lyrisadora's neck. "I'm not making any promises," he sang.

Lyrisadora cupped his face as she kissed him. "We need to make this quick," she purred, nuzzling his face.

Adrian smiled slyly. "To bedroom it is," he said, moving his head towards the boys' dorm.

Lyrisadora pulled his gaze back to her. "I still need to do my patrol and so do you, let's go to a classroom instead," she protested, moving off his lap as she stood, taking his hand to drag him up. "I have missed you," she cooed.

He supposed getting undressed wasn't the best time right now, so he let her guide him out of the common room, he supposed a quick fool around would suffice enough.

* * *

><p><p>

When Astoria finally found the right dorm in the boys' dormitories, she was surprised to find it looked pretty clean, it even smelt alright….well it did smell a bit musky and there was the lingering smell of sweat in the air, but besides that , it was pretty nice.

It looked like Daphne had been exaggerating when she had said the boys rooms were like pig sties. Astoria looked at the beds, Lyrisadora had said Adrian's was the third one to the left, Astoria tried to figure out which left, before she settled on her own. She approached the large trunk, before uttering, "_recludo_."

The trunk unlocked with a click, Astoria apprehensively opened it, she got a good look at the inside, seeing how she'd need to restore everything to its rightful place after wards. She started taking his clothes out, frowning when she saw a couple of magazines with naked woman on the covers, she did a quick look around before she picked one up and glanced inside.

Her eyes widened in morbid fascination, she hadn't known the human body could do that! Feeling she was becoming distracted, she placed the magazine down and continued to look. There were some weird objects she didn't recognise, she wondered why he had a rubber toy in the shape of a star fish? She pressed a button, she dropped it in alarm when it started to vibrate. She hastened her search, letting out a huff of frustration when she couldn't find a letter. "Maybe he has a secret compartment," she said to herself, feeling around for any lines or elevated points.

Her lips thinned as she thought for a moment, before picking up her wand from the floor. "Hm…._recludo,"_ she said, pointing her wand at the bottom of the trunk.

The floor of the trunk folded in, expanding to reveal stairs that led downwards into a dark abyss. Astoria grinned smugly. "Astoria, you're a genius," she stated to herself, stepping into the trunk, carefully placing the objects back where they were, less someone come in. "_Lumos,"_ she uttered as she entered the dark space, her feet landing on solid ground. The extended space was dark, with smooth black walls and floor, odd objects scattering the floor. It didn't look very organised, in fact it looked more like a dumping ground. "What a slob," she said indignantly, shining her light around, accidently stepping on a sugar cube, walking over some large books, she started picking stuff up and looking underneath odd discarded clothes and books.

Until she came across a scrunched up piece of paper, she hurriedly picked it up, her hand scraping against something smooth and cold. She smoothed the paper out, she started to get excited when she saw it was a letter, but scowled when it was addressed ' Mother',. She considered tossing it away, but halted when she saw the bad grammar.

_Mother_

_My grammer and letter righting skills is fine the way it is!_

Astoria scoffed, she never realised Pucey was a grade 10 idiot, perhaps she'd show Lyrisadora this just to get a laugh out of her.

_Anyway, I need you to secure investors four the Warrington family business, I want to see how there little business turns out._

_I managed to use a illusion charm to hide how dameged Lucretia's mind is, it didn't look good._

Astoria stopped, an uneasy feeling twisting around her stomach, she read more, the twisting sensation growing as her olive skin grew as pale as a polar bear's fur, becoming more disturbed as she read on.

Her ears perked up when she heard the sound of a slither, she shined her light around, taking a step back. There was snapping sound as something wrapped around her leg and dragged her to the floor, Astoria let out a terrified cry and aimed a fire spell at the rope tugging her. This didn't help though, as another robe manifested out and wrapped around her body, binding her arms.

Only it wasn't a rope, it was more like a plant, a chunky vine, she trembled when she followed the fat vine towards the source, finding a parasite of a plant dug into the wall, a great heap of vines layered on top of each other, like an octopus's tentacles.

Astoria started screaming as she kicked and writhed, trying to escape, as the vines entwined around her legs.

* * *

><p><p>

Tonks closed her eyes as the lights blinded her vision, when she opened them, she saw a tall well built man in blood splattered purple robe. The most prominent thing Tonks noticed was the furious expression etched on his pale face, a contrast to Nancy's shit eating grin. "And here I thought you'd forgotten me," Nancy cooed.

The man, who Tonks assumed was the vampire Aluka, growled, his red soaked fangs emerging, and moved at lightning speed towards Nancy, grabbing her shackles and ripping them off the wall. Nancy fell to the ground and massaged her wrists as she got to her feet. "Did you get my wand?" Nancy snapped.

Aluka shoved the wand in her grasp. "Don't ask stupid questions," he sneered in a distinct Parisian accent.

"Uh, I would really appreciate some help," Tonks called, regaining their attention.

"Who's she?" Aluka questioned sharply.

Nancy ignored him and focused on Tonks, hesitating before she replied. "Aluka, she's coming to," she told the vampire briskly.

Aluka looked like he wanted to throttle her, a hiss escaping his lips as he flashed his fangs and zoomed over to Tonks. "Thanks," Tonks exclaimed, as she was released, hurrying after them as they ran upstairs.

She looked at the vampire and Nancy, gauging in their appearance as the light shined on their faces. Nancy looked to be in her late thirties, small wrinkles near her eyes, her skin having a Mediterranean tan to it, her hair almost black, with a thin face. Aluka was the opposite, his skin deathly pale and his face gaunt, dark shadows under his grey eyes, his hair a fair brown, with blood knotting it up and making it look straggly.

When they reached upstairs, the room was painted red, blood dripping from the wooden table and chairs, the banged up kitchen half destroyed, a gaping hole in the cauldron over the fire. Five beat up and mangled bodies limp on the floor, two of them where missing their heads, blood sprouting from their necks like a fountain. "The Syndicate will have a field day," Nancy muttered, before shooting a glare at Aluka. "We were meant to be keeping a low profile, you idiot," she rebuked.

Tonks quickly tried to find her wand, noting that Aluka's gaze had turned murderous, it wasn't helped with the fact the right side of his neck and collar was stained with blood. "That flew out of the window the minute you got yourself captured!" Aluka snapped.

Tonks found her wand near the broken cauldron, she stiffened when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, a small animal scurrying behind a corner.

Aluka grabbed Nancy's upper arm "Now come on-"

Tonks saw the shadow of a transformation before the other's wand was pulled out. "_Diffindo_!" she exclaimed forcing the man back.

A curse in Spanish was fired at her, she dived out of the way, finding cover behind a table. Nancy fired a curse at the attacker as Aluka sped off to where the attacker was taking cover. The attacker dived out of the way as the vampire tried to grab him, being revealed as Reynard, blood spattering the whole of his right side.

A malicious glint flashed across Nancy's eyes as she took cover with Tonks. "Bastard," Nancy growled brandishing her wand. _"Transmorg_!" Nancy yelled, Reynard dived out of the way, while simultaneously violently knocking Aluka back, smashing the vampire against the wall across the room

"_Expulso,"_ Tonks backed up, effectively knocking Reynard back, exploding the ground beneath him, as he was flipped back, his body hitting the edge of the counter. Blood sprouted from the assassin's mouth, before he silently shot a curse at them in a blinding orange light, the spell spreading like a wave. Tonks felt a burning agonising pain when the curse hit her, binding her to the floor, she felt like fire ants were in her eyes, entering every nook and cranny of her body.

"_Pungo!"_ Nancy yelled, lunging forward.

Reynard counter cursed it and cast another silent curse, the spell blasting forward like a blazing fire, coiling around Nancy like a snake, slicing at the woman's skin, ripping her clothes and clawing at her skin, making her choke blood as she hit the floor.

Aluka grabbed Reynard's head and smashed his skull against the counter, Reynard grunted in pain, before stabbing his wand into the vampire's gut. "_Crucio_!" Reynard hissed, sending the Vampire back doubling in pain on the floor.

Aluka wretched and writhed on the floor, hissing violently, before he let out a yell and lunged at Reynard, grabbing the wizard's arm as he struggled, before breaking it in two and ripped it off.

Tonks broke free off the curse and staggered to her feet, Reynard staggered away, blood spilling from the veins where his right arm used to be. The assassin whipped his wand out, blasting a wave of pure sun light, the light made Aluka hiss in pain and stagger back blindly, clutching his eyes. "_Crepitus_!" Tonks screamed blasting at Reynard.

The spell missed him by an inch as the wizard morphed into a rat, Tonks shot another curse at the vermin as Reynard escaped through a crack in the wall. "Fuck," Tonks breathed, stumbling back, her eyes widening when she saw Nancy's neck was bleeding heavily, herself gasping for air. "Shit," Tonks swore again as she rushed to the woman's side. "_Curatio cruor_," she muttered, hastily trying to heal the wound.

Aluka crawled to his feet, a nasty burn scarring his eyes. "Let's get the fuck out of here," he snarled.

"Kind of busy!" Tonks snapped, continuing to seal up the wound, the healing was slow, the cut appearing deep.

Aluka grabbed Nancy and lifted her up bridal style. "Bandage it up for now, we need to get out of here," the vampire stressed.

He did have a point, it wouldn't be long until the Aurors arrived. "_Ferula,"_ Tonks uttered, wrapping bandages around Nancy's neck and arms.

Aluka grabbed her around the waist. "Hold on," he instructed testily, before they shot off at lightning speed, the air leaving her lungs.

* * *

><p><p>

Lyrisadora winced a little when Adrian bit down on her neck, planting kisses along her shoulder, nipping at the skin, she kissed him back fiercely, the two in an unused classroom on the third floor. She hoped Astoria had managed to find the letter by now, she more than hoped Adrian had actually put the letter in the trunk to begin with.

She felt Adrian's hand move under her skirt, pulling her tights down, she moved her hand to stop him. "Not now," she murmured, breaking away from the kiss. "Later," she promised, sinking her lips into his for another kiss.

"Oh come on," Adrian teased, coiling and arm underneath her shirt. "You teased me enough back there," he protested, kissing her collar bone.

She smiled coyly. "I don't know what you're talking about," she told him playfully, running a hand through his hair.

He gave her a tender kiss on the lips before he cupped her face, looking at her intently, she swallowed and arched an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was doing. He kissed her forehead before he rested his forehead against hers. "I love you," he said softly.

She looked at him in amusement. "Of course you do, I'm fantastic," she replied slyly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smirked and kissed her. "We could take this back to the dorm room," he proposed smoothly.

"And have your dorm mates sprout a fit?" Lyrisadora argued, raising a sceptic eyebrow. "I'm trying to be nice to them, remember?"

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Yes, the whole 'keeping my enemies close', you don't seriously consider them a threat do you?" he questioned evenly.

Lyrisadora kept her expression smooth. "They're Umbridge's personal lap dogs, I just don't trust them," she responded mildly, planting another kiss on his lips. "I mean, do you trust them?" she questioned, looking at him pointedly.

"Well…no," he confessed, a smile playing on his lips. "But they're still my friends," he replied. "And Miles and Montague aren't that bad," he added.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes, she doubted it, but then again, maybe Montague was just grumpy because of her curse. "Are those aches and pains getting to him," she retorted carelessly, she froze when she saw Adrian's expression change from playful to serious, his hands slid away from her, but the close proximity remained.

"How do you know about that?" he questioned quietly.

Lyrisadora's mouth ran dry, she quickly tried to recover and scoffed. "People talk, I mean it doesn't take a genius to figure it out, he's probably just strained his bones or something," she lied fluidly, giving him a casually shrug.

Adrian remained silent as his blue eyes pierced hers, she looked at him questionably, hoping to Merlin, God, or the spirit of Nicholas Flamel, or whatever, that he hadn't figured out this truth. "It's weird, isn't it?" he finally spoke, his tone far too conversational. "How awful things started happening to Miles and Warrington around the same time….and now I think about it, hasn't Harper been looking ill lately?" Adrian queried mildly.

Lyrisadora's lips felt uncomfortably dry as she remained silent, Adrian was looking at her expectantly, he wanted her to say it. But what could she say? She wasn't sorry, she didn't feel guilty for what she'd done, in her eyes it was justice, she paused, surely Adrian would understand her reasoning if she explained herself? "I know they're the ones responsible for hurting Elizabeth," she divulged, making sure to level his gaze. Adrian remained silent. "Fred and George told me who was there that night, so I decided to dish out some revenge," she told him plainly, shrugging her shoulders.

"What exactly did you do to them?" Adrian questioned tonelessly, his jaw fixed.

She eyed him challengingly. "I slipped in a potion to make Miles vomit repeatedly, I had to cut the dosage when I needed him for prefect patrol. I cursed Warrington with night terrors, I cursed Harper to have a constant gnawing hunger, with Montague I made his bones ache every time he moves," she continued, missing out Millicent, doubting Adrian would care, besides why shouldn't she let the girl continue to suffer?

"I see," Adrian replied in a measured tone, before he paused and breathed in a deep breath. "Well you've had your fun, so end the curses," he instructed coldly.

"No," Lyrisadora replied instantly, her gut twisting, a part of her feeling bad for upsetting him, but another still feeling the culprits hadn't suffered enough. "They need to learn a lesson."

Adrian let out a frustrated sigh, his eyes darkening into a glare. "You need to stop before you get caught, because you will get caught," he warned. Lyrisadora's mouth thinned into a stubborn line. "Lyra, people are noticing, you saw it earlier, they'll find out and it won't be pretty," he told her.

Lyrisadora clenched fists, averting her gaze, she hadn't wanted to dwell on the consequences of her actions, but he was right. "She's crippled and I can't do anything to help her, she won't even write to me," she confessed, her throat feeling sore. "I'm punishing them, because she can't," she tried to justify her actions.

Adrian sighed. "Do you even know who the person responsible is?" he questioned in exasperation.

"….No," she admitted reluctantly. "But it's irrelevant, they were all involved, they all needed to be punished," she reaffirmed.

"And they've suffered," he said, wrapping his arm back around her waist, looking at her reassuringly. "Lyra, revenge isn't going to make Elizabeth walk again, I know you're upset, but what's happened is done, you can't change it, and hurting others won't help," he told her, stroking her right cheek soothingly.

Lyrisadora felt a bad taste in her mouth, feeling tired and worn, she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "You sure are laying it one thick," she murmured, before resting her head on his chest. "I should have been a better friend," she told herself.

"Maybe you and Liz are just too different," Adrian said evenly, wrapping his arms around her. "Elizabeth….is going through a lot right now, maybe she's embarrassed or ashamed," he reassured. "….You didn't do anything wrong," he murmured quietly, something off about his tone.

She held him tightly, breathing out a sigh of relief, his words comforting. "Thanks," she said, glancing up at him, he gave her a knowing look. "….I'll lift the curses," she relented, wanting to make peace with the situation. "I won't forgive them though," she said, looking at him firmly.

He kissed her on the forehead. "That's fine with me," he replied pleasantly. "You know we shouldn't keep secrets, Princess," he chided softly, looking at her pointedly.

Her stomach twisted in painful knots, a wave of guilt washing over her, before her fists tightened, remembering the letter, the guilt lessoned, Adrian was still keeping a secret from her, but then so was she. "No we shouldn't," she replied evenly, looking him in the eye. "You wouldn't keep secrets from me, would you?"

There was a long silence, as if he was debating whether to speak or not. "Well it depends on the secret, doesn't it?" Adrian said nonchalantly, her jaw tightened.

"And what are you hiding from me?"

She saw his Adam's apple bob. "My suspicions, I know you're hiding something, you're always hiding something," he stated.

She considered his words carefully. "Most often because I'm trying to protect you," she replied, cupping his face, hoping he wouldn't get angry with her. "I need you to trust me, remember? I love you and I don't want to hurt you," she tried to explain, wanting him to understand, when he didn't reply, she felt her conflictions growing. Maybe she should just ask him about the letter, they were being honest with each other for once. Snape would quite likely kill her of course, but maybe Adrian could help her, like he always did, the one person she could always rely on. "I know about the letter," she confessed quietly.

"What letter?" Adrian questioned coldly, moving a little out of her hold.

She let out a shaky breath. "I know you have it," she said, looking at him firmly. "Have you decoded it?"

There was still some apprehension in his eyes, before he finally replied. "….Yes, I have," he answered, eyeing her intently, his posture stiff. "Why are you sending coded letters to an Auror, and who is the 'Syndicate'?" he questioned harshly.

She felt a stinging in her throat. "I'm bound by an oath of secrecy, I can't tell you," she confessed, absently touching her throat.

"Is it dangerous?" Adrian asked sternly.

"….Unfortunately," she replied cautiously.

There was a long pause, Lyrisadora raked it up at ten seconds. "Are you coming to America with me?" he asked in a carefully controlled tone, his gaze cutting like a knife.

The pain in her stomach became more pronounced, as she tried to look him in the eye when she lied. "The mission won't be an interference," she told him reassuringly, moving to place a comforting hand on his cheek.

He grabbed her wrist before she could touch him, his expression turning cold. "Are you going to leave me?" he queried slowly, his grip around her wrist tightening.

She hastily shook her head. "It isn't like that, it's complicated," she tried to explain, she winced when he jerked her wrist more roughly, her eyes widened as she looked up at him in alarm. "I love you, I don't want to hurt you," she said hurriedly, her free hand twitching towards her wand….but she didn't want to hurt Adrian, what if the spell caused him damage because of the close proximity? And she didn't want to make things worse.

His face was riddled with confusion, apparently not noticing he was twisting her wrist as he pulled her in closer. "Then why do you want to leave? Why would you give up everything we have?" he said chillingly.

"We're not giving it up-" She protested urgently, looking at him pleadingly.

Adrian's eyes narrowed as his forehead creased, as if there were only two option of her either staying or leaving. "We_ love_ each other, remember? We understand each, _nothing_ else matters," he said firmly.

For the first time in a while, Lyrisadora was starting to become scared, she tried to pull herself out of his grasp. "I'm just trying to help people," she tried to make him understand, wincing when his nails dug into her skin. She flinched, unable to ignore the pain. "Adrian, you're hurting me," she exclaimed, looking at him desperately.

The crease in his brow smoothed out as he looked at her in surprise, before he looked at his hand that was twisting her wrist, he let it go, as if it burned.

Lyrisadora flexed her fingers and cradled her wrist in her hand, backing away from him. "Shit," Adrian swore, looking at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't realise," he quickly amended, moving towards her, cupping her face in his hands as she tried to move away. "It was an accident, Lyra, I just panicked….I just got angry and…" he trailed off, his tone taking on a more desperate tone and he tried to explain himself, his face crumbling. "I just don't know what I'd do if you left me," he whispered brokenly. "We need each other."

Lyrisadora searched his gaze, feeling uncomfortable at how vulnerable he looked. She wasn't sure what to do, she had thought she was prepared for this open display of emotions, but she didn't know what to say. She had always known he was an obsessive person, and Mrs Pucey had pointed out his reliance on her. She still had a mission to complete, they were at war and sacrifices had to be made.

But she couldn't just leave him.

She cautiously pulled him into a hug, despite her wrist still hurting; wanting to accept it was an accident, that he didn't mean to hurt her. "We'll work something out," she murmured, as he held her tighter.

He buried his head in the crook of her neck. "I'll never let you go," he murmured fiercely, the statement a promise, as he clung to her like a life line.

She tried to ignore the stab of fear she felt , letting out a shallow breath. "I know," she whispered, a lump stuck in her throat, the two entangled like a spider in its own web.

* * *

><p><p>

Rosalie poured Nicholas a glass of wine, the elf wine bringing back nostalgic memories. But his mind was focused elsewhere, currently on the task Rosalie wanted him to do, something that left a bad taste in his mouth. "….I could lose my position," he said cautiously, looking at her anxiously.

Mrs Pucey smiled, crossing her legs as she sat on his desk, placing the glass bottle down, looking in complete control of herself. "Something I've helped prevent in the past, and will do so again," she promised.

The tie around his neck felt tighter as an unpleasant memory resurfaced, one he'd readily forget. "That was different," he argued. "You're asking me to lie about a patient's condition, even though you say it's dire," he said anxiously. "If her mind goes unchecked-"

Rosalie's expression became colder. "Need I remind you of your little blunder all those years ago?" she interrupted softly, effectively silencing. "That poor man man….is he still in the Janus Thickly ward?" she questioned.

Nicholas let out a shallow breath, a familiar guilt washing over him. Carlson Mimple, the one mistake that had nearly ruined his entire career, a simple mind healing gone wrong. "Yes," the Mind Healer replied stiffly.

"I covered it up, I saved your career," she said firmly, looking at him pointedly. "And it's a favour I'm finally cashing in on," she continued briskly.

Nicholas slumped in his chair, his jaw stiffening, as he looked at the Siren that had him in her grasp. "Alright….I'll do it," he replied.

She leaned in, making him tense, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. "I knew I could count on you," she whispered lovingly.

For once, he wished she had stayed abroad.

* * *

><p><p>

Astoria opened her eyes, wondering when the great blinding light would appear to take her away to Zion, heaven, paradise or whatever afterlife there was. Instead, she found herself tied up, fat vines wrapped around her, the plant wasn't eating her, Astoria frowned, wondering what it wanted with her.

She supposed it would be stupid if Pucey did keep a human eating plant, she stiffened when she felt the vine stroke the sole of her foot, and she tried to strain her eyes, the place in utter darkness seeing how her wand was crushed against her chest. She frowned, and tried to move her foot, only to have it roughly pulled back.

She was starting to wonder why the plant seemed specifically interest in her left foot….her eyes widened when she remembered stepping on the sugar cube. So the plant liked sugar, well that was something, maybe it'd let her go when it realised she wasn't sugary.

So she waited, ten minutes soon turned into the twenty and the plant wasn't letting her go. "Bollocks," Astoria grumbled, trying to think of a way out. She couldn't exactly blast herself free since her wand was too close to her chest. She scowled as she thought, this was a plant, which meant it could dry out, a grin spread across her face, if she sucked the water out the vines, the plant would be forced to retreat. "Merlin, I'm brilliant," she praised herself, struggling to move her wand, slowly wriggling her body.

The tip of her wand prodded the vine, she tried to focus. "_Combibo Aqua_," she uttered.

The plant started to writhe, she felt the chunkiness of the vines weaken, the layer of skin becoming crisper. The vines recoiled, allowing her to burst free, scattering to her feet as she rushed to the wall, the planting folding in on itself, she shined a light, seeing it settle into a more dormant state.

She let out a sigh of relief, but jumped when she saw the vines move, she calmed down when it remained docile. She opened up her left hand, the badly written letter still intact, she needed to get this to Lyrisadora, because she was pretty sure it was more important, besides Pucey had probably burned the coded letter. Which was a shame, she had wanted to read it.

Astoria moved to the exit, but halted when she heard muffled voices, her stomach doing a summersault as she checked the time. Shit. The prefects and squad members would be done patrolling by now. She couldn't leave now, she swallowed a lump in her throat, she'd have to wait, she moved to the corner of the wall, farthest away from the plant, curling up into a ball on the ground as she waited, suppressing a shiver when she heard the plant move.

* * *

><p><p>

_4th May 1996_

Lyrisadora woke up at the crack of dawn, her cat curled up with her in bed, quietly purring as she stroked its fur. She yawned, running a hand through her hair as she looked at the clock, before dragging herself out of bed, making Sapphira jump out of the bed.

She made her way over to the wardrobe to grab some clothes, her mind still resting on the confrontation with Adrian, as well as Astoria, the girl hadn't come to her with information, Lyrisadora felt a stab of irritation, assuming she had toddled off to bed. Lyrisadora supposed she'd just have to find her later when she returned from her mission.

She'd also need t talk to Snape about Adrian, she was still unsure and understood that her proposal would most likely be shot down, but she had to at least ask. She grabbed a large v-neck, navy-blue jumper, tossing it over her shoulder as she looked for a skirt. She wanted to bring Adrian with her on the mission abroad, of course this would cause massive complications, but she couldn't leave Adrian, they needed each other.

She paused, she wasn't quite sure if she was capable to do the mission without him, especially since she had come to realise how dependent she was on him. But, then again so was he, and she wasn't quite sure who was more dependent on the other. She didn't particularly like to think about it. She glanced at her wrist; she had healed up the bruise, all evidence of it gone.

She grabbed a woollen skirt and some knitted tights, grabbing a wand holster for her belt, she'd leave the robe, the spring air providing enough heat. She glanced over at Lucretia who was still fast asleep. Lyrisadora was reminded to check that Snape had booked the appointment with The Mind Healer.

* * *

><p><p>

Snape checked his watch as he met Lyrisadora at the School gates, arching an eyebrow when he saw the girl struggling to catch her breath, it appeared he'd have to get her to work on her fitness. "Are you ready?" he questioned, as Filch opened the gate for them.

She shot him a grin. "Merlin yes, I've been itching to get out of here for weeks," she sighed, apparently not noticing the ugly look Filch shot her.

The two wondered down the path, the gates closing behind them, Snape barely glanced at her as he spoke. "We'll be stealing a body from St Mungos," he informed. "You'll enter under the guise of a nurse, " he continued, passing her some Polyjuice potion. "We just need to acquire the hair of one of their healers," he said.

"You have any candidates?" Lyrisadora questioned as she walked along side him.

"Ethel Boregard and Agda Flintwood," Snape answered, from what limited information he had managed to gather, the two woman would be of the best use. Boregard had only just started at the hospital, so her co-workers didn't know much about her. Flintwood was known to be naturally unpleasant and therefore didn't have many friends, being listed on probation after one incident where she threw a flowerpot at patient who was irritating her. "Flintwood is on a late shift, and Boregard will be finishing a night shift in an hour, depends on which one you prefer," he went on.

He glanced at her, coming to a halt as he prepared to apparate. Lyrisadora paused, appearing to think the two women over. "Which do you think is best?" she questioned.

"Boregard is less known, so it'll be easier to slip under the radar, Flintwood is on probation, and the other staff don't tend to talk to her, so you'll be left on your own," he divulged. "But Flintwood works mostly in the morgue, so fewer questions will be asked if you are seen there."

"But as Boregard, I could act like I got lost, plus her personality is less known," Lyrisadora reasoned, she frowned , rubbing her neck, Snape froze when he saw small bruises on her shoulder and on the crook of her neck.

His hand tightened around his wand, his eyes narrowing, Lyrisadora noticed his staring and frowned at him questionably. "Where did you get those bruises?" Snape questioned tonelessly.

For some reason she looked at her wrist, before she glanced back up at him in confusion. "What bruises?" she questioned.

Snape conjured up a mirror, levitating it in front of her, her eyes widened as she went to go touch the damage. _"Those _bruises," the Professor said, trying to keep his voice level.

"Oh….they're not bruises," she said quickly, he arched a mocking eyebrow at her. "They're lovebites….or hickeys," she argued, a blush rising to her cheeks as she avoided the potion master's gaze, twiddling her fingers. "Loads of couples have them."

He was aware, he had dished out enough detentions to students who couldn't keep it in their pants. "And do you like them?" he questioned evenly.

Her cheeks grew pinker in embarrassment. "Sir, seriously, can we just focus on the task at hand," she protested, finally meeting his gaze. "I'll pick Ethel, she seems the safest bet," Lyrisadora decided, pulling out her wand to apparate.

Snape paused, he supposed he could let the topic drop for now, he still had to talk to her about Mrs Pucey sending letters to Umbridge, but he'd do that later. "Let's go then," he sighed, grabbing her arm, the two apparating with a pop.

* * *

><p><p>

Astoria jolted awake, confused as to where she was, until reality started to dawn. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the time. _"Lumos,"_ she muttered, shining the light on her watch. Her eyes widened when she realised it was 9am.

She glanced up at the ceiling, hearing silence, her gut twisted, she really hoped they had all gone to breakfast. She let out a shaky breath as she slowly got to her feet and silently walked to the stairs leading up to the door, when she climbed up the stairs, she listened out, not a sound could be heard, she carefully lifted the door up, to be greeted by the contents of the trunk, she couldn't lift the door up much, as clothes and objects weighed down on the door.

She pointed her wand at the trunk locked, quietly muttering '_recludo_' to unlock it. It unlocked with a click, she strained her hand out to open up the lid, her heart racing as it opened with a creek, she listened out for anyone, when it appeared no one else was in the room, she moved the objects off the door and got out the trunk, stepping out into the dorm room, letting out a relieved sigh.

She hastily tidied up everything in the trunk before locking it, hurrying down the stairs, she cautiously stepped into the common room, relieved to see it was empty, she quickly made her way to the Great hall, assuming Lyrisadora was at breakfast.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora quietly waited for Ethel Boregard to leave the hospital, Snape waited in position as the healer rounded a corner, with a swish motion the young woman was knocked out, Snape plucked a ginger hair from her head. Breaking into the ground level of a derelict office building that was next door to the hospital.<p>

Lyrisadora eyed the woman's appearance, Ethel looked around mid-twenties with bright ginger hair and a tanned complexion, a piggy nose, looking around average built with a large bosom and frumpy purple robes. Lyrisadora finished reading the hospital floor plan, before handing it back to the professor, accepting the Polyjuice potion from him.

The potion turned a light orange, and tasted like gone off ham. Lyrisadora prepared herself as her skin bubbled and morphed. Snape waited as Lyrisadora grabbed Ethel and pulled her round a corner behind a stack crates that were stuffed to the brim with office supplies, she transfigured her robes into that resembling Ethel's, before she grabbed the woman's locker keys and ID, before passing Snape Ethel's wand.

"You have an hour, meet me around the back of the hospital, we're transporting the body to my house," Snape informed briskly.

"Roger that," she replied, giving him a mocking salute.

Snape's stone expression didn't let up, he passed her a piece of paper. "These are your measurements, don't worry about hair colour, just try and get a body as close to your measurements as you can," he ordered. "Do you remember the doppelganger spell I taught you?"

"Yes," Lyrisadora replied, as she stuffed the paper in her pocket. "I'll be in and out before you know it," she reassured him, as she started to walk away.

Snape gave her a stern look. "Send a patronus if you get in trouble," he reminded sharply.

Lyrisadora gave him a firm nod before she disappeared down the high street.

* * *

><p><p>

Astoria rushed into the Great hall and hurried over to the Slytherin table, her alarm started to grow when she couldn't see Lyrisadora, Astoria went over to Yurika. "Yurika, have you seen Lyrisadora?" she asked her friend.

Yurika shot her an annoyed look. "No, how should I know," she replied rudely.

Astoria frowned, before she remembered Yurika was still annoyed with her. She rolled her eyes. "Are you still mad? Listen I'm sorry, I was a bitch, now can we move past this?" Astoria sighed. Yurika pursed her lips stubbornly. "I'll give you my silk scarf you like so much," Astoria offered reluctantly, wanting to make peace.

Her friend grinned. "Aw thanks! Also try asking Pucey, he should know where she is," Yurika suggested.

Astoria suppressed a shiver. "Not gonna happen. Do you know anyone else I could ask?" she questioned.

Yurika frowned. "Well, there's her roommate Lucretia," she answered, pointing at a docile looking girl at the end of the table, where a number of the seventh years were. "Why are you looking-"

Astoria cut her off, not having time for idle chit chat. "It's private," she said abruptly, leaving before Yurika could get a second word in. She approached Lucretia warily, noting that the girl's eyes were glassy and she was staring at her breakfast like she was lost in thought. "Lucretia?" Astoria greeted curiously.

Lucretia blinked a few times before she looked up. "Yes?" she asked dully.

"Have you seen Lyrisadora?" Astoria asked, wringing her hands anxiously as she waited for the girl to reply.

"No," Lucretia answered slowly, looking at Astoria intently. "You should ask Adrian, he should know," she added quietly.

Astoria cast an apprehensive side long look at Pucey, who was with his friends a few rows down near the middle of the table. Astoria didn't really want to speak to him, especially since she now knew what he had done. She looked back at Lucretia, feeling a stab of pity of the older girl, she wondered how Pucey had screwed with her head. "Thanks," she said, before she paused, hesitating before adding. "And, I really do recommend you go to the hospital," she added, moving away when Lucretia's face lit up in alarm.

Astoria instantly regretted saying that, when the girl's hands started to shake . "No I don't," Lucretia snapped, her eyes wide like a house-elf's. "No I don't!" she repeated, her voice louder, Astoria stiffened when a number of the Slytherins looked over at them questionably.

"Of course you don't, just ignore me," Astoria quickly tried to placate the girl.

"Tori, what are you doing?" she heard her sister question irritably, sitting with her usual band of friends in the middle of the table. _Shit_. Now more people were looking.

"Nothing," Astoria replied quickly, looking back at Lucretia who was reaching into her pocket, frantically searching for something. "I didn't say anything," she added, backing away, trying to pretend she didn't see Pucey looking at her suspiciously, hastily sitting down next to Yurika, ducking her head.

Where the hell was Lyrisadora?

* * *

><p><p>

Sneaking into the hospital wasn't that hard, the security guard had been curious as to why she had returned, but a quick 'I left something in my locker' had sufficed enough, as was the quick flash of her keys.

Lyrisadora transfigured her clothes into a Healers uniform when she found a private spot underneath the stairs, she struggled a little with getting the apron right. She silently thanked her mother for taking the time to teach her the art of transfiguring clothes, apparently it was lesson her mother had learned after a few wardrobe disasters.

Because after all, there was nothing worse than arriving at a party in the same dress as the host.

Lyrisadora made her way down to the morgue which was located underground, trying her best to blend into the background.

She silently wondered how this mission was meant to be an all day thing, unless there was other business the potion's master had to attend to. As she made her way down, she noticed with displeasure that the place was more or less full, she quickly hid in a cleaning closet, Snape had warned her she may have to come up with a distraction. Though he could have picked a better time to intercept the hospital, preferably night when less staff was on duty.

She frowned, turning the closet light on as she looked at the cleaning supplies, an idea forming in her head, she grabbed one of the chemicals from the shelves, reading the ingredients, she quickly looked at the other chemicals, trying to see which chemical reactions would do the best job without killing her and everyone else in the hospital.

She placed the chemicals into a bucket and exited the closet, creeping around a corner to where the air vents were, quickly flickering her wand to transport the bucket into the vents, before blasting the bucket with an evaporation spell, smoke soon appearing.

It didn't take long for the smell to spread, smelling like Troll farts, rotten eggs and tasting like soapy water, the smoke thick like a fog.

The staff started to evacuate as a woman on the speakers above ordered patients and healers to evacuate the premises towards the back of the hospital. The morgue staff left the dead where they were, hurrying up the stairs, Lyrisadora lingered back, slipping out of sight, covering her mouth with her hand as she went to the cold room where the bodies were magically preserved.

According to the information Snape had given her, St Mungos separated the bodies by gender, she journeyed towards the storage facility. The smell was spreading and she knew she didn't have much time until the source was found and eliminated, she cast a bubble around her head to block out the smell, allowing her to breathe normally.

She briskly entered the storage room, seeing a large quantity of shelves, she picked up and abandoned clip board, it was the paperwork for a new arrival, aged to be in the 20-29 years category, on aisle four.

She looked around the dingy cubicle, they must keep file information on all the bodies brought in, measurements included, she wondered over to the file cabinets, they were arranged by what aisle the bodies were stored in, she quickly went to the cabinet with the number four on it, opening it up to scan through the files.

It took her a good thirty minutes or so to find something. The deceased was Meridia Thorne, her measurements were more or less identical to Lyrisadora's, she'd have to do. Lyrisadora rushed over to the correct aisle, the compartment being number 64, she had to stretch to reach the handle, levitating the body out.

She got a good look at her, the woman's face was rounder, and her skin was more pinker than Lyrisadora, having a healthy faint sun kissed look to it. Lyrisadora levitated the woman along, before placing her on a hovering hospital slab. "_Carno resumo Carno," _she uttered the spell over the body, struggling to pull the replicated flesh away from the body,

Doppelgangers; Merlin they were annoying to make, especially since some of the casters magic was sucked from them in the process. She admitted she felt a bit bad for doing this to the Thorne family, but it was necessary, besides, she doubted the family would notice the magical residue of the doppelganger, a person tended to be able to tell because of the smell. But as Meridia was already dead, it shouldn't raise too many questions.

When the imitated flesh was finished, Lyrisadora placed it in the now empty compartment, before closing it up. She placed a thin blanket over Meridia's still form, before pushing her out of the room.

The lift was not the safest option, but considering the chemicals were more or less harmless Lyrisadora decided it was the quickest option, and she was relieved when she got to remove the bubble charm when she entered the lift.

The staff and patients should have evacuated by now, so the floor should be deserted, she just had to worry about the lingering security guards that may have stayed to give the place a quick run over. When she arrived on the first floor she moved quickly, trying to get out as quick as possible.

"Excuse me," a gruff voice called, stopping her in her tracks.

Lyrisadora held back a swear, turning around to face the caller. A well built man in a guard's uniform marched over to her, his brow creased into a stern frown. "What's the problem?" Lyrisadora questioned innocently, placing her hands behind her back where her wand was stuffed in the knot of her pinafore.

"You took the lift," he said sharply. "Do you know how dangerous that is?" he began to lecture. "And you should be outside with the others."

Lyrisadora quickly made herself cower. "I'm sorry! I was in a rush and the patient is in a coma-I've just started, I'm sorry," she cried.

The security guard looked over at the patient and frowned. "She's in a coma?" he questioned warily.

Lyrisadora moved to the side, feeling her clothes start to become looser, the Polyjuice potion wearing off. "Yes, a very serious one," she replied, earning an odd look as the man moved to lift the sheet. Lyrisadora whipped out her wand when his back was turned and uttered a silent '_stupefy'_, knocking the man to the ground.

She made a mad dash towards the back entrance, outside was a massive hustle and bustle of patents and staff, she tried to merge into the background. The wards around the hospital made the parking them invisible to the passing muggles opposite, cars whizzing past, the muggles not giving her a second glance as she moved to where Snape stood , a dark spectre around a corner.

Lyrisadora checked to see if anyone was looking as she moved towards him, thankful that the staff in the yard were more or less distracted with the chaos, a number of staff trying to control the more dangerous patients from running away.

"What did you do?" Snape sighed in exasperation, the three of them disappearing around a corner to where Ethel Boregard's sleeping form was.

Lyrisadora tossed the woman's ID and locker key at Ethel's unconscious form. "Causing a distraction," Lyrisadora replied plainly, giving the professor a look. "I just had to improvise a bit," she added.

Snape's lips thinned, he tossed the woman back her wand, as she started to stir, before he placed his hand on the dead Miridia's arm. "We'll discuss this later," he said bitingly, before grabbing Lyrisadora's hand and apparated away.

Lyrisadora blinked a few times, the both of them arriving in a small bland looking living room, she recognised it at the Potion Professors house. Snape silently moved the woman out of the room, to presumably place her in his attic or basement. Her stomach grumbled. "I'm starving," she stated , more to herself since Snape had apparently forgotten about her.

She made her way over to the kitchen, quickly searching the cupboard, sadly it appeared the Professor's choice in food was as bland as his home. Lyrisadora knew it was impolite to go through other people draws, but seeing how this was Professor Snape, she figured it was okay.

Besides she was hungry and had just completed a mission for him, if he had been a decent host he would have made her something to eat, it was just a matter of proper decorum really. She looked in the fridge, wrinkling her nose when she found it bare, which she supposed made sense since Snape had no reason to fill his home with fresh food while he was away.

Still though, there must be something, maybe he had a secret sweet tooth. "_Accio_ chocolate," she called.

Nothing happened.

She tried again. "_Accio_ biscuits, _accio_ lemon drop?"

She frowned. "_Accio_ toffees!"

The bottom cupboard near the door swung open, a handful of wrapped toffees burst out and hit her in the face, knocking her back. She smiled, picking one up and undoing the shiny gold wrapping, before plopping it in her mouth.

Snape came into view, stopping at the doorway, his brow creasing when he saw her and the toffees on the wooden floor."What are you doing?" Snape's cold voice questioned.

Lyrisadora swallowed the sweet and shrugged. "I was hungry," she replied, picking up the toffees, unwrapping another one.

His eyes narrowed. "Didn't your parents teach you not to scrounge for food in another's home?"

"Most definitely, however they also taught me how shamefully impolite it was to not offer your guest nourishment," she retorted, raising an eyebrow.

Snape folded his arms and looked at her dryly. "Those toffees are poisonous."

She spat them out. "What the hell!" she exclaimed, she felt a rise of panic, before she caught the potions master roll his eyes. She really did hate his sick sense of humour sometimes.

"Come, we have other business to attend to," he instructed, moving to the living room.

Lyrisadora scowled, but nevertheless followed. "So what's next on the agenda?"

"The reason I was able to get you out of school was because I said I needed you to help me collect slime from a Pit-bull plant," Snape explained. "I need the slime to brew the potion for Umbridge's rash." He let out a long suffering sigh. "I had planned to just order it….but the Ministry has been monitoring mail and that has caused the deliveries to slow down" he drawled.

Lyrisadora frowned. "Why would you call a plant Pit-Bull?" she questioned.

"Apparently it was spiky and the man who discovered it was a dog lover, it doesn't really matter," Snape sighed. "The plant is located in Wales," he said plainly, he paused when he gave her a quick look over. "You may want to change," he advised, seeing how her clothes were still transfigured into the Healer's uniform. "You'll be the one milking the slime," he added, the shadow of a smile playing on his lips.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "Oh_, goodie,"_ she murmured bitterly. Maybe Adrian was right, Snape really did treat her like crap sometimes.

* * *

><p><p>

Snape watched as Lyrisadora milked the spiky plant, he had even been considerate enough to give her some thick gloves so she wouldn't prick herself. He sighed as time went by, the milking taking a long time, as the correct spikes had to be pressed in the right sequence.

Lyrisadora had managed not to muck it up, which was a relief seeing how the plant could have been milked by a first year, and if she couldn't do it then he was quite frankly wasting his time with her.

He sighed, he supposed he was being a bit too hard on her, after all she was competent and she had completed the task he had assigned her. Maybe it was her lack of subtlety and the fact she wrote off those bruises so easily.

Speaking of Pucey. "Are you aware Mrs Pucey has been in contact with Umbridge?" he questioned suddenly, drawing in her attention.

A frown flashed across Lyrisadora's face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "No…but it was probably an old one, most likely about the whole funeral thing, like allowing me to leave-"

"Didn't Adrian write about that? And didn't he contact McGonagall?" Snape interrupted lightly. Lyrisadora stopped, her Adam's apple bobbing as she lowered her gaze away from him, Snape eyed her curiously, taking a few steps closer to her, making sure not to draw to near to the nestle of Pit-Bull plants. "Is there something you're not telling me?" he questioned, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Lyrisadora glanced up at him, Snape wondered why she looked so apprehensive. "Well…..you know those coded letters I've been sending to Orsan…." She began.

"Yes," he replied slowly, having a bad feeling on where this was going.

"One of them was intercepted, and one way or another, Adrian got a hold of it," she continued, Snape stiffened, a rise of frustration mounting with in him, he knew that Auror would be nothing but trouble. But of course Dumbledore had insisted the man could be useful. "He decoded the message, I found out and….confronted him."

"You did what?" Snape questioned indignantly, quickly realising how downhill things were going. "Tell me you didn't reveal anything about the mission?" he queried icily, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"….Not the details," she answered quietly, flinching when he gritted his teeth, his eyes burning holes into her head. "I'm sorry!" she apologised hastily, backing away from him.

He opened his mouth to shout at her, but stopped when he saw how frightened she looked, he scowled, why on earth was she frightened of him? His mind trailed back to the bruises, a bad taste filling his mouth, Pucey wouldn't have dared, would he? Snape's jaw tightened. He imagined Pucey wouldn't have been very happy to find out Lyrisadora had been lying to him…..but Lyrisadora wouldn't have just let him hurt her, she was stronger than that. Well at least he had assumed she was, because right now she didn't look very fearless. "Did he hurt you?" Snape questioned quietly, frost layering his eyes, as he absently considered the many ways to disembody a man.

Lyrisadora's eyes widened, her Occlumancy shields up high, his fists clenched. "He didn't mean to, he really didn't," she replied hastily, shaking her head desperately. "It wasn't even bad-"

It took all Snape's control to not apparate back to Hogwarts and show that spoilt little sod the true nature of suffering. "Where did he hurt you?" he asked evenly, his tone perfectly controlled and level.

"It was just my wrist," Lyrisadora replied, holding up the said wrist, not a blemish in sight. "It's all healed, besides it's nothing," she continued, absently wringing her hands, looking at the potions master imploringly.

"He twisted your wrist," Snape stated calmly, assuming this was the case. "And he didn't notice?"

"He was just angry, he was scared I was going to leave him," she tried to argue. "Can we stop talking about this already?" she protested, turning back to the plant.

Like hell they were, Snape decided to state it plainly. "So, he's been abusing you?"

Lyrisadora whipped around and looked at him sharply. "No, he hasn't! For Merlin sake, it was barely a blemish, and it wasn't like he Cruciod me," she snapped.

"So eager to defend him, are we?" Snape sneered, his irritation growing. "So, if he did it again, would it still be okay?"

Lyrisadora paused, Snape looked at her pointedly, he knew she wasn't an idiot, deep down she knew what Pucey had done was wrong, but it appeared her sentiment had blinded her. It was becoming disturbingly clearer how twisted her relationship with Adrian had become. He had seen certain incidents like this in the past, they never did end well. "You don't understand, you weren't there," she said weakly.

"…Why didn't you hit him back?" Snape asked.

"I didn't want to hurt him," she replied, as if it were obvious.

Snape wondered if she realised the weight of her words, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Do you know why I chose you for Dumbledore's mission?" he questioned, looking at her intently.

"I had a vendetta against the Dark Lord?" she suggested.

Snape rolled his eyes. "Like that's anything special," he scoffed. "No, I chose you because you were smart, powerful and you were skilled enough to get the job done," Snape confessed.

Lyrisadora looked at him in surprise. "Really?" she questioned.

The scepticism in her voice really was a sad testament on how much she'd changed in such a short time. "Yes you ninny," he replied testily. "Which is why I'm so appalled at how weak you've become," he sighed, hating how she ducked her head ever so slightly, but was pleased when he saw her brow crease .

"I'm not weak," she protested, a little more fire back in her eyes. "Loving Adrian hasn't made me weak, I'm just trying to make our relationship work, he needs me and I need him," she stated firmly.

He raised an eyebrow. "You _need_ him?" Snape repeated, looking at her pointedly.

Lyrisadora grew silent, realisation sinking in. "….He's always been there….and I don't know who I'd be without him," she divulged, her hands clenching, looking away from the potions master, Snape swore he could detect shame in her tone.

Snape started to put it all together. "And who exactly do you think you'd be without him?" he questioned evenly.

"Still that obedient little girl who was afraid of her father, I'd be nothing," she murmured.

Merlin, for someone so smart, she could be a real idiot sometimes. "Did Adrian convince you to make friends with the Weasley twins?" Snape questioned suddenly.

Lyrisadora frowned. "Well, no," she answered.

"Did you become a prefect because of Adrian? Forgive me, but wasn't it _you_ who saved his life back in Bulgaria?" he inquired curiously, waiting her to wake up and realise she didn't need that moron. "If I thought you were useless without Adrian, I wouldn't have bothered giving you the mission, and if I thought you were nothing but a spineless girl who was too meek to amount to anything, do you really think I would have invested so much of my time teaching you?" Snape challenged. "Or insisted you become Head Girl?"

Lyrisadora was silent, the two didn't speak for a long time. She opened her mouth to reply, but closed it, he waited patiently for her to find her voice. "Do you respect me?" she blurted out, an embarrassed flush crept onto her face.

Snape arched an eyebrow, he paused, looking at her critically, before he let out a sigh. She could be so exasperating. "Do you really think I would have put up with you this long if I didn't?" he questioned dryly. A stupid smile started to spread across her face, he really did worry about her sometimes, he considered getting Pomfrey to check her over, just to make sure she didn't have a medical disorder. "Now hurrying up and milk that plant," he snapped, narrowing his eyes at her.

Hopefully she'd see sense in a day or to, because he really couldn't afford the hassle of trying to kill a student and bury the body, Pucey's disappearance would raise questions and no doubt Lyrisadora would yell and cry over her dead fiancé. But she'd get over it and see sense, she'd probably thank him in a few years.

He half wished Lucius had picked Nott Sr to be the girl's godfather all those years ago, she was causing Snape no end of trouble.

* * *

><p><p>

When Lyrisadora arrived back at the castle her jumper was covered in slime, which of course raised a few eyebrows and giggles from passersby, oh and of course Peeves and made up a song about her to immortalise her state. She felt so special. So of course the first thing she did when she got back was take a bath in the Prefects bathroom, where she could get some well deserved privacy.

Lyrisadora sighed blissfully as she stepped into the warm water, leaning her head on the stone floor as she relaxed. It had taken a while, but she had managed to convince Snape not to hurt Adrian, but seeing how he hadn't made a magical vow, she was still apprehensive.

She paused, reviewing the confrontation with her teacher, it had been uncomfortable and she didn't want to admit it, but Snape was right about a lot of things. Her stomach churned unpleasantly. She wasn't sure on what she should do, Snape had pointed out that Adrian had been wrong in assuming she'd still be a scared little girl, she was more than that.

The truth was uncomfortable and she wasn't quite sure where to place Adrian in it all, he shouldn't have hurt her, but he had apologised and he looked so sincere. But his behaviour was becoming more and more disturbing, and certain things he said….she wanted to put it down to lack of tact, but she wasn't sure she could just write it off so easily.

She didn't think he was deliberately trying o hurt her, more indirectly and as for Mrs Pucey, that was another thing that rubbed her the wrong way, she couldn't trust the woman…but she had been useful with information about Adrian.

She closed her eyes and sighed, sinking deeper into the water, Adrian was the wrench in the gear. What was she going to do about him, confront him? But that hadn't really gone swimmingly last time, she flexed her hands under the water, it was becoming increasingly harder to ignore the overlaying wrongness in their relationship.

Things had turned bad so quick ever since his father's death, something had happened that day, as to what she wasn't quite sure. She wasn't innocent of blame herself, she had manipulated him to get what she wanted, and she knew that consequences were expected. She sighed, her hand absently touching the bruises, wanting to get rid of the blemishes, feeling ashamed.

There was a loud bag at the door, making her jump in surprise. "Lyra, are you in there!" came Astoria's muffled voice.

"Just hold on a sec," Lyrisadora yelled back, stepping out of the bath, feeling a pang of concern at Astoria's urgent tone. She wrapped her dressing gown around her and tied the fasten, before wandering over to the entrance, letting Astoria in. "What happened? Did you get the letter?"

Astoria shot Lyrisadora an irritated look. "I nearly got defiled by a tentacle plant your psycho of a boyfriend keeps in his trunk," she informed sharply, before pulling out a piece of paper. "And I found something of more interest. Read," Astoria ordered firmly, holding the paper out.

Lyrisadora took it, her brow arching when she saw the bad grammar. "Did a three year old write this?" she questioned flatly.

Astoria rolled her eyes. "Ignore how bad it is and just read."

Lyrisadora complied, her stomach twisting as she read, her fingers tightening on the paper, she froze as her eyes scanned the letter.

_…..illusion charm to hide how dameged Lucretia's mind is, it didn't look good._

_…..David Hewitte…funny story….I had to obliviate him. It was necessary…_

_…. I kept my distance with Lyra, it seems you where right….._

…_ think I might give Lyra a gift, just to sweeten her up…._

"Lyra….?" She heard Astoria question in concern.

Lyrisadora ignored her, everything finally falling into place, hating how it all made sense.

She felt like a fool.

She felt like someone had ripped out her heart and laughed in her face.

* * *

><p><strong>Man this was a long chapter, sometimes I surprise myself. I hope Snape was still in character, I didn't want him too fluffy, because well...it's Snape he isn't a nice person. <strong>

**Anyway let me know what you guys think!**


	88. The Queen, The Bishop and The King

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: American Horror Story  
><strong>

**'...' Translated French**

* * *

><p><strong>"Humans are like glass, we break and then don't get fixed."<strong>

**Chapter:The Queen, The Bishop and The King**

* * *

><p>For a solid five minutes Lyrisadora remained unresponsive as Astoria tried to snap her out of it, roughly shaking her shoulder. "…Seriously, you're scaring me," Astoria exclaimed.<p>

Lyrisadora scrunched the letter up in her hand, Adrian had crossed a line, he was dangerous. She felt her gut twist, and now he knew too much. She had confided in him, trusted him and he had been lying to her face for months, he'd hurt her friends and relished in it.

She felt sick, remembering how terrified David had looked, remembering Adrian's words before hand, realising the double meaning they held. What the hell had Adrian done to David and Lucretia? She frowned, recalling how odd Elizabeth had been the last time she saw her, Lucretia tripping up and hurting herself, Elizabeth being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Adrian's reassuring words and comforting smile, supporting Lyrisadora through it all.

Lyrisadora wanted to scream, punch the wall until her fists turned bloody. He'd played her like a fiddle, and he'd enjoyed it, a part of her wanted to punch him in the face, another part of her wanted to cry and punish herself for her own stupidity.

She swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. This was the boy she had sworn to protect and invested so much in, had loved and trusted. "Why did he do it?" she said quietly, her voice barely a whisper, her brow creasing in confusion.

"Well he is a psychopath," Astoria blurted out, Lyrisadora finally turned to her, having forgotten she was there. "It's what they're like."

"He's a sociopath," Lyrisadora corrected tonelessly, turning away. "But there isn't much of a difference," she muttered.

Lyrisadora looked back at the scrunched up letter, Elizabeth had tried to warn her that day….why hadn't she sent more letters? Had they been blocked? Or was Elizabeth angry with her? Had Adrian done something?

Lyrisadora tried to think of what to do next, she supposed the first thing to do was sort out Lucretia, the girl's mind was damaged and Lyrisadora needed to see the extent.

Coming to a resolve, Lyrisadora looked back at Astoria who was looking up at her expectantly. "Thank you, Astoria," she said, managing a fond smile. "Your performance was outstanding," she praised. "…I'll throw in an extra galleon," Lyrisadora offered.

Astoria scoffed. "I had to fight off a tentacle plant, make that _two_ extra galleons," she demanded.

Lyrisadora was only half listening as she gathered up her clothes. "Yeah, sure," she murmured distantly, as she hurried off into a secluded corner to get dressed. "And Astoria," she called over her shoulder.

"Yeah?" Astoria called back.

"Keep this between us," Lyrisadora instructed, pulling her jumper over her head. "Okay?"

"….Well, okay…if you say so," the younger girl replied apprehensively.

Lyrisadora finished getting dressed and shoved her shoes on, the slime removed from her clothes as she tucked her wand into the holder, briskly walking to the door.

"Hey Lyra," Astoria called, as Lyrisadora opened the door to leave, the blonde looked at Astoria over her shoulder. "Be careful," Astoria advised, her face creasing into a concerned frown.

Lyrisadora shot her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me," she replied, before shutting the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Adrian didn't really like Warrington that much; he didn't mind his company and he could be good conversation at times. But something about Warrington's spitefulness and petty nature just irked Adrian the wrong way.<p>

So when Warrington had proposed they play chess in the common room, while their friends were occupied elsewhere, Adrian hadn't been enthusiastic about it. But he supposed he had nothing better to do and Warrington obviously wanted to discuss business and Adrian wanted to keep the boy wrapped around his finger.

To Adrian's annoyance, Warrington was pretty good at chess, which meant Adrian couldn't end the game quickly.

Warrington shot Adrian a pleasant smile, which was met with a dry look. "My father sends his regards by the way, he was surprised by the number of investors you managed to secure," he said, promoting his pawn to a queen.

Adrian rested his chin on his knuckle as he protected his king. "I appreciate his thanks," he replied evenly, watching as Warrington made another move.

The two didn't speak for a while, as Adrian tried to destroy one of Warrington's rooks that was a little too vulnerable near the side of the board. "Lyrisadora seems to be more cooperative," Warrington spoke again.

Adrian tried not to tense, quirking an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was getting at. "Is she?"

"Oh, come on," Warrington scoffed, shooting him a friendly smile. "We've all noticed the change, I'm just curious as to how you did it?" he inquired.

Adrian gave him a cold look, but Warrington didn't seem to notice. He really didn't like where this conversation was going, his relationship with Lyrisadora frankly wasn't any of Warrington's business. "Did what?" he questioned tonelessly, looking at him blankly.

Warrington frowned and leaned in more, appearing to forget about the game. "Come on, you can tell me…..did you hit her?" he asked quietly, an amused smile playing on his lips.

Adrian's eyes narrowed. "Do you think I'm some violent animal?" he questioned cuttingly.

Warrington seemed to pick up on the coldness in his tone, as he straightened up. "I was just asking….and I wouldn't blame you if you did-"

"Warrington, _shut up_," Adrian interrupted icily, effectively silencing him; this led to an uncomfortable silence as the two continued to play chess. Merlin, Adrian missed Lyrisadora, he nearly sighed, though true things were a little awkward since he accidently hurt her and then discovered the truth about her little mission, but he still wanted her by his side, now more than ever.

Adrian leant back in his chair, absently, tapping his finger on the table. He still needed to talk to her on what they should do next, she seemed so set on continuing on with this mission, but he couldn't have that, she belonged with him, where she'd be safe and loved. Not a thousand miles away where she could be killed.

He knew Dumbledore and Snape wouldn't let him go with her, the only option left was to take her with him to America, even if she struggled. He expected her to fight him at every turn and try and escape, which meant he'd need to be smart about this, draw out a plan.

She'd be angry at first, but eventually she'd see things his way, realise he was right and she was wrong.

Besides she always forgave him eventually.

"Adrian it's your move," Warrington said, regaining his attention.

Adrian looked back at the board and frowned_. Well bugger_. It looked like he'd have to draw, or Warrington would win. Adrian moved his bishop, effectively causing a stalemate. "Looks like it's a draw," Adrian announced pleasantly.

Warrington shrugged, before he gave Adrian a pleasant smile. "Want to go another round?" he inquired brightly.

Adrian almost groaned and slumped in his seat, but he was saved when he saw Lyrisadora enter the common room, he smiled. "Sorry, but I have other matters to attend to," he said, giving Warrington a meaningful look as he made his way over to Lyrisadora, not missing how Warrington frowned. "Hello Princess," Adrian greeted warmly, entwining an arm around her waist, pulling her towards an enchanted window in a dark corner, fish swimming on by.

He felt her stiffen, the palm of her hands pressed against his chest, as if pushing him away. He frowned, noting the faraway look in her eyes and her pale complexion. "Adrian," she greeted curtly, avoiding his gaze.

His smile dimmed, he wondered what was wrong with her? His eyes absently caught sight of the bruises on her neck….maybe he had been a bit too rough yesterday, but he hadn't had sex in nearly a week and she had been teasing him. Still though, he supposed he'd have to be gentler next time. "Is everything alright?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side, trying to catch her eye. "Did anything happen while you were away?"

"No," Lyrisadora answered evenly, meeting his gaze this time, her face unreadable, Adrian looked at her curiously. "I'm just tired," she added giving him a weak smile.

Adrian hid a frown, plastering on a pleasant smile. "Did you have a hard day?" he questioned, gently curving a finger under her chin. "Did Snape run you ragged?" he asked amusingly, he absently wondered when she'd tell him what Snape had wanted from her, he supposed he just needed to prod her a bit.

"No," she answered lightly, her smile flawless. "He just wanted me to milk a plant," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Not really that exciting."

Adrian severally doubted that she spent all day milking a plant, though he did note there were some elements of slime at the end of her hair. "That must have been annoying, he really should treat you with more respect," he sighed, drawing her in closer as he nuzzled her cheek to kiss it. Lyrisadora remained silent. His brow creased, something seemed off with her? Maybe she was just tired, highly strung from today's events. "I wish we could have spent the day together," he sighed regrettably, kissing her on the lips, his hands tightened around her waist when she didn't open her mouth or lean in to kiss him back, she remained as stiff as a board. He tried to hide his irritation as he smiled slyly. "How about we make up for lost time?" he suggested, creeping a hand under her jumper, feeling her warm smooth skin underneath, he saw her hands tighten into fists.

"No, I'm tired, Adrian," she informed him tonelessly, giving him a stern look. "I'm not in the mood," she said, moving out of his hold, more or less pushing his hand away, turning away to leave.

Adrian felt a surge of frustration, why on earth was she acting like this? And why was she being so difficult, did she think it was alright to tease him for days and then just leave him hanging? He yanked her back, making her wince and duck her head as he pulled her in closer. He buried a smidge of guilt; he supposed he shouldn't have yanked so hard. "You were pretty eager last night," he said lowly, his gaze darkening. "Now what's wrong?"

Her free hand was now resting on her wand, Adrian almost raised an eyebrow, wondering if she'd actually raise her wand to him, but it was highly unlikely, she wouldn't hurt him, she _loved _him. "I'm just tired, it's been a long day," she protested, her jaw tightening.

"But we haven't had sex in nearly a week," he hissed, his irritation mounting. He couldn't understand why she was holding out on him, he knew she enjoyed it and the deal was that he wouldn't sleep around as long as she tended to his needs, it was of mutual benefit. He forced his tone to be gentler, trying to make his gaze reassuring. "I've missed you," he said, holding her more tenderly, letting go of her wrist, as he wrapped another arm around her, planting a kiss on her neck. "We can do a quick one upstairs, no one's up there…"

Lyrisadora's expression tightened as she cringed away from him, her hands tightening into fist. "Stop it," he heard her hiss, trying to push him away. "I said _no_," she protested, her voice coming out firmer.

Adrian frowned, this was ridiculous, it was bad enough she had ditched him to go play dutiful student with that slimy git, but now she was deliberately causing him discomfort. '_Later_' she had said, taunting him with her sweet kisses, it always had to be on _her_ terms didn't it? She couldn't have both, she couldn't have him remain faithful and then just drop him like a hat. "I have _needs_, princess," he argued, his voice coming out harsher than intended.

He saw Lyrisadora's eyes flash with anger. "Then go fuck some whore, if that's all you want!" she snapped, her magic burned , making him release her as she violently shoved him away.

His eyes widened in disbelief, as he watched her storm off, a number of the Slytherins perking up and eyed the feuding couple with interest. Adrian bit down on his tongue as he tried to control his temper, marching back over to the chess table where Warrington sat, hating the other boy's inquiring gaze. "So…..trouble in paradise?" Warrington questioned hesitantly.

Adrian smothered a violent urge to stab the queen chess piece into Warrington's eye.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora didn't stop running until she made it to her dormitory, before she slumped against the door, wrapping her arms around herself.<p>

She felt like recoiling in on herself, Adrian's touch feeling wrong and good at the same time. She had still felt a familiar spark and tingle on her lips and body when he touched her, but it wasn't welcomed. She felt her gut twist when she realised Adrian wouldn't let it go, he'd find out the truth, she gripped herself a little more tightly.

He already knew too much as it was.

Lyrisadora suppressed a shiver and tried to push Adrian out of her mind. Lucretia was the one she needed to focus on right now, Lyrisadora stood up straighter and breathed in a deep breath, before opening the door, as she entered the room, she found a docile looking Lucretia curled up on the bed with Sapphira in her arms, dressed in a dressing gown and looking like she hadn't left her room all day.

Lyrisadora plastered on a bright smile. "Hi, Lucretia," she greeted casually, making her way over to her.

Lucretia's head dully bobbed up to look at her. "….Hi," she greeted quietly, before settling her head back into the cushion, her eyes having a distant look to them.

The mattress dipped as Lyrisadora sat at the end of the bed, making sure her smile stayed fixed in place. "How was your day?"

"Fine," Lucretia replied softly, Lyrisadora felt a knot tighten in her chest. "Someone…..asked about you," Lucretia continued, a frown creasing her features, "….at breakfast…."

"Who?"

"I don't…..know…" Lucretia trailed off, her voice silencing.

Lyrisadora let out a shallow breath. "I see, well don't worry about it," she reassured, looking at her friend intently. "…Lucretia, could you sit up for a second?" she requested.

Lucretia frowned and gave Lyrisadora a befuddled look, but nevertheless complied and sat up, Sapphira still tightly held in her arms. "Why?" she questioned.

"….Do you trust me?" Lyrisadora asked cautiously.

There was a brief pause. "Not really," Lucretia divulged weakly, her eyes firmly downcast.

Lyrisadora sighed. "Then can you do so this once?" she inquired gently, giving Lucretia a disarming smile.

Lucretia hesitated, before she finally met Lyrisadora's gaze. "What are you going to do?"

"I just want to make sure your headaches have gone," Lyrisadora replied, firmly gripping the other girl's chin. Lucretia looked confused and opened her mouth to speak, but Lyrisadora dived in before she could protest.

Lyrisadora felt her eyes widen as she took in the damage before her, Lucretia's short term memory was all but gone, and her motoring skills were breaking apart slowly, as was her long term memory. But there was something else that was more disturbing, Lyrisadora could sense a hint of compulsion, like a brainwashed message entwined in her head.

_Everything is fine and nothing was wrong._

Lyrisadora felt her gut twist as she delved in deeper, trying to grasp at the broken memories, as they slipped through like sand in her hand.

_…Blackmail…_

_…Told my grandparents…_

_….love you….._

_…..love you…._

_….hospital….lunatic, lunatic,lunatic….._

_…I could get you a poti-_

_…Adrian…._

Lyrisadora stopped when she found a suppressed memory, her dread growing when she realised how old it was.

She pulled out of Lucretia's head, not wanting to cause the girl anymore damage. "Adrian did this to you?" Lyrisadora whispered, a painful feeling tugging at her chest. Adrian had seen the damage and had done nothing, he hadn't cared. She knew she shouldn't be surprised but….Lucretia had been his friend, they had grown up together and he had so easily discarded that.

"What?" Lucretia questioned, looking at Lyrisadora in confusion. "Adrian hasn't done anything bad," she protested. "He's only tried to help me…"

Lyrisadora frowned and looked at Lucretia warily. "What do you mean?"

Lucretia held Sapphira tighter, much to the cat's discomfort. "…Well….he gave me calming potions to help me relax…because I was stressed and the potions for my headache weren't working properly," she explained.

Lyrisadora was silent for a moment her hands curling into fists as she buried a wave of anger. "May I have a look at them?" she asked politely, smiling faintly.

Lucretia looked apprehensive, but nodded in consent, releasing the struggling cat to grab something from under her bed. She brought out a medium sized box, with ten medium sized bottles inside, the liquid a pale orange. "They keep me calm," Lucretia said quietly.

Lyrisadora picked up one of the bottles and read the ingredients on the back, her eyes widened when she realised how strong the potion was. "Don't you think this dosage is too strong?" she questioned in alarm.

Lucretia shrank back a little. "Adrian said-"

"Adrian isn't a bloody Healer," Lyrisadora bit back, losing her temper. "He's the last person you should go to for medicine," she scolded.

Lucretia flinched ducking her head, Lyrisadora felt a stab of guilt. "He offered me help….so I took it. Besides the potions don't have any side effects," she protested meekly.

Other than making you comatose. Lyrisadora sighed, her expression softening. "Listen, I'm sort of an expert in the potions area and I don't think it's a good idea to take potions from Adrian, it isn't exactly safe," she said calmly. "…I think we need to get you to a hos-" Lyrisadora stopped when she saw Lucretia stiffen, her eyes widen in fear. "_Hot Chocolate!"_ Lyrisadora hastily said instead. "A nice hot chocolate to settle your nerves," she said, smiling brightly.

Lucretia frowned. "Isn't it a little late for that?" she queried.

Lyrisadora waved a dismissive hand. "Of course not, one of the house-elves can fetch us one," she replied pleasantly. In theory it should work, the house-elves served the school, so to some extent they could be ordered around by the students. She just needed to call for one by name, her brow creased, she had baked once or twice in the kitchens a few of years ago, so there were one or two elves she knew by name. Dobby was one option, but the elf was always so wary around her….but at least she could count on him not ratting her out to Umbridge. "Dobby!" Lyrisadora called.

With a swift crack, the elf appeared, his tennis ball eyes looking at her suspiciously. "You called Mist…Malfoy, miss," Dobby hastily caught himself, looking at her defiantly.

She smiled gently; his defiance always did amuse her. "Would you fetch my friend a hot chocolate please," she requested, before glancing at Lucretia. "Any sugar?" Lucretia shook her head. "No sugar then, how about honey?" Lyrisadora suggested, earning a simple shrug, which she took as a yes. "A drop of honey then," Lyrisadora told Dobby. "Please." She added nicely.

Dobby paused before he nodded, his lips set in a thin line, before he clicked his fingers and disappeared.

Lyrisadora gave Lucretia a warm smile, before she took the box of potions and placed it on the floor. "Don't worry, everything will be fine," she reassured, her words seemingly comforting the other girl, as Lucretia's shoulders relaxed more.

"I still think I should keep taking my potions," Lucretia muttered.

Lyrisadora wanted to keep her placated, so she smiled, letting out a small sigh. "I understand, I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do," she reassured, her mind absently drifting to her box of potions in her trunk. "Why don't you lie down," she suggested, picking Sapphira up and dumping her in Lucretia's arms.

"Okay," Lucretia complied faintly, curling in herself.

Lyrisadora wondered over to her trunk, a plan already forming in her head, she'd have to make sure she got the dosage right, she wouldn't be able to transport Lucretia until later when everyone had gone to bed. She pretended to get changed into her night dress, discreetly opening up her small box of potions, the sleeping potion had a honey taste to it, the potion a light purple colour in a small delicate glass bottle, she slipped it under her sleeve, her head jerking up when she heard a familiar crack.

Lyrisadora quickly took the hot chocolate from Dobby, noting that Lucretia seemed to have spaced out again, her eyes glassy. "Thank you Dobby," Lyrisadora said, a ghost of a smile flickered across the elf's face, before he nodded politely, clicking his fingers, disappearing with a crack. Lyrisadora sat back on the bed, while discreetly pouring the potion into the liquid while she held it close. "This'll brighten you up a bit," she said, holding out the steaming cup.

Lucretia lazily eyed the drink, before sitting up and accepting it. "I think they added too much honey," she said after taking her first sip.

"They probably just wanted to heighten the flavour," Lyrisadora said casually, looking away as Lucretia took another sip.

It took five more sips before she dropped the mug and was out cold on her pillow, Sapphira meowed and climbed on her face to nuzzle her cheek, as Lyrisadora cleaned up the spilled hot chocolate and placed the mug on the side.

Lyrisadora let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair, she had to fix this mess and Adrian…..Adrian could wait. She needed to get Lucretia to Professor Snape, then maybe they'd be able to get her to an hospital.

She heard a sharp knock on the door, she stiffened, but hastily relaxed, boys weren't allowed in the girls' dormitory's, that little trick with stairs had kindly seen to that.

When Lyrisadora opened the door Astoria burst in, eyes locking on Lucretia's sleeping form, before back at Lyrisadora. "So what's the plan?" she asked excitedly.

Lyrisadora sighed. "Astoria, you've done enough, I can handle things from here," she reassured, the last thing she wanted was for the younger girl ending up like David.

Astoria rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips as she arched an eyebrow at the older girl. "And miss out on all the fun? Pfft, come on we both know that's not going to happen," she scoffed.

Lyrisadora had expected some protest, she pinched the bridge between her nose. "The last person who helped me got obliviated and…got hurt, Adrian doesn't want my attention directed at anyone else besides him," she sighed, looking at Astoria sternly. "I don't want you hurt."

Astoria was quiet for a moment, before she looked back at Lyrisadora pointedly. "Then it's a good thing I have you to protect me," she argued. "Besides, I'll just keep my distance, as long as we don't look too close, Adrian will leave me alone," Astoria said brightly. "I'll be your ace in the hole!" she exclaimed confidently. "I'll be like your very own spy," she continued, smiling up at Lyrisadora imploringly.

Lyrisadora's lips twitched upwards, how could she say no to that face? "….Alright, fine…..just be careful," she warned, looking at Astoria seriously. "I can't protect you all the time."

* * *

><p><em>5th May 1996<em>

It was approaching around 3:00 AM, Astoria sneaked down the stairs, her brow creased as she checked the common room was empty, she had been checking every half hour, it looked like the last of the Slytherin's had finally left for bed, thank Merlin for that. She didn't know if she could pull an all nighter, especially after sleeping badly the night before. Still, she supposed it could have been worse.

Lyrisadora had placed a feather charm on Lucretia's sleeping form, allowing her to carry her down bridal style. "Are we good to go?" Lyrisadora whispered from the doorway.

Astoria gave a swift nod. "No enemy in sight," she whispered brightly, earning an odd look. Astoria supposed she should probably cut down on the espionage act….but it was too much fun. Besides Daphne wasn't around to scold her for being immature, so she could do what the hell she wanted! "Mission is go," she hissed conspiracyly.

"Just hurry up," sighed Lyrisadora quietly, moving through the common room, Astoria quickly followed. "The last thing we want is to get caught," she muttered.

"Well, Filch doesn't normally patrol the Dungeons…at least, I don't think so anyway," Astoria whispered, hugging her outer robe close, she buried a yawn, hoping this would be quick, her eyelids feeling heavy.

When they arrived at Professor Snape's office, Lyrisadora gave the door a hard knock, before knocking repeatedly until the door was wrenched open. A very grumpy looking Professor opening the door, Astoria found it quite amusing seeing the esteemed Professor in his black frumpy dressing gown, his hair messy, making him look like a scruffy stray cat, however his murderous expression halted any smile attempting to slip onto her face.

"We have a problem," Lyrisadora spoke plainly, gesturing to the sleeping girl in her arms.

Professor Snape glanced at Lucretia, his eyes flickering to Lyrisadora then Astoria, an impatient groan emitting from him as he stepped aside to let them in. "Did you drug her?" he questioned, his tone more curious than alarmed.

"Just a sleeping potion, it'll wear off in two or three hours," Lyrisadora answered, sitting Lucretia up on the nearest chair in the room.

Astoria stayed in the background, looking around the crowded office, recoiling when she saw a few shrivelled up heads in a jar. The Potions Professor snapped the door shut behind them, his eyes flickering to the youngest Slytherin. "Why is she here?" Snape inquired flatly.

Astoria smiled sheepishly. "I'm her….uh, ace in the hole," she informed hesitantly, earning a raised eyebrow.

Professor Snape looked at Lyrisadora questionably. "Does she even know what that means?"

Astoria scowled, she knew what it meant….well she supposed she'd have to refresh her memory, but she got the gist of it!

Lyrisadora sighed, her brow set in a serious line. "You were right about Adrian," she said coldy.

Astoria looked between the two curiously, she saw Professor Snape visibly become more tenser. "Did it take another 'accident' for you to see that?" Snape questioned dryly.

Lyrisadora reached into her wand holster and brought out a folded piece of paper. "No, here read this," she replied sombrely, handing the letter over to him. "And ignore the bad grammar," she sighed.

Professor Snape eyed her curiously, before opening the paper up and scanning the letter, he frowned at first, but his frown melted away after a second or two, his jaw stiffening, his knuckles whitening. When he had finally finished, his eyes flashed fiercely, looking back at Lyrisadora meaningfully, before he finally spoke, his voice so calm it chilled Astoria to bone. "Should we break his legs first, or his mind, which do you prefer?"

The seventh year's eyes narrowed. "You 're not going to hurt him," Lyrisadora said fiercely, before she faltered, swallowing something, which Astoria assumed, was a bad taste in her mouth. "Not yet anyway," she added uncertainly, before shaking her head. "I took a look at Lucretia's mind….it doesn't look good," she informed grimly.

The Potions Professor moved to Lucretia's side, pulling his wand from his pocket, Astoria heard him mutter a spell, Lucretia's eyes snapping open, pupils unfocused. "_Legilimens_," was all he said, his eyes focused on Lucretia's dull green ones.

Astoria waited in silence, her gut twisting when she saw the Potion's master's face turn into a grimace. Astoria looked towards Lyrisadora. "Do you think he can fix her?" she whispered.

Lyrisadora glanced at her, her expression unreadable. "We'll just have to wait and see," she replied quietly.

Well that wasn't good, but Astoria guessed it was better than being lied to and she was optimistic things would turn out okay. Snape pulled away, his grim expression having become even more grimmer. Astoria briefly wondered if she was a pessimist in denial, because she had a bad feeling things weren't going to get better.

"_Well_?" Astoria questioned quietly, looking at the Professor expectantly.

Snape turned to Lyrisadora. "I can't fix it, the damage is too deep, she needs professional help, and even then it'll be a slow healing process," he sighed.

Lyrisadora was quiet for a long time, before she spoke. "Could you have helped her if we had known sooner?" There was definitely something off about her tone.

"Yes, the damage has only gotten worse over time," Professor Snape replied evenly.

"Is she going to die?" Lyrisadora questioned in a measured tone.

Professor Snape sighed deeply. "If we don't get her treated….yes, she'll eventually forget how to speak, eat and then her body will just shut down," he informed clinically, eyeing Lyrisadora intently, like she was a bomb ready to explode. "Which is why we'll be getting her help as soon as possible," he said firmly.

Lyrisadora ran a hand through her hair, as if she was struggling to hold herself together, Astoria took a step back. "He knew, all this time he knew and….how could he just stand there and watch?" Lyrisadora questioned, her voice sounding a little broken, looking at the Professor expectantly. "And how could I be so _blind_?" she continued, confusion and fear etched on her face as she looked at Lucretia.

Astoria looked at the Potions Professor, his expression like stone, she expected him to give Malfoy a sharp rebuke, however his words came out soft and reassuring. "Anyone can be manipulated. Right now we need to find a way to get Lucretia to a hospital," he said, giving her a stern look.

Lyrisadora let out a worn out sigh. "I already tried persuading Umbridge, but she's insistent Lucretia stays in school. She was quite set on it."

Snape's eyes narrowed, something flickering behind his eyes. "Was she now?" he murmured thoughtfully.

Lyrisadora frowned. "Yeah….she was…" After a few seconds her eyes widened. "He wouldn't..." Snape gave her a stern glance, she gritted her teeth. "….he would," she hissed, her hands clenching into fists.

Astoria jumped when a potions bottle nearby exploded, a thick metallic goo oozing out and staining the shelf. Her eyes widened when she saw Lyrisadora's knuckles were white as snow, her mouth set in a thin Line. Astoria looked between the Head girl and Professor, wondering what they were on about. "Uh…what did Adrian do?" Astoria asked cautiously, wringing her hands, half expecting another jar or bottle to explode.

"He royally fucked me over, that's what," Lyrisadora snapped.

"_Language_," Snape chastised lightly, a faint frown creasing his features.

Lyrisadora turned away to roll her eyes, but Astoria doubted the Professor didn't notice. The blonde looked at the Professor bitterly. "I told him too much, he knows about the Mind Healer, the Willows, and the Syndicate! He's always been one step ahead of me," she snapped, her composer appearing strained against the weight of her emotions, slumping down on the floor, she buried her face in her hands. She looked like her energy had been drained from her.

Astoria apprehensively made her way towards Lyrisadora, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll beat him," she tried to reassure, managing a small smile. "We can fix this."

Lyrisadora looked up at her, pushing a few stray blond wisps of hair out of her face. "Hopefully," she muttered, her eyes turning downcast as she closed them in tiredness.

"You should go to bed," Professor Snape advised, slowly lowering his wand over Lucretia's face, making her eyes close shut, her head tilting to the side. "We can deal with this better in the morning."

Lyrisadora opened her eyes, rubbing them as she sighed, groggily gathering herself to her feet. Astoria dropped her hand and let out a loud yawn, she readily welcomed sleep. "Alright," Lyrisadora murmured, walking towards Lucretia.

A thought occurred to Astoria. "What about Adrian, what are we going to do about him?" she questioned suddenly.

The Potion master's eyes darkened, while Lyrisadora froze in place. "Nothing….for now," Lyrisadora said calmly, looking over at Professor Snape coldly, as if that was a warning.

The Professor looked visibly annoyed. "For now at least," he murmured bitterly, a bloodthirsty look in his eyes, carefully hidden behind a mask of indifference.

Astoria almost felt sorry for Adrian…._Almost._

* * *

><p>Tonks placed Nancy on the bed of the dingy Motel room, Aluka was hunched in a dark corner as the sun started to rise.<p>

Tonks wiped the sweat from her brow as she finished healing the worst of Nancy's wounds, slumping on the floor next to the bed. "She'll live….but I don't think she'll be duelling any time soon," Tonks stated, glancing over at the vampire.

Aluka growled, an impatient frown on his face, Tonks was grateful he had wiped most of the blood from his face, he already looked nightmarish as it was. "When will she wake?" he questioned sharply.

Tonks assumed he was one of those _old_ vampires; his mannerism seemed to fit the bill. The ones that had been around for a few centuries, the ones that were easily offended and quick to temper, meaning she should probably tread carefully. Tonks kept her expression blank. "Not for a while, she needs rest," she replied.

This only caused Aluka to let out a frustrated growl, looking at Nancy like she had deliberately got herself injured. "The Syndicate will find us by then," he hissed.

Nice to see he had his priorities right, Tonks thought bitterly. She wondered why the Vampire didn't just run, they weren't well known for their loyalty. Unless this 'life debt' Nancy mentioned ran deeper than a quick, 'I saved your life, now we're even, bye!' "Have you known Nancy long?" Tonks asked out of curiosity.

He briefly frowned at the name, so it appeared 'Nancy' trusted him enough to reveal her real name….or she went by a different fake name. "No," he answered flatly, before his grey eyes scrutinised her. "And what of you, why were you locked up?" he inquired warily.

Tonks shrugged. "I got caught nosying around in their business…..Nancy mentioned she was a reporter," she said, getting to her feet, to face him, eyeing him with interest. "So how exactly did you guys meet?"

He eyed her darkly. "Talkative, aren't you?"

Tonks strained a smile. "It's how I make friends? And relax, I'm one of the good guys," she reassured.

Aluka raised his eyebrows at this, appearing faintly amused. "Oh, really?"

Tonks kept her smile in place, Aluka no doubt thought she was trying to play him, but maybe she could get some information out of him, she decided to start on the most important. "Yeah….And I'm quite interested in this mysterious mob-boss," she said evenly, looking at the vampire questionably. "What do you know about 'Jenik'?"

The vampire's gaze darkened.

She assumed they had history.

* * *

><p>Just outside Paris, in Boulogne-Billancourt, a five story series of flats stood. Wards surrounding the building like a protective clothe.<p>

On the middle floor, in a grand hall, Reynard stood. The assassin looked like a drowned bird, his tanned skin drained of colour, black hair frazzled and stained with blood and his robes ripped. A physician hastily bandaged his wound.

He knelt on the floor in pain; his eyes securely focused on the man in charge. He knew him as _Jenik_, an old man who looked to be in his early sixties, his light brown skin looking like leather, his hands heavily tattooed with ruins and strange circles, the sleeves of his finely cut red and black robes hiding the full extent of the tattoos.

'…..Are you sure it was Aluka?' the old man questioned in French, as his dark eyes lazily glanced at the wounded assassin, five guards in tailored red and black robes watched the two with a calculated intensity, hands resting on their wands.

There was a brief silence as Reynard inhaled, he bit down on his tongue and looked at Jenik. 'Yes….he has allied with the American,' Reynard answered, forcing his voice to be smooth, his accent conflicting with the French vowels. '…Though I doubt it'll last.'

The vampire never did play well with others, and Reynard didn't expect that to change anytime soon, old habits were so hard to kick.

He looked back at his patron expectantly, wondering if he'd be blamed for the prisoners escape, it really depended on what mood Jenik was in. The old man's eyes slid to Reynard's missing arm, as if just registering it. 'Aluka I assume?' Jenik sighed, walking closer to Reynard, the Assassin forced himself to his feet, pushing the healer away from him. 'I assume you didn't bother to retrieve it?'

Reynard buried a wince, as well as a surge of anger. '…I would have if I had the chance,' he tried to reason. What did the old man expect? Reynard had barely got out of there with his life-

The old man sighed again, more ruefully this time, like a disappointed parent. '_Evidence_, Reynard, we mustn't leave evidence,' he chided softly, shaking his head.

Reynard swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat, his gut twisting. 'There wasn't enough time,' he tried to argue, making his voice sound braver than he felt. 'I had to esca-'

His patron held up a hand to silence him. 'I understand,' Jenik reassured gently, effectively making Reynard's nerves worsen than they already were. The old man looked back at Reynard's missing arm. 'We have more pressing matters to deal with, I can't have a broken assassin now can I?' he reasoned, Reynard silently shook his head.

Jenik looked at his guards, effectively making them all freeze as he wondered towards them, inspecting them like they were pieces of meat.

Reynard watched as the old man's gaze finally settled on a lithe Caucasian young man in his early thirties, who was now visibly sweating. "Comte'…?" the young man queried shakily, the other guards had already started backing away from him, like he was infected.

He must be new to the ranks.

Jenik looked back at Reynard, and this time he spoke in English. "Do you mind if they don't match?"

Reynard smiled grimly. "I'm not picky," he replied flatly.

There was a blood curdling scream.

Then the ripping of flesh.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah, yes Jenik, he's going to be a fun one to write.<strong>

**Let me know what you guys think!**


	89. We Make Our Own Demons

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin: Devil within by Digital Daggers  
><strong>

**Warning: Again,**** more swearing, just gonna give you the heads up.**

* * *

><p><strong>I made myself at home<strong>  
><strong>In the cobwebs and the lies<strong>  
><strong>I'm learning all your tricks<strong>  
><strong>I can hurt you from inside<strong>  
><strong>Oh I made myself a promise<strong>  
><strong>You would never see me cry<strong>

**Chapter:We Make Our Own Demons**

* * *

><p>Tonks frowned when Aluka finished telling her his story, well at least parts of it, some of it didn't really add up. "….So you were once one of Jenik's assassins?" she repeated, looking at him with interest, while she carefully re-wrapped Nancy's bandages.<p>

"One of five," the vampire said curtly, absently pacing around the room, avoiding the stray beams of sun that peaked through the closed curtains.

"Right," Tonks murmured, absently tapping her fingers against her thigh, taking a seat at the end of the bed. "So he tried to have you killed? You must have pissed him off…what did you do?" she questioned, looking at him with interest, placing the fresh bandages around Nancy's neck, tossing the old blood stained ones in the bin.

Aluka scowled, Tonks noticed he tended to do that a lot. "Nosy aren't you?" he rebuked.

Tonks shot him a quirked eyebrow. "Just trying to establish some trust," she replied lightly.

The vampire eyed her intently. "I believe that only works when both parties are willing to exchange information," he commented dryly. "Tell me why you were investigating the Syndicate," he instructed coldly.

The young Auror tried not to tense, she supposed he had a point and he was a potential ally. But if she revealed to much she could jeopardise the mission. "Ever heard of a Dark Lord who people call you-Know-Who?" she inquired mildly.

Aluka's eyes narrowed. "Why do humans ask stupid questions?" he decided to answer her question with a question.

Tonks narrowed her eyes at him. "It's a simple question," she retorted, folding her arms in annoyance. "Well anyway, I'll take that as a yes. You-Know-Who has ties to the Syndicate, I came here to investigate," she told him.

Aluka was quiet for a moment, appearing mildly surprised. "So the Dark One is back then…"

Tonks wrinkled her nose at the title, before smiling coyly. "Do all Vampires state the obvious?" she queried innocently, unable to resist.

Aluka glared at her. "How far has he risen to power? There have been rumours….but nothing else," he divulged.

"The Ministry is denying his existence, which means he's been operating in the shadows for a while now, he's only been back barely a year, so things aren't that grim, not yet anyway" she explained.

The vampire frowned. "Your government officials sound like buffoons," he commented disdainfully.

Well at least they could agree on that. "Tell me about it," Tonks sighed. "Anyway, we've been aware for some time now that You-Know-Who is trying to expand his power to Europe and build up more allies."

"And who is 'we'?" Aluka questioned sharply, Tonks pursed her lips. "Let me guess, they're _the good guys_," he assumed flatly.

She smiled brightly. "Exactly. Now, mind sharing some more information on Jenik?" Tonks queried.

The vampire didn't look very eager, she looked at him sternly, trying to muster her best intimidating glare, Aluka faintly scoffed in amusement. "I didn't know about Jenik's partnership with the Dark One, though it doesn't surprise me that they would work together," he muttered, before shaking his head dismissively, looking back at Tonks. "I suppose it may interest you to know that Jenik's an alchemist," he informed evenly.

Now that was interesting, this guy was goldmine of information. Tonks opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when she saw Aluka stiffen. "What's wrong?" she asked sharply.

"We need to get out of here," Aluka said, moving over to grab Nancy. "Apparate us," he commanded, eyes flickering to the beam of sun that crept through the curtain.

"I can't she's still injured, it's too dangerous," Tonks snapped, looking around the room, to find her bag, because hell have no fury if she lost her mother's favourite travel bag, she'd never hear the end of it. "Is it Reynard?"

Aluka was growing visibly more distressed, eyes flickering around the room, as if trying to think of an escape plan. "No,he's sent Constancio and Constancia," he revealed urgently.

"Who are they?" Tonks exclaimed, flinging her bag over her shoulder, as Aluka roughly hulled Nancy over his shoulder.

There was the sound of fighting outside. "Apparate us, now!" he snarled, his gaze murderous.

The noise was getting closer, she looked back at the injured Nancy.

Oh, Fuck it.

The door was blasted off its hinges, as Tonks grabbed Aluka, the three of them apparating away.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora barely slept, managing to clock in maybe two or three hours of sleep, she glanced over at Lucretia, who was now stirring in her bed. Lyrisadora sighed quietly, if they got Lucretia's parents involved then Umbridge couldn't deny sending the brain damaged girl to St Mungos.<p>

She wondered if Snape had already sent word to the Veregreens, or if he'd wait until morning, she also wondered if he'd accuse Adrian outright, but she didn't think he would. They didn't have enough proof Adrian had done anything to Lucretia and it was too dangerous to try and recover the suppressed memory from the girl's mind.

Lyrisadora sat up in bed, pulling her knees up to rest her chin on them. There was also the fact Adrian would betray her, endangering the entire mission, she closed her eyes and breathed out deeply. If she confronted him then he'd become even more dangerous, he'd have nothing left to lose.

The most sensible option was to kill him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, she had invested so much in him, to see him dead…..no, if he was to be punished, then she'd do it another way, he needed to understand that what he had done was wrong.

She absently traced the fading bruises on her collar bone, she hadn't felt like healing them, feeling like she was trying to cover up the ugly truth. She paused, she didn't think he'd punch or slap her, maybe rough sex and emotional abuse….but he had once said he'd never hurt her.

She almost felt like laughing, oh how so much had changed in only a few months.

She just hoped Snape wasn't planning to slip poison into his morning Pumpkin juice.

But she supposed she best go check, just to be sure.

* * *

><p>Snape sat at his desk, dressed in his bat like robes and pinched shoes. He was still debating which method of poison he should use on Adrian, maybe something slow? But he didn't think he'd find that as satisfactory, especially if it dragged out too long.<p>

He absently rubbed his eyes, having forgone sleep hours ago, deciding to spend the rest of the night brooding on the most recent of revelations. He still needed to owl the Veregreens, they were the key to getting Lucretia out of the school to St Mungos.

His head perked up when he heard a knocking at his door and he wasn't very surprised when he opened it to find Lyrisadora, looking at him expectantly. "I gather you didn't sleep well," he greeted flatly.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at him, before walking into the room. "I just came to check that you haven't already brewed up a poison for him," she confessed mildly.

Ah, she knew him so well. "I haven't decided what type to use, slow or fast? There are just too many options," he replied lightly, closing the door. "I assume you came here to plead for his life?"

To his amusement she looked put out by his assumption. "I don't _plead_," she retorted testily, folding her arms stubbornly. "Besides, you can't kill him, it'd be a brash move on your part," she advised.

Well that was true, hiding bodies around a school was a lot harder than it used to be, especially when the ghosts and portraits ratted you out. There was also the fact Adrian would be missed and Lyrisadora would be annoyed with him. "He's a loose end," he pointed out plainly.

Lyrisadora sighed quietly, before pulling up a chair next to a brewing cauldron on the side. "I know…and I understand if you're angry with me," she said levelly. "Everything has been compromised, because I was stupid enough to trust him," she went on, looking at Snape apologetically.

He whole heartedly agreed, but he understood it wasn't all her fault, he should have noticed something was off, in fact maybe if he had been a little less harsh she might have confided in him more instead of turning to Adrian. Snape sighed, besides at the end of the day she wasn't a weapon to be wielded, she was a teenage girl who was taking on more than she had bargained for. "These things happen, you're not stupid, you're just….emotionally dependent on others," he admitted reluctantly.

That earned him a sharp look. "I'm not emotionally dependent on others," she protested.

Snape graced her with a doubtful look. "I can draw you up a psycho analysis if you like? I've been aware of it for quite some time," he told her evenly.

She rolled her eyes at him rudely, he expected her to be denial about it for quite some time. "I think I'll decline," she muttered, before letting out a deep sigh, looking back at him firmly. "Have you written to the Veregreens?" she questioned.

"Not yet," Snape replied.

"Lucretia won't come to the hospital willingly, she has a panic attack when someone mentions the word," Lyrisadora informed grimly. "And she's going to hate me after this," she sighed.

"Her life is of more importance, besides eventually she'll come to her senses and realise why you acted as you did," Snape reasoned.

Lyrisadora eyed him sceptically. "…Yeah and then she'll be upset again when I fake my death…in fact I'm pretty sure a lot people will be pissed off with me," she said bluntly. "I wouldn't blame them."

He didn't bother to reprimand her for her language. "I did warn you it'd be difficult," he reminded, it was why he had been so unsure on whether to give her the mission in the first place. But like all things in war, morals had to be bent, he knew she understood that. "Our choices have consequences and we have to live with them," he said quietly. "I believe Adrian's behaviour has already proven that," he added, bringing her attention back to the fly in the oil. Lyrisadora couldn't delay the inevitable.

She rested her elbow on the counter, tilting her head into her hand, a faint bitter smile sliding onto her face. "You know, deep down I knew he was capable of this, it's why I never wanted to trust him or get too close….But when he said he loved me, I actually believed him," she divulged, glancing up at Snape, looking like she was trapped in an ongoing bad joke. "And even after everything he's done…I still…sort of, love him," she revealed, an underlining tone of shame in her voice. "I know it's pathetic."

Snape felt a tightening in his chest. "It's not pathetic to still love someone when they've hurt you," he replied before he could stop himself.

Lyrisadora looked at him curiously; Snape didn't like the uncomfortable territory this conversation was going. "I need to send that letter to the Veregreens, you should keep an eye on Lucretia," he swiftly changed the subject. "When the Veregreens arrive to the school, I'll come for you and her," he told her.

He was glad when she didn't try and press the previous subject, instead doing as she was told and leaving him be. His shoulders relaxed a little. _Urk_. The pesky girl was making him remember bad memories. Typical. He half debated giving her a detention just out of spite.

* * *

><p>Keeping an eye on Lucretia was surprisingly easy, the girl was as docile as a mouse, and all Lyrisadora had to suggest was that they hang out in the Prefects meeting room, using an excuse that they could have a quick study session.<p>

Avoiding Adrian was a little more difficult, he had tried to talk to her at breakfast, she had hastily dragged Lucretia off as soon as she saw him approaching, then she had, had to nose dive down an opposite corridor when she saw him passing through the halls. The Slytherin common room had been a no go area, Lyrisadora sighed to herself, leaning back in her chair, Lucretia resting her head on a table near the window, her eyes blank, lost in her own little world.

Lyrisadora felt an unpleasant feeling twist in her stomach, the brash difference in Lucretia being painfully obvious. She tried to bury her guilt away, she'd fix this, they'd get Lucretia to a hospital and stabilise her. And if Umbridge tried to stand in her way….well she couldn't promise it'd end well.

"How long has….Elizabeth been gone for?" Lucretia said suddenly, drawing back Lyrisadora's attention.

"Two weeks, I think," Lyrisadora replied cautiously. "Why do you ask?"

"….Has she sent me a letter?" Lucretia questioned.

Lyrisadora honestly had no idea, but she assumed not seeing how she to hadn't received anything. "I don't think so," she answered evenly, she looked at Lucretia for a reaction, but the girl's face revealed nothing, looking as passive as ever, the only thing that indicated anything was a brief frown that creased her features for a second or so.

The situation with Elizabeth was another thing Lyrisadora had tucked away for later, a small frown littered her face, she was curious as to what the letter Mrs Pucey sent Umbridge was about, she'd also need to send a letter to Elizabeth, seeing how she was pretty sure Adrian had thrown her previous one away.

There was a creak of the door knob as the door opened, she glanced up, her posture tensing slightly when she saw it was Snape, which must mean the Veregreens had arrived. "Miss Veregreen Miss Malfoy, if you would follow me," Snape instructed evenly.

Lucretia looked confused, sitting up and looking between Lyrisadora and Snape questionably. "Why?" Lucretia asked warily, standing to her feet, Lyrisadora smiled disarmingly and hooked her arm with Lucretia's.

"It's probably nothing major," she reassured, already leading her out of the room, trying to keep up with Snape's fast pace.

She tried not to tighten her hold on Lucretia's arm too much, but she was expecting an outburst any second now, her free hand lingered near her pocket where her wand rested, remaining on alert. She really didn't want to have to stun Lucretia.

Lucretia started to drag her feet when they started approaching the hospital wing. "Lyra….?" Lucretia spoke suspiciously, looking between Lyrisadora and the Professor.

"It's going to be okay," Lyrisadora tried to placate. "Just trust me on this," she implored, .

Lucretia tried to tug herself from Lyrisadora's hold, dragging her feet. "I don't want to go," she started to protest, Lyrisadora ended up having to more or less drag her, her grip like iron. "I'm fine, I don't need to go!"

Snape didn't help matters when he shot Lucretia a stern look. "This is none negotiable Miss Veregreen, please come along, I don't want to have to stun you," he drawled.

"Nice tact sir," Lyrisadora reprimanded coldly, her eyes narrowing at the Professor, he was only making things worse, Lucretia was more or less trembling now. Lyrisadora tried to be as understanding as possible, as she dragged the girl to the Hospital wing. "Lucretia, please, it's just a check up, I swear it'll all be okay," she tried to reassure.

"Let me go," Lucretia protested, reaching for her wand, managing to yank her hand out of Lyrisadora's vice grip.

Snape was quicker and shot a charm at the girl, using invisible binds to drag her along as she writhed and struggled. Merlin, this was getting worse by the minute, Lyrisadora felt her gut twist as they arrived at the Hospital Wing, her posture tensing when she saw Umbridge, Mrs and Mrs Veregreen and Madame Pomfrey in the middle of the room.

Umbridge looked like a trapped fox, while Mr and Mrs Veregreen both looked like this was all an irritable inconvenience for them. Lucretia stopped struggling when she saw her parents, her face becoming a sickly grey colour, like soggy porridge. "Mom, Dad, why are you here?" Lucretia mumbled, Lyrisadora was pretty sure no one but her and Snape had heard it.

The headmistress and the Veregreens did notice their presence as they neared them. Mrs Veregreen was the first to speak, an attractive short looking woman with black hair and piercing hazel eyes, her sharp face reminding Lyrisadora of a fox, Lyrisadora noticed that besides the height difference, large hips and hazel eyes, the resemblance between mother and daughter was uncanny. "I want to know what's going on," Mrs Veregreen demanded firmly, folding her arms and looking at her daughter expectantly. "I had to postpone my hunting trip, and I want to know what the big emergency is."

"_Hem_, I can assure you Mrs Veregreen, there is no emergency," Umbridge tried to placate the woman.

Mr Veregreen didn't look convinced, his eyes focused on Lucretia, who looked like she was about to be sick. "I think it best we check to make sure," he reasoned calmly, his bushy eyebrows creasing, he was the least intimidating when compared to his wife, with curled like moustache, his hair a dark brown, looking like a librarian with his wire trimmed spectacles and skinny frame. "Lucretia?" he questioned when Lucretia didn't move.

Lyrisadora looked at her friend in concern. "It'll be okay," she reassured warmly, looking at Lucretia gently.

Lucretia glanced at her, twisting her hands anxiously, before she looked back at her parents. Lyrisadora gave her a soft push towards Madame Pomfrey, hoping Lucretia would let them help her, because she did not want to have to tie her to the bed, the last thing she wanted was the girl to go into a panic attack.

Lucretia begrudgingly moved towards Madame Pomfrey, who smiled soothingly at her. "Just take a seat, this'll only take a moment," the Healer said placidly.

Lyrisadora watched apprehensively along with the rest of the occupants, she noticed Umbridge's mouth was now set in a thin line, her beady eyes intently watching the scene unfold.

There was a long silence as Madame Pomfrey looked in to Lucretia's head. Lyrisadora watched expectantly as Madame Pomfrey's face became a little paler and her mouth formed a grimace. "We need to get Miss Veregreen to St Mungos," the Healer announced sharply, pulling out of the girl's head.

Lyrisadora let out a small sigh of relief. "What's wrong with her?" Mrs Veregreen questioned, a frown creasing her features, looking a lot more alert than before.

Madame Pomfrey straightened up more. "Your daughter's mind is severely damaged, she needs to see a specialist at St Mungos and undergo an intense mind healing process," she explained sternly.

"But I'm fine!" Lucretia protested, her shoulders stiff, looking around the room imploringly. "I don't need to go to the hospital," she argued.

Madame Pomfrey smiled reassuringly. "Dear, you're ill, you need to go to St Mungos," she said gently. "You have nothing to worry about, they have some of the best-"

"I'm not going!" Lucretia snapped, jumping to her feet and backing away from them. "I'm not leaving, I'm fine_, I'm fine_," she started to ramble, hugging herself tightly.

Mrs and Mr Veregreen watched their daughter in alarm, no doubt wondering what the hell had happened to make her like this.

Lyrisadora edged towards her, looking at her warmly. "Lucretia, you're not fine, if you were fine why would you be getting headaches or have to take calming potions?" she questioned.

Lucretia clutched her head. "Stop it," she pleaded, scrunching her eyes up. "You just want to lock me up," she spat, opening her wet eyes to glare at Lyrisadora accusingly. "You just want to lock me away!"

Where had she got that idea from? Lyrisadora backed away from her, seeing how Lucretia had backed up against a wall, looking like a cornered animal. "I just want to help," Lyrisadora tried to placate. "I want to help you get better," she said, her tone wavering once she saw tears start to stream down Lucretia's face.

"Lucretia, calm down," Mrs Veregreen instructed sharply, making Lucretia flinch, Lyrisadora looked at the woman in frustration; she was only making things worse. Mrs Veregreen moved closer to her daughter. "You're ill and you need help," she said, thankfully making her voice more gentler than before. "And you're coming whether you want to or not," she added.

Lucretia let out a whimper and curled in on herself, falling to the floor and sobbing. Madame Pomfrey swept in like a protective dragon, glaring at them all frostily. Lyrisadora backed away, exchanging a look with Snape. The healer cleared her throat. "Miss Veregreen will leave when she has calmed down, now stop crowding her," Madame Pomfrey warned.

Mrs Veregreen looked at the Healer in surprise, but nevertheless complied and moved back, Umbridge shuffled further towards the back of the group, while Lyrisadora kept her eyes locked on Lucretia who was now chocking on her own sobs. Lyrisadora felt a painful tug in her chest, an unpleasant lump stuck in her throat, the entire scene being ugly to witness.

"Now leave, the poor girl needs some privacy," Madame Pomfrey said strongly, waving her hands dismissively.

Mr Veregreen more or less had to drag his wife out of the room, as they all left the Hospital wing.

Lucretia's father was the first one to round on Umbridge. "What on earth happened to my daughter!" he snapped, green eyes narrowing at the Headmistress.

Lyrisadora wished she had brought a snack with her, so she could fully enjoy the entertainment value of the show she was about to see. Umbridge spluttered to reply at first, before she hastily composed herself. "I can assure you Mr Veregreen, I will get to the bottom of this," Umbridge promised.

"You best hope so," Mrs Veregreen said coldly, eyeing the pink dressed woman icily. "Because, High inquisitor or not, someone will have to answer for my daughter's defectiveness," she said warningly.

Umbridge stiffened, shooting Mrs Veregreen a frosty look, all false sweetness evaporating. "That's a bold statement, Arianna."

Mrs Veregreen smiled coldly. "Well, I always do follow through on my promises," she replied pleasantly, eyes narrowing at the woman, Umbridge bristled.

However before the two woman could continue their game of verbal ping pong, Patricia Stimpson skidded in, looking very much out of breath. "Is she okay?" Patricia questioned in alarm, looking pointedly at Lyrisadora.

Why was Patricia asking for Lucretia? Lyrisadora frowned, recalling the broken memories in Lucretia's head, a familiar female voice saying 'I love you'…oh…Lyrisadora's eyes widened, so Lucretia was…. then the blackmail must have been about….Lyrisadora almost smacked herself as realisation dawned.

Lyrisadora glanced at Snape, wondering if he had pieced it together as well, he gave the faintest of shrugs, Lyrisadora turned back to Patricia and opened her mouth to reply, but Mr Veregreen beat her to it. "And who are you?" he asked irritably.

Patricia froze, eyes scanning the Veregreens with a frown, her eyes lit up knowingly, her posture becoming tenser. "I'm Patricia and I'm Lucretia's…..friend," Patricia answered uncertainly.

Mr Veregreen didn't look very impressed, the fact Patricia was also wearing her Gryffindor outer robe over her casual t-shirt and baggy jeans didn't help matters, neither did the muddy trainers either. "I just wanted to see her," Patricia added, twiddling her thumbs anxiously.

Mrs Veregreen bristled. "My daughter is unwell and in hysterics, she isn't fit to see anyone," she rebuked, looking at Patricia suspiciously when the Gryffindor looked visibly distraught.

"But I ne-" Patricia began to argue.

Lyrisadora hastily stepped in. "Lucretia needs a bit of time to calm down," she reasoned. "Just give her some time to calm down."

"I could help," Patricia said eagerly, glancing over at the Veregreens apprehensively.

"I doubt it," Mr Veregreen said coldly, his eyes narrowing at Patricia warily. "Besides, I don't believe my daughter has ever mentioned you before," he added lightly.

Patricia visibly flinched, her hands visibly clenching, a flash of anger in her eyes. "Well maybe you just don't know your daughter that well," she retorted cuttingly.

"Excuse me?" Mrs Veregreen exclaimed indignantly, openly glaring at the Gryffindor now.

Umbridge scowled at Patricia. "Miss Stimpson, Your presence is not needed or wanted, please leave before I give you a detention," she said in a painfully sweet voice, a dangerous smile sliding onto her features.

Patricia didn't move, causing a suffocating silence to emerge, Lyrisadora found herself playing the peacekeeper again, moving towards Patricia and placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "Patricia, it'll be okay," Lyrisadora said, the other girl looked at Lyrisadora sceptically; they both knew things weren't going to be okay. "I'll make sure of it," she promised, wanting to settle the dispute.

Patricia faltered, glancing back at the Veregreens with an intense dislike. "Fine then," she muttered, shrugging her shoulder out of Lyrisadora's grip, her eyes glistening as she more or less stormed off.

Mr Veregreen directed his glare back at the Headmistress. "I want to know what happened to my daughter," he demanded coldly.

Umbridge plastered on a strained smile. "And I assure you, I will get to the bottom of this," she replied pleasantly, her tone a bit too sugary.

* * *

><p>Adrian grasped very quickly that Umbridge was annoyed with him, she had sent Bulstrode to go fetch him and when he arrived in her nauseating pink office, she didn't smile at him or offer him tea. There was an unsettling seriousness to her expression. "You wanted to see me Professor?" he asked evenly, making sure he kept his nervousness hidden.<p>

Umbridge didn't smile when she looked at him, sat at her desk as she eyed him with suspicion. "Lucretia Veregreen is being sent to St Mungos for severe brain damage," she told him plainly, Adrian feigned surprise. "Her parents are, naturally, appalled and are demanding answers as to how this happened," she said, her eyes cold. "I want to know who damaged Lucretia's mind to such an extent."

Shit.

Fuck.

What now?

Don't panic, he told himself as he challenged her stare, if he showed weakness she'd find the wound and rip it open.

He needed to think fast, forcing himself to remain calm and in control. He needed someone to take the blame, someone Umbridge would have difficulty prosecuting without damaging her standing in the process. Someone brutal and most likely to be the usual suspect and preferably someone of low intelligence.

"The reason I didn't want to say anything….was because I didn't want to make any enemies," Adrian lied, adding a rueful sigh in, he allowed his posture to stiffen, adding a small element of healthy fear in to add sincerity. "Especially with my alliance to the Malfoy family," he went on, not missing how Umbridge visibly became more attentive. "It was Vincent Crabbe who harmed Lucretia, he's quite prone to messing around with dark curses he doesn't fully understand," he divulged.

He had played his piece; he wondered how Umbridge would move. The Crabbe family was not the richest or the smartest and they were shady, but they still had friends in high places and that was key to it all. Money would maybe buy you a nice house, maybe even a minor position in the government if you spent it right, but power was everything and the difference between the two was significant.

Umbridge was a politician and her weakness was public opinion, most specifically high ranking public opinion, it was most likely why she was so concerned about the Veregreens; that family had good people skills. "Vincent Crabbe you say?" Umbridge repeated evenly. "Do you have any proof?" she questioned tightly.

"Only my word, I was the only witness," he answered. "Which is why I didn't want to say anything, it is a grave accusation to make and it would put me in an uncomfortable position since the Crabbe's are allies of the Malfoy family," he reasoned. "….And I didn't think anyone would really believe me," he added, his mouth dropping into a sad smile.

"It is a complicated situation," he heard Umbridge murmur, her hands visibly clenching. "Cornelius wouldn't be pleased," she admitted testily, more to herself than Adrian.

Now he just needed to offer her a way out, the Veregreens wanted someone to blame, what they believed to be true was all that mattered. A sacrificial lamp was needed and Adrian knew just who to offer, he just had to word it right. "Though I don't think Crabbe was all to blame," Adrian spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Umbridge inquired sharply, looking at him calculatedly.

"…I think a part of the reason Lucretia had a breakdown, is because of her own demons," he began to explain. "She….and I know this is wrong of me to-"

"_Tell me_," Umbridge instructed sternly, her lack of pleasantries unnerving Adrian.

"She's a lesbian, her girlfriend is Patricia Stimpson," he revealed.

Umbridge frowned, but didn't look that bothered. "…And?"

Huh, so she wasn't homophobic, he was surprised, but he supposed she probably didn't have reason to be. She didn't seem religious and from what he had gathered she only really cared about blood purity. "_And_ she's been struggling with it, I don't know the details, but I know she's been stressed over it, her parents wouldn't approve and she was afraid of what would happen if they found out," he explained. "That amount of stress must have been a lot of pressure on her."

It took a moment or two for Umbridge to pick up on what he meant, looking at him knowingly. "Yes, that would be stressful and confusing," she concurred, a small sweet smile falling back into place.

"I'm sure Patricia wasn't aware on the damage she was inflicting," Adrian defended mildly. "I hope the Veregreens understand that."

There was the faintest traces of amusement in Umbridge's smile. "I'll make sure of it," she replied.

Adrian resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief, he'd have to write to his mother to get her updated on the situation and he should probably play it safe and alter Crabbe's memories too, the idiot's mind was simple enough to mess with, he's just have to knock him out with a sleeping potion, or maybe use one of his pet plants to give Crabbe a quick sleeping bite, he could use his 'snoring four tooth'. "I hope they understand, Lucretia doesn't deserve to suffer," he said, keeping his sad smile in place.

And he didn't want Lucretia to suffer, she was just collateral damage and he was sorry he hurt her, but Lyrisadora was more important, there was only enough room in his heart for a small number of people and Lyrisadora took up a lot of room.

Speaking of which, he had a strong feeling Lyrisadora knew about Lucretia's brain damage, it would explain why was avoiding him….he buried a rise of panic, keeping himself composed. "I also wanted to discuss Lyrisadora with you," Umbridge interrupted his thoughts.

"What has she done now?" Adrian sighed; making sure his posture remained relaxed.

Umbridge's smile widened. "I believe she contacted the Veregreens, her or Professor Snape, they're both meddlesome," she informed.

But you can't get rid of Snape, Adrian mused to himself, despite his jerkass behaviour, Snape was useful and competent, Umbridge would be a fool to fire him. Not to mention Lucius favoured him and Umbridge appeared to hold Mr Malfoy's opinion quite high since he was now besties with Fudge.

"I have managed to keep her in line so far," he pointed out. "I can't control her every move, she's very spirited," he said in exasperation, he wasn't a miracle worker.

Umbridge didn't look very sympathetic. "Well maybe you're not trying hard enough," she chided sweetly. "I have noticed a difference, but there's still so much fire in her and rudeness, I did hope you would have curved that," she sighed.

Adrian gave her a tight smile. "And I will, Lyra can be difficult, but I am controlling her, I can assure you," he stated coolly.

Umbridge considered him for a moment, before her smile widened. "We'll just have to wait and see then, won't we?"

* * *

><p>Rosalie Pucey let out a growl of frustration , angrily pacing around her room, flinging her son's letter on her vanity. She supposed it was just too much to ask that he keep things under control for a few days, while she was busy managing the family affairs.<p>

Her late husband's sister had been bothersome, arguing over the sum of money her brother had given her, especially seeing how the two siblings were '_so close'_, Rosalie rolled her eyes. It had taken longer than expected to sort it out, as well as finishing off the preparations for the business venture in America.

She hadn't even had chance to reply to Lyrisadora's letter, Mrs Pucey frowned, apparently Adrian was suspicious the girl had finally caught on, which was bothersome. But even if Lyrisadora knew about the damage to Lucretia's mind, that didn't mean she knew it was Adrian who had done it. There were still more pieces of the puzzle to find.

Rosalie sat on her bed, taking some time to collect herself, if Miss Veregreen was being sent to St Mungos, the she could use this to her advantage.

She had her lemons she just needed to roll up her sleeve sand make some lemonade.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora took refuge in the potions lab, sat at a counter where a clutter of cauldrons rested, it was evening and it wouldn't be long until dinner. Lucretia had left with her parents half an hour. Lyrisadora couldn't get rid of the pain in her chest, especially after the look of betrayal Lucretia shot her.<p>

Her head perked up when the door opened, Snape appearing in the doorway, his eyebrow raised. "Hiding away?" he drawled as he entered the room.

Lyrisadora just shrugged. "Just trying to clear my head," she replied. "Even if I pretend everything's fine with Adrian, that still doesn't mean the mission isn't compromised, even if I fake my death, he won't stop looking for me," she pointed out, looking at the Professor firmly.

Snape took a moment to think, folding his arms as a frown slid onto his face. "We could paralyse him, that would slow him down."

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "But it won't stop him revealing the truth."

"But would the truth benefit him," Snape countered. " If he betrayed you to the Dark Lord, then he'd endanger your life, you'd be killed and he doesn't want that."

She paused, her mind tinkering away. "I could make him swear a wizard oath, without him realising," she proposed.

Snape appeared to mull it over. "That could work, what method would you use?" She shot him a coy smile, Snape scowled. "On second thought, I'd rather not know."

"I think that best," she said, she'd have to be careful with how she did it, but if she got Adrian desperate enough, he'd agree to anything. And he had made it clear that he was desperate for sex. Then there was of course the next problem, making sure he left her alone after she betrayed him, that would be more difficult, he was obsessed and he had told her blatantly that he would never let her go.

But people faltered, they gave up, especially when they were utterly broken. To torture the mind and body was one thing, but to torture the heart was another story. "I'll break his heart," she said flatly, Snape looked at her curiously. A plan was already forming in her head. "I'll make him trust me and when the time is right, I'll break him down and throw it all back in his face," she informed callously.

"And what if it backfires, what if he ends up hating you and tries to get revenge?" he queried.

It could backfire horribly, but things were already horrible, so she wasn't that concerned. She just had to play on Adrian's weaknesses. "Because he's dependent on me, I'm all he's ever wanted and I'm the thing that drives him," Lyrisadora said.

Snape looked faintly amused, she supposed she did sound pretty vain right now, but it was the truth. The main reason she had been worried about leaving Adrian was because he was so dependent on her, on one hand one could argue he was faking it, but she doubted that. He had allowed himself to appear vulnerable to her at all the wrong moments, he had tried to keep her solely focused on him and hurt anyone who threatened that. He was ruthless and would go to extreme lengths to keep her by his side, but he still wanted her to love him.

Mrs Pucey had lied and stretched a few half truths, but that didn't mean everything she had said was untrue. Adrian had spent years trying to get her to like him and he had succeeded for a time.

"And if he finds out?" Snape's voice broke her away from her thoughts. "If he's allied himself with Umbridge then he most likely knows that you've found out about Lucretia," he argued.

"…He doesn't know about the letter though," she countered. "He'll expect me to be suspicious of how Lucretia got that way, but he'll want to think I'm still ignorant," Lyrisadora stated. "If I keep on pretending to confide in him and let him know about my suspicions, then that'll placate him, he'll try and reassure everything's fine and I'll reluctantly agree," she said, taking a moment to think over her plan. "He's been trying to control me, if I play the part well he'll think he's won."

"But he knows about the mission, he won't expect you to drop it so readily, even if you want to please him," Snape argued. "Even if you claim to go to America with him, he won't believe you," he continued.

Lyrisadora frowned, tapping her fingers on the counter. "If he thinks he's broken me he will," she murmured. "I'll plead with him at first, try and reason with him and then reluctantly agree," she said. "As long as I challenge him a little and don't act too submissive….he'll believe me," she explained. "The mission will continue as planned."

Snape was silent for a moment, looking at her with something of an appraisal of approval. "Very well, we'll do it your way," he agreed. "…But I'll brew up a poison, just in case," he added dryly.

Lyrisadora gave him a sour smile. "Well, we'll always need a plan B. " Ignoring the nasty taste that filled her mouth.

* * *

><p>Adrian was at dinner sitting with his friends, stabbing at his peas, crushing them into a green mush. Out of the corner of his eye he looked over at Crabbe, seeing the moron try and shove a sausage up his nose. Adrian grimaced. He assumed Vincent had been dropped on the head as a baby, because his mind had looked painfully simple, Adrian had barely had to spend more than a minute altering the boy's memory.<p>

"…Mind if I sit here?"

Adrian's gaze snapped up when he recognised Lyrisadora's voice, she was standing next to him, a sheepish smile on her face. He frowned. "I got the impression you were avoiding me," he replied mildly.

Miles looked up from his food, as did Warrington and Montague, no doubt waiting for the fireworks. Lyrisadora gave him an irritated look. "Only because you pissed me off last night," she retorted back, before appearing to catch herself, lowering her gaze. "Listen, can we talk about this after dinner?" she requested, eyes flickering pointedly at his friends.

Adrian hesitated before nodding, shuffling over to clear a space for her on the bench, she gave him a grateful smile, taking a seat next to him. He watched her with interest, she obviously didn't know about his involvement with Lucretia's brain damage, he doubted he'd still be standing if she did, also it wasn't like the memory was accessible, Lucretia's head was so messed up that trying to find anything would be like digging for a needle in a sandpit.

But even so, he couldn't afford to let his guard down, Lyrisadora would still be suspicious of what was wrong with Lucretia, but as long as he reassured and kept an eye on her, she'd eventually let it go like she did with Elizabeth and David. Adrian glanced at his friends; he'd need to make sure Lyrisadora lifted the curses from them.

He felt Lyrisadora lean on him a little, as if seeking comfort, he felt a smile tugging its way onto his lips as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

* * *

><p>When dinner was done and the two were finally alone, Adrian wasted no time in pulling her towards a table near the window, shooing away a couple of second years. He pulled up a chair so that they were sat next to each other, when they both were seated he fixed her with an inquiring look. "So, are you to tell me what all this drama has been about?"<p>

Lyrisadora met his gaze dead on. "…When I was out with Snape….He started saying things about our relationship," she divulged.

"What did he say?" Adrian questioned, making sure he kept his voice soothing and non-judgemental.

"That you didn't really love me, that you were using me for my family's power," she answered uncomfortably.

Adrian felt a surge of anger, that greasy haired slimy git! Why was he so meddlesome? "You don't believe that, do you?" he asked, looking at her intently, already imagining the little seed of doubt that was growing.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes at him. "Of course I don't, it just rubbed me the wrong way, so I wasn't exactly in the mood to 'mess around' when I got back," she explained.

Adrian hesitated, before taking hold of her hand. "Snape's an idiot. I love _you_," he said firmly, smiling at her fondly. "And I'm sorry if I was too forceful, you just bring out the worst in me, I'm afraid," he told her in dark amusingly.

She returned his smile, tenderly kissing his knuckles, before nuzzling his hand against her cheek. "I've realised," she replied softly, her smile dimmed, as if she had just recalled something. "Also, I found out Lucretia's minds been damaged," she added.

He feigned surprise. "What do you mean?"

She let go of his hand and looked at him seriously. "I noticed she was acting odd last night, so I had a quick look into her head…..it's not good," she sighed, looking at him ruefully, her shoulders slumping.

"Well is she going to be okay?" he questioned.

"I don't know, but someone hurt her," she said, her face turning serious. "Just like Elizabeth and David."

He frowned. "What happened to Hewitte?" he questioned.

"Someone hurt him, badly and he refuses to even look at him, let alone tell me," Lyrisadora informed.

"Maybe Umbridge is involved, you did piss her off," Adrian reasoned, hopefully that suspicion would grow and fester.

"I suppose, but that's a lot of concentrated effort, I'm pretty sure she's too busy torturing Potter to pay me too much attention," Lyrisadora argued, before her eyes narrowed. "If your friends-"

"Not everything involves my friends you know, there are other jerks in the school," he interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Your brother included," he added, shooting her a meaningful look.

She looked at him sceptically, before letting out a deep sigh. "I still don't trust them," she admitted.

He could live with that.

He smiled at her teasingly. "But you trust me, right?" he inquired playfully, his eyes watching her critically.

She smiled at him. "I wouldn't be talking to you if I didn't" she answered plainly, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, taking his hand in hers. "We need each other, remember?" she added, looking at him knowingly.

He felt a warm feeling in his chest, as he smiled at her tenderly ."Yes, we do."

* * *

><p><em>7th May 1996<em>

Everything was wrong.

Lucretia had realised this after she woke up from her first mind healing session. She sat curled up in her bed, she didn't like her new room either, it was comfortable but plain, painfully dull looking with white walls and a faded carpet. All her clothes were roughly the same colour, the dressing gown she was wearing being a standard washed out blue.

Apparently the lack of bright colours would help calm her, but she decided that they just didn't want to spend too much on redecorating.

She did feel a little better since arriving at St Mungos, but her head still hurt and she had moments where she'd stare into space for hours and not realise and sometimes she had violent outburst at night, but she was coping alright enough. She hadn't seen her parents since they had dumped her in here. She wasn't really surprised, after all why would they want a gay mental case for a daughter? She wasn't shocked…but it still hurt.

Her head snapped up when she heard the door creak open, as an old looking man entered, dressed in hospital standard Healer robes, his hair thinning at the sides, he smiled at her kindly, a clipboard in his hand. "It's Lucretia isn't it?" he queried gently.

Lucretia nodded. "Yeah…."

He stepped into the room, Lucretia's eyes narrowed when she saw his smile dim for a bit, but when she blinked it was back again. "I'm Nicholas Proudfoot, and I'll be your new Mind healer."

* * *

><p><strong>Merry Christmas everybody! Hope you guys have a good one.<strong>

**And I leave you with another cliffhanger :)**

**Also Jenik is fond of French fairytales. **


	90. Bitten Tongue

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin:Full Metal Alchemist, Roy Mustang  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>"Can you really hold the woman you love with blood stained hands."<strong>

**Chapter:****Bitten Tongue **

* * *

><p>Elizabeth frowned, sitting up in bed while Bolton tried to lick her hand, she was holding a box of cauldron cakes from Lyrisadora. <em>Why was this her response to the letter<em>? Elizabeth had sent a letter detailing that Adrian was dangerous and that Lyrisadora should not trust him….which meant Lyrisadora had decided to respond with cake?

She shoved the cakes to the side, silently wondering if Lyrisadora was playing some sick game with her.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora was snuggled up with Adrian on the couch in the common room, having just got back from dinner; he placed his arm around her while she read from the Alchemy book he had given her.<p>

The last couple of days had been distracting for Adrian, he knew he needed to sit down and have a serious discussion with Lyrisadora about this little mission she was meant to carry out. But she had been such a little minx lately, it seemed she was trying to make up for last week's lack of sex , because Adrian was still walking a little funny after their quickie before dinner.

He had never known she had so much energy in her, she had really taken charge….Adrian faintly frowned, he supposed it wasn't that much of a big deal, he didn't mind the change and they could always take turns on who would be on top.

He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. "How are you finding the book?" he questioned, glancing at the dusty pages.

She kept her eyes focused on the writing. "Enlightening, though I had to translate some of the runes, but I think I have a good grasp of it," she replied evenly."But some of it's written in Arabic, so that'll be harder to translate," she continued, Adrian was only half-paying attention by this point, nodding dully in response.

"I'm glad you like it," he chose to reply, kissing her on the cheek, he saw Draco walk by from the corner of his eye, catching the displeased look the fifth year was shooting him. Adrian tightened his hold around Lyrisadora before glancing back at her. "So are you and Draco still not talking?" he queried lightly.

Lyrisadora peered at him from the corner of her eye. "Afraid so, I'm not going to apologise to that prat," she replied curtly.

He smiled faintly. "Good, you don't need him anyway," he replied, he rested his head against hers. "He isn't worth your time," he added lightly

"….I think I'll be the judge of that," he heard her say, her hands tightening around the book. His brow creased, he knew most siblings didn't like it when others insulted their younger siblings, going with the whole 'he's my brother only I'm allowed to insult him' argument.

He placed a hand over hers, forcing his brow to smooth out. "I was just making a comment," he reasoned, moving the arm around her shoulder to stroke her cheek. "I wasn't being serious."

She smiled at him warmly. "It's alright, I know you didn't mean any harm," she replied, kissing his cheek, his hand moved to stroke her shoulder blade. "You just want me all to yourself," she said teasingly.

He pressed his forehead against hers. "Of course I do, I'd be mad not to," he said.

She didn't say anything else after that, instead returning to her reading, but he wasn't bothered, he was fine with her just being with him.

He'd never felt more content.

* * *

><p><em>9th May 1996<em>

Lyrisadora wanted an award for the performance she was pulling, considering the amount of times she had to bury her anger deep and resist the urge to shove Adrian away from her, his kisses feeling like they were suffocating her.

She had finally managed to get away from him, ditching him while he was taking an exam and she was on her free study period. The sex wasn't bad, it was like before but only it was less about love and more about lust, but she didn't care, as long as it kept him from being suspicious she'd do what she had to.

Astoria was wisely keeping her distance, popping up to give the odd information she had gathered while spying on Adrian. He seemed placated right now, but Lyrisadora expected he'd want to sit down and try and convince her to forget all about the mission, she couldn't keep him distracted all the time.

She managed to get him to swear to never betray her, she was pretty certain his mind hadn't been focused on what he had been saying when she teased him to breaking point, since he had been begging for release. She had lifted the curses from his friends, which he was grateful for, but still though, she missed the haunted look that usual shone in Warrington's tired eyes.

It was a pity, but she supposed that they had suffered well enough. She made her way to the great hall, the Alchemy book was still in her bag and she wanted to do some further reading on it since she had finished her revision session.

She caught sight of David when she entered the Great all, seeing him sat alone hunched over on the table, looking thoroughly absorbed in the book he was reading, she was glad to see he looked less sickly. She was half tempted to go over to him, but decided it best not to, David was afraid to even look at her, she doubted the conversation would last long. Besides Adrian wouldn't be happy if he found out and she didn't want to cause David anymore harm.

Her eyes wondered over to her brother who was sitting alone for once, studying some books, most likely trying to squeeze in some last minute revision. She paused, remembering what Adrian had said about Draco being not worth her time. She didn't want to swallow her pride an apologise, Draco was irritating and had caused her no end of aggravation.

But if she continued to isolate him, then she was playing right into Adrian's hand, the least she could try and do was get Draco to be on civil terms with her again, it may even help her in the long run with Umbridge.

She sighed quietly as she walked towards him. "Studying?" she greeted pleasantly, drawing in his attention as his head perked up to look at her.

She sat down opposite him, making him scowl unpleasantly. "What do you want?" he asked rudely, snapping his book shut.

Lyrisadora shrugged. "I just wanted to sit and read," she said simply, taking her Alchemy book out of her bag. "Maybe make pleasant conversation," she added dryly. Draco gave her an unimpressed look. "I also need to borrow your owl so I can contact mother," she said evenly.

He looked at her curiously. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"You can only stay angry at someone for so long," Lyrisadora responded mildly.

"You don't seem very forgiving of father," Draco pointed out, eyeing her sceptically.

She smiled placidly. "A different matter of disagreement." Besides her father was a wound that was healing slowly, she wasn't eager to let him off so easily.

Her brother watched her warily, before he shrugged dismissively. "Fine, you can borrow my owl," he granted leisurely.

"Thank you," she replied nicely, smiling disarmingly, at least it was something.

"I'm surprised you're not with Adrian," Draco said lightly. "You're always together."

She looked at him with interest, noting the slight coldness in his tone. "He had an exam," Lyrisadora said dismissively. "Why do you care?" she asked casually.

"I don't, I just thought it odd," he retorted briskly. "He's always with you, and if he isn't with you then he's either asking about you or looking for you. Pansy thinks it's _sweet_," Draco told her coolly.

It was becoming more clear that Draco didn't like Adrian, Lyrisadora was curious as to why, from what she knew Adrian and Draco rarely interacted and no ill words were ever really said between the two. "You don't seem to like him, why?" she questioned.

Draco arched an eyebrow at her, as if the reason was obvious. "I'm not blind, or do you think no one notices when you two fight?" he queried, rolling his eyes. "No offence, but he's always touching and grabbing you, like your something he owns," he divulged, he shifted in his seat, appearing to find the topic uncomfortable. "It's why father isn't too sure of him anymore," he murmured.

"I didn't think you cared," she said quietly, she had assumed Draco hadn't been bothered by Adrian's behaviour, no one else said anything.

Draco bristled at the comment, visibly frowning at her. "It's not like that, it's just….you're a _Malfoy _and you're going to be his wife, he should treat you with more respect," he tried to quickly amend.

Lyrisadora smiled faintly. "Yeah, he should," she agreed, an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. "And he used to…but he's changed a lot since then," she mumbled to herself, glancing at the book he had given her, before back at Draco, plastering on an appeasing smile. "But it's fine, I can handle him and I know what I'm doing," she reassured, before opening the book to page 162, of _medical transmutation_.

She heard Draco scoff quietly as he returned to his studies. "If you say so," he muttered.

Lyrisadora was a little touched that he actually cared.

* * *

><p>Patricia scrunched up her mother's letter, for some reason or another, her mother had been fired from her job at the Ministry.<p>

The Gryffindor tried not to let her uneasiness show as she sat with her friends, Angelina and Katie rambling on about rumours that Hagrid would be sacked. Patricia was certain the Veregreens were involved in her mother losing her position, perhaps they somehow blamed her for their daughter's mental breakdown.

"Are you okay Patricia?" Katie asked, her conversation with Angelina fading away.

Patricia gave them her best smile. "I just have a lot on my mind," she lied hastily, trying not to think about Lucretia, she swallowed a painful lump in her throat. They hadn't even let her say goodbye.

* * *

><p>Lucretia held back a whimper, trying to merge herself into the soft chair she was sat in.<p>

There were sparks of electricity sparking from Mind Healer Proudfoot's wand, she was wondering how this procedure was meant to help her. "Sir," spoke one of the assistant Healers who were holding her firmly in place. "Are you sure this is the best treatment?" The healer asked hesitantly, exchanging a look with his colleague.

The head Mind Healer gave his two assistants a reassuring smile. "Sometimes the best way to fix a mind is to de-clutter it," he replied smoothly. "So no further damage is inflicted-now hold her still," he instructed firmly.

Lucretia didn't bother struggling, what was the point? She had nowhere else to go, she couldn't just keep running away…and maybe this would fix things, well at least she hoped so as she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

The only technicality was that she had hoped it wouldn't hurt so much; she started screaming when the tip of the wand touched her forehead.

* * *

><p>The whole of Tonks' body felt stiff, as she finally collapsed on a mossy piece of grass, feeling exhausted. Aluka set Nancy down, the sun finally setting.<p>

"Can we rest now?" Tonks moaned, having not had a wink of proper sleep in the last three days, her adrenaline levels depleted.

Aluka looked the opposite, not looking the bit tired, but she supposed Vampires had a different stamina, especially since they never slept. Nancy looked like she was barely being held together, the apparating hadn't helped her condition, but at least it hadn't killed her. "They'll find us," Aluka said gruffly. "They're excellent trackers," he murmured, sitting down in-between Nancy and Tonks.

"I got the impression, do they never sleep?" Tonks exclaimed, leaning against a tree.

"They've been trained to endure," Aluka replied plainly.

Tonks gave him a sidelong glance. "You seem to know them pretty well," she stated, looking at him curiously. "They're Jenik's assassins too, aren't they?" she queried, already knowing answer, but wanting more confirmation.

The vampire was quiet for a moment, she noticed he tended to brood a lot, it was starting to get on her nerves after a while. "I trained them from when they were young," he divulged.

"How old?"

He shrugged. "One was twelve, the other was thirteen."

Her eyes widened. "That young? Are they orphans or something?" she asked, sitting up a bit straighter.

"Yes, they're Muggle-borns, though Jenik likes to keep that bit under wraps," Aluka sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, revealing that he appeared a little more worn than he was letting on. "We call them the Twins," he added as an afterthought.

Tonks frowned. "But they're different ages? Why would you call them 'the Twins'?" she inquired.

Aluka glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, they're not related," he corrected her lightly. "Now, tell me more of these people you work for?" he questioned, eyes narrowing at her.

Tonks didn't like how he changed the subject, but decided to humour him, the Order was in need of more allies after all. "We fight You-Know-Who, I can't tell you the name, but we have good intentions," she told him, before a thought struck her. "And they're probably wondering where the hell I am, I should have been back by now," she started to fret, she could lose her job if she didn't get back in time.

She could have sworn she saw Aluka discreetly roll his eyes, before their attention was diverted when they heard Nancy moan in pain, appearing to stir. Tonks quickly moved to her side, sitting her up some more. "Hmmm-what is….?" Nancy mumbled, eyes scrunching up as she winced.

"Take it easy," Tonks instructed. "Your injuries have only gotten worse," she reprimanded.

Nancy's eyes opened, flickering between Tonks and Aluka, before they came to rest on the Vampire, her lips forming a crooked smile. "Did you hold my hand throughout it all, Aluka?" Nancy crooned.

The vampire sneered. "Your recklessness nearly got us both killed," he snapped, Nancy gave him an impatient look. "And now the Twins are after us," he hissed, effectively making her smile fall.

"Is the stone safe?" Nancy questioned sharply.

Aluka gritted his teeth, giving her a scolding look, Tonks assumed Nancy wasn't meant to let such sensitive information slip. "Of course it is, you think I'd let them get it so easily?" he snarled, his temper flaring.

Nancy visibly relaxed. "Good," she murmured, before trying to force herself to sit up more, letting out a gasp of pain.

"Take it easy," Tonks chided sternly, settling the older woman back into a more comfortable position.

Nancy shot her a small smile. "Thanks, but I can handle it," she sighed, before frowning at Tonks. "I assumed you would have cleared off by now," she said.

Tonks arched an eyebrow, glancing at Aluka. "I doubt he'd let me," she commented. "He never left your side," she supplied.

Nancy snorted in amusement as she glanced at the Vampire. "You don't say," she replied amusingly.

"I was fulfilling my life debt," he spat, his eyes narrowing. "Which means I only have three commitments left to fulfil," he told the American plainly.

Tonks looked at Nancy questionably. "Why does he owe you a life debt ?"

The vampire scowled, while Nancy grinned. "I saved his life when the Syndicate tried to assassinate him, because I'm a _pure soul_," she explained pleasantly, Aluka snorted in scepticism.

"I never needed your help," he muttered bitterly, looking away.

Nancy sneered at him. "Oh please, they were about to chop your head off, I mean you were being held down by garlic of all things," she scoffed.

Aluka bared his fangs in anger, but Nancy didn't look very concerned by the hostile aura the vampire was giving off. Tonks cleared her throat. "We need to get out of here, do you lot know anywhere safe?" she questioned.

"No," the vampire replied abruptly. "If we did we wouldn't be in this mess," he replied nonchalantly.

"What about your coven?" Tonks argued, it wasn't common for Vampires to go solo; they tended to stick together, no matter how small in numbers.

Aluka's eyes darkened, Tonks picked up that his coven was a no go area. "Burned to the ground," he spat.

The Auror shifted uncomfortably. "Oh…Okay then," she murmured, looking back at Nancy. "What about you?"

Nancy shook her head. "All my connections are dead by now," she replied curtly.

Tonks held back a sigh, meanwhile at the same time, Aluka's body became stiffer, his head perking up. "We need to get out of here," he snapped.

"Oh for fuck sake, how do they keep on finding us?" Tonks exclaimed, helping Nancy to her feet. "And how do you know it's them?" Tonks asked again, because this whole situation was becoming very confusing.

Aluka picked up Nancy bridal style, before he pushed Tonks out of the way when a jet stream of electricity was thrown her way. Tonks stumbled to her feet and shot a curse right on back, her eyes widening when the earth rose up and locked her feet in place. Aluka jumped and clung to a thick tree branch, his fangs beard as he glared at their attackers.

Two figures came into view, a woman and a man looking to be in their mid-twenties. Tonks assumed these were the Twins, the nickname irking her, because they looked nothing alike. The woman had conker red hair and bright green eyes, her skin as white as snow, looking thin like a rail with an attractive oval face.

The man was more or less the opposite with fair hair and blue eyes, his skin looking more olive and pinkish, his body bulky like it was built from stone and his face was squarer. 'Look Connie! What do we have here?' he spoke brightly, exchanging a look with his partner.

The woman grinned. 'A filthy little traitor and his blood whore, if I'd have to guess,' she replied cheerfully, before her green eyes narrowed at Tonks. 'And look Connie, there's some collateral damage as well!' She exclaimed, brandishing her wand as she waved her wand, a stream of water bursting out from the tip, freezing into icicles.

Tonks hastily waved her wand. "_Incendio_!" she yelled, fire sprouting from her wand, melting the ice.

Aluka moved like lightening, attacking the Twins. Tonks broke free of the earthly binds and dived out of the way, the twins advanced on her and Aluka, moving in perfect synchronisation. It looked like their preferred skill of magic was elemental, which was a problem seeing how they looked very good at it.

Tonks faltered when she felt Nancy tug her arm. "Get out of here," Nancy said firmly, Tonks was about to protest. "It's us they want, Aluka can run away, we'll be fine, just get out of here," she hissed, her limbs shaking, Tonks looked back at Aluka who was taking both Witch and Wizard on, avoiding their fire curses.

Tonks was torn, she couldn't just leave them to take on these two crazies alone, she tried to think of a plan to immobilise them, to give Aluka and Nancy a chance to get away. Her mind started to race as she tried to think. Elemental magic, the wizard drew their power from the earth, the magic flaring around them, sparking with energy….her eyes widened as an idea his her, she flexed her fingers. Merlin this was going to hurt.

She aimed her wand at the ground. "_Energeia __xecho̱ristós."_ There was a blinding flash, like a small earthquake, Tonks gritted her teeth, every bone in her body trembling, burning in excruciating pain as the vibrations ran through her. While Nancy yelled in pain, the Twins screamed in agony, falling to the ground as they curled inwards, writhing in agony, their magic visibly sparking like a broken wire of a socket. Tonks fell to her knees, her hands trembling as the felt her magic try and merge back with her, Mad-Eye had warned her magic would take a great toll on the user, the magic being separated for a moment or so, the most pain coming from when the magic tried to merge back with the user. Since the Twins magic was more tied to the earth, the toll would make them immobile because of the pain, Nancy would be fine, more or less anyway.

Aluka was the only one who was still standing, he used this to his advantage, swiping Tonks and Nancy up and zooming off into the night, leaving the two assassins in his wake. Tonks allowed exhaustion to overtake her as her eyes closed.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora tried to hide her grimace as she stood next to Adrian, he was chatting with Harper, Montague and Warrington, all five of them currently standing in a corridor on the first floor, Adrian's arm firmly locked around her waist. Harper wouldn't stop going on about the new restaurant his aunt had opened in Manchester. "….We're already booked up for the next two months, but I could probably get you guys a table," Harper stated confidently.<p>

"What type of food is it?" Montague asked.

"Mostly German, though I think she's going to try and add some Italian in there," Harper replied.

Warrington raised an eyebrow. "That'll be an odd mix," he commented, smirking when Harper shot him an irritated look.

"Well it'll add some culture then, wont it," Harper reasoned a little too defensively.

Lyrisadora held back a sigh, she wanted to leave, she had been hoping to send that letter to her mother before Adrian saw her and started asking questions, she had also wanted to send a letter to Fred and George to thank them for their voucher. She cast a sidelong glance at Adrian, before forcing on a serene smile. "Adrian," she interjected, gaining his attention. "I'm off to go study in the library before dinner," she told him, taking a step back.

He frowned, tugging her waist closer to him. "You can do that later," he told her dismissively, before turning back to Harper. "So what kind of dessert is there?" Adrian asked lightly.

Harper looked between Lyrisadora and Adrian curiously. "Uh…well-"

Lyrisadora frowned at Adrian. "I'll only be gone for an hour or so," she protested, trying to suppress her anger. He was being ridiculous, why on earth should she have to ask permission? This whole submissive act was getting on her nerves.

Adrian looked at her in annoyance. "You can study later, why does it have to be now?" he argued, letting her go to turn to her fully.

Lyrisadora bit down on her tongue, she knew she should calm down and just let it go, but he had been like this for days, bossing her around and constantly wanting her by his side, she didn't know how she was going to keep this up for another two months, trying to balance out her performance was exhausting. "Why are you making a big deal out of this?" she protested. "I just want some alone time-"

Montague cleared his throat and looked at Harper and Warrington. "_Sooo_, that last exam was a killer! Right guys?" he tried to change the conversation.

But Adrian and Lyrisadora ignored him; Harper and Warrington were watching them like it was a rerun of their favourite show. "-Couples are meant to spend time with each other," Adrian reminded her testily, his eyes narrowing. "You're being difficult," he chastised harshly.

She clenched her fists. "Oh piss off, you're the one being _needy_, it's pathetic," she snapped, losing composer. "And if anyone's being _difficult_, it's you," she said accusingly, moving away to march off and leave him to chew on that.

She saw anger flash in his eyes, his hand whipped out as he roughly grabbed her, yanking her back, making her wince, she saw him take a deep breath, as if he was trying to control himself. "Well maybe if you didn't act like a pain in my ass, we wouldn't be fighting," he countered, looking at her accusingly. "You always have to make everything into an argument, don't you?" he said cuttingly.

Harper stepped closer to them. "Come on Adrian, just let it go, it's not a big deal," he tried to calm the situation down.

"Stay out of this Harper," Adrian snapped.

Lyrisadora struggled out of his grip. "Get off me," she exclaimed sharply, managing to push him away, hurriedly walking away.

"Come back here, Lyra!" Adrian called angrily, rushing after her.

She tried to walk faster, hoping she could ditch him on the way to the Great Hall, but he was hot on her tail, it didn't take him long to catch up with her, she glared at him. "Leave me alone," she snapped testily, trying to move away from him.

The anger had appeared to subside a little in his gaze, his eyes appearing colder, she knew she probably should watch herself, most likely apologise for upsetting him, but his condescension and smothering was driving her insane. "This is ridiculous, why did you even make a big deal out of this in the first place?" Adrian questioned irritably

She clenched her fists as she walked towards the stairs, nearing the Great hall. "Because you're _smothering_ me, and if I want to go somewhere, I don't need your permission," she spat her anger rising, she turned away when his eyes narrowed at her.

"You need to stop and calm down," he told her in a measured tone, his eyes darkening. "_Now,"_ he growled, trying to grab her.

She moved away from him. "Just shut up and leave me alone," she replied sharply, ignoring his warning look. She started to walk down the stairs, when she felt her foot hit something, losing her balance, tripping over and falling down, banging her knee and shoulder on the hard stone.

She winced, pushing herself to her knees, she heard a few sniggers from one or two students nearby, she felt a humiliated blush creep onto her cheeks. She felt a gentle hand lift her to her feet, making her hiss in pain, her right knee bruised and her elbow stiff and sore. "You should be more careful," Adrian chided softly, her eyes widened when she caught his gaze. "You'll hurt yourself." All traces of anger and coldness gone, as if he had just flicked a twitch.

The concern in his gaze was what alarmed Lyrisadora the most, because she couldn't quite tell if it was genuine or not. It was obvious Adrian had tripped her up, probably as a little punishment of sorts. "You tripped me," she blurted out, because surely he knew she wasn't stupid enough to believe it was an accident.

He frowned at her. "Don't be ridiculous, you fell, why would I trip you?" he argued, rolling his eyes at her as if she was paranoid, he stroked her cheek lovingly. "You're just upset, that's all, it was an accident," he said placidly.

She bit down on her tongue, maybe she had just fallen…..she quickly shook this thought, realising his mind game._ No, I didn't trip,_ she told herself, it wasn't an accident, Adrian was trying to mess with her head, that was all.

She knew she wasn't going to win this one, she felt her shoulders weaken as she leaned on him for support. "I'm sorry," she forced herself to say, a bad taste in her mouth as her chest tightened painfully. "I was being a bitch," she added, forcing a sheepish smile.

He pulled out his wand to presumably heal her leg. "It's fine, it was just a stupid argument," he replied mildly, wrapping her arm around his shoulder to support her weight. "Let's just forget about it," he reasoned, taking her down the rest of the stairs, once they reached the bottom he moved her towards a wall, allowing her to lean on it. "It probably isn't even that bad," he added, pulling her tights down so he could get a better look at her injured knee.

Lyrisadora watched him silently, subconsciously tugging down the hem of her skirt, she looked at her knee in alarm when she saw the large purple and yellow ugly bruise that had formed, her eyes narrowing accusingly at Adrian. "Not so bad, huh?" she murmured bitterly to herself.

He looked up at her questionably. "What was that?" he queried mildly.

"Nothing," she replied dully, averting her gaze.

He turned back to the injury. "_Episkey ,"_ he uttered, healing up the damage, the blemish fading away as if it were never there. The soreness in her leg faded, as she moved it around. Adrian looked at her expectantly. "Does anywhere else hurt?" he asked.

Lyrisadora felt her elbow sting as she moved to pull up her tights, but she shook her head. "No," she lied curtly, she glanced at him, noting he was still looking at her expectantly, as if he wanted a '_thank you_' for healing her up, she was starting to feel physically sick. "Thanks for healing me," she said tonelessly, unable to bring herself to look at him.

She felt his hand slide into hers, as he planted a kiss on her cheek. "It's fine. Though you need to be less clumsy," he reprimanded tenderly. "Now come on, we can wait for the others in the Great Hall," he said, tugging her along as he walked towards the entrance.

Lyrisadora bit down on her tongue, burying a wince of pain as she tasted a drop of blood.

* * *

><p>Tonks jolted away when she felt some one pinch her arm painfully. "Ow," she murmured, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.<p>

Aluka was looking at her impatiently, while Nancy looked relieved. "I thought you'd never wake up," Nancy said.

Tonks struggled to her feet, looking around the alleyway, realising they were at some docks, where exactly, she wasn't sure. "I miss anything while I was out cold?" she questioned.

Nancy was half leaning on Aluka for support. "Nothing much…thanks for saving our asses back there," she said.

The Vampire handed Tonks a thin slip, she frowned, realising it was a ticket to board a boat. "You need to leave, there's a boat that will ferry you to England" he told her plainly.

The Auror frowned. "What about the assassins chasing you?" she argued, looking at Nancy pointedly, the woman could barely walk as it was.

"Don't worry about us," Nancy reassured. "There's no need to drag you into this mess," she reasoned, before she reached into her robe pocket, bringing out a crumpled envelope. "Just do me a favour and give this to my mom," Nancy said, limping towards Tonks, handing the envelope over.

Tonks scanned the address, noting it was for England, addressed to a house in Hereford. "Do you want me to tell her where you are?" she asked.

Nancy exchanged a look with Aluka. "Just tell her I'm alright….Tell her Ada's okay," she divulged, earning a surprised look from Aluka.

"You suck at keeping secrets," the vampire said grimly.

So her name was Ada, Tonks frowned, she thought she's heard that name in passing, a brief mention. "It's a nice name," Tonks said, smiling at 'Nancy', who she assumed real name was Ada.

Ada rolled her eyes. "I always thought it was weird," she retorted, giving a brief shrug.

_At least it wasn't as bad as Nymphadora_, Tonks thought to herself. "Trust me, it could have been worse," she said firmly, placing the letter in the inside of her robes, along with the ticket. "….People call me Tonks by the way," Tonks divulged, at least they could establish a bit of trust.

"Interesting name," Ada commented, raising an eyebrow.

"We can't stay here long," Aluka interrupted. "They'll find us," he reminded.

"How?" Tonks asked, unable to quell her curiosity. "Is it their elemental magic?"

"No," Aluka replied tightly, usual grumpy scowl stuck in place. "It's me, which is why I need to throw off my scent," he admitted reluctantly.

"We'll be fine," Ada reassured Tonks. "I've dealt with worse."

"Good luck then," Tonks said, offering them a smile. "Oh, and if a girl finds you and claims to be part of an Order fighting You-Know-Who, talks super posh and has a skull tattoo on her left arm, she's one of the good guys, trust me on that," she told them firmly.

They both looked at her questionably; she didn't bother to explain more, giving them a quick wave goodbye as she headed towards the boat.

* * *

><p>Miles was starting to wonder why his friends were being so quiet at dinner; he had just got back from his routinely smooch session with Cassondria, when he noticed something seemed off. Montague and Harper kept on shooting glances at Lyrisadora and Adrian, as if anticipating an explosion, which was strange seeing how the couple looked perfectly content.<p>

Lyrisadora wasn't speaking, but that wasn't too peculiar, she didn't tend to speak to them anyway, the only other person who seemed fine was Warrington, who was talking animatedly with Adrian.

Miles was curious as to what he had missed, he frowned, and he supposed there was no ham in asking. "So anything interesting happen while I was gone?" he asked evenly.

Everyone was silent for a while, Harper was twiddling his thumbs, Montague was looking pointedly at Adrian for some reason and Warrington was looking between Lyrisadora and Adrian. Lyrisadora was scowling at her food and Adrian looked mildly annoyed. "No," Adrian replied testily, stabbing at some lamb on his plate.

Miles raised an eyebrow, before glancing at the others, then back at Adrian, he wanted to push, but thought better of it, he knew Adrian disliked people prying into his relationship with Lyrisadora. "…Right….Anyway, have you guys heard any more news about Lucretia?" he asked.

"No," Lyrisadora replied coldly, looking at Miles in disdain, he frowned, what the hell was her problem?

"Didn't she get locked up in the loony bin?" Harper commented callously.

Lyrisadora's cold gaze focused on Harper. "It's a hospital, Harper, please call it as such," she chided evenly, clenching her fork tightly.

"Uh…okay," Harper replied uncertainly, eyeing her warily.

Adrian reached over and placed a hand over Lyrisadora's, the fork clattered on the table. "I'm sure she's fine, it's the best place for her," he reassured soothingly.

Miles frowned. Lyrisadora paused for a moment, before she looked at Adrian, giving him a warm smile, Miles felt his frown deepen, there was just something off about that smile. "I know," she replied sadly, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Harper , Montague and Warrington both looked confused, as if they were missing a piece of a puzzle.

* * *

><p><em>10th May 1996<em>

Elizabeth stirred awake when she heard the sound of chewing, her eyes snapped open. "Bolton!" she exclaimed, it appeared her dog had knocked over the package of cauldron cakes she had forgotten about, and he was now devouring them, chocolate crumbs littering the floor. "Come here," she groaned, the stupid dog would no doubt get a stomach ache from the sweets.

Bolton's ears pricked up, before he whined, looking at her imploringly, like a guilty pup caught in the act. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and looked down at the mess, before her brow furrowed when she saw a piece of paper underneath the clear plastic of the cake cases, it looked like a letter. She grabbed her wand from her bedside. "_Accio _package," she summoned the treats.

Bolton barked, jumping onto the bed, most likely wanting to finish off the sweets. She pushed his snout away and pulled the letter from under the plastic.

_Dear Elizabeth_

_I've found out what Adrian did, I know it's taken me a while. I haven't received any letters from you and I'm not sure if this is because they've been blocked or you're angry with me; I consider both likely possibilities. _

_Lucretia has been sent to hospital, I also found the people who caused you harm, they've been dealt with. _

_Because of lack of proof, I couldn't accuse Adrian outright, especially with Umbridge in charge right now; she's started monitoring the post by the way._

_I don't trust Adrian, but the situation with him is complicated and there's no easy way out, so just trust me on this. I'm not trouble, so you don't need to worry, I'll try and stay in contact with you._

_Sincerely _

_Lyra _

Elizabeth stared at the letter, before a slow smile spread across her face.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Mother<em>

_I'm sorry I haven't written, things have been difficult upon quite recently. I'm sorry if I upset you, it wasn't my intention._

_I'm trying o get along with Draco, but we tend to clash a lot, some things never change I guess. Things at school are different, I can't say it's an improvement, though I doubt father would agree. _

_I do miss you and I'll try to write more._

_Love _

_Lyrisadora_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Lyrisadora <em>

_I've sent you some biscuits, I know you think care packages are for babies, but just humour me this once. I'll try and talk to Draco, I know he's stubborn, but he does look up to you, he always has, so I wouldn't worry too much, he'll come around._

_I'm aware Madame Umbridge has always been quite forthright and ambitious, sometimes a tad too eager. But at least she's doing some good in showing Potter and Mudbloods there place, so bear with her my dear, some changes are for the best. _

_I miss you too and I would like it if you wrote more._

_Love _

_Mother_

* * *

><p><em>11th May 1996<em>

On Saturday Adrian insisted they go to Hogsmeade and have a drink at the Three Broomsticks. Lyrisadora watched him place her Butterbeer in front of her, she silently wished it was a glass of Firewhiskey. "Thanks," she said, taking a sip of her drink.

He just smiled in response, sitting down opposite her. "So, exams are nearly over," he struck up conversation.

"Yeah nearly," she concurred, forcing a smile. "Then it's the rest of our lives ahead of us," she added, managing not to falter when she felt a knot form in her stomach.

Adrian gave her a disarming smile. "Hm, yeah. Speaking of the future," he began, Lyrisadora braced herself for the next phase of the conversation. "We should talk about this mission you're involved in," he said lowly, looking at her pointedly.

She swallowed an unpleasant lump down her throat. "You want me to back out of it, don't you?" she inquired evenly.

"It's for the best," he reassured. "It's not worth you risking your life for," he argued firmly.

"It is if I'm saving lives," she hissed, allowing a smidge of her anger to show. "I can't just sit back-"

"-And watch people suffer," Adrian interrupted flatly. "But that's just how the world is, Princess, you can't save everyone," he reasoned.

"I can try and make a difference though," she protested, wondering when the best moment to cave would come in, she still needed to argue a bit to make it all look convincing. "I mean….you could come-"

He spoke over her this time. "We both know that's not going to happen," he said, before lowering his voice again. "Snape would never allow it," he pointed out.

Lyrisadora gave him a desperate look. "Adrian, please don't do this," she started to plead, making sure to add a bit of shakiness to her tone. "We'll only be apart for-"

"_Lyra_," he interrupted sternly, his eyes narrowing. Lyrisadora wanted to scream at him, _stop interrupting me_! She fumed in her head, she bit down hard on her tongue resting her hands under the table as she clenched them into fists. "We love each other, don't we?" he questioned softy.

She nodded firmly, frowning at him questionably, as if she didn't know what he was getting at. "Of course," she said quietly.

"Then we shouldn't ever be separated from each other," he reasoned diplomatically, smiling at her warmly, he held out his had expectantly, Lyrisadora hesitated before she took hold of it. "If you died…I don't think I'd be able to live with myself," he murmured, kissing her hand tenderly. "I only want to protect you, I just want to keep you safe," Adrian said, looking at her seriously. "We could start a new life together, don't you want that?"

She squeezed his hand tightly. "I do want that, honestly, but…." She deliberately trailed off, avoiding his gaze. "People are relying on me," she mumbled, before she paused, waiting for him to deliver the final blow.

He gently stroked her hand, letting out a quiet disappointed sigh. "Lyra, do you even think you could do it?" he questioned.

She frowned at him, meeting his gaze. "What are you trying to say…?"

"It's just….are you sure you can handle it all, I mean, remember what happened with _that family_," he pointed out. She felt a sting of hurt that he would sink so low as to bring up that wound. "I know you're smart and skilled, but you lack the nerve and war is ruthless," he said coolly, looking at her ruefully.

"So you think I'll fail," she muttered, unable to keep the bitterness from her tone.

His grip on her hand tightened."No, I'm just afraid of what you'll become," he corrected, his reply surprising her.

Lyrisadora remained silent for a minute or so, while Adrian watched her intently, before she let out a quiet sigh. "Okay, you win, I'll tell Snape I'm backing out," she murmured, keeping her eyes downcast.

Adrian kissed her hand lovingly. "You know it's for the best," he assured her.

She gave him a weak smile. "I know," she replied, silently wishing she could break his fingers.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy New Year! So there's going to be a bit of a time skip coming up soon, then we begin another story arc (so many arcs)<strong>

**Let me know what you guys think. **


	91. Sinking Chess Board

**I only own the OCs!**

**Quote origin:Let it Die, Strarset  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>"But I can't start your cold heart beating, you're so far gone, but I'm not leaving when all I know is you."<strong>

**Chapter: Sinking Chess Board **

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora curled up a little on herself, while Adrian collapsed on the bed, thoroughly worn out. Cassondria and Miles had claimed the dorm for the night, so Adrian had suggested they use the Room of Requirements seeing how it wasn't in use anymore. She hadn't really minded much, she glanced up at the ceiling seeing a fabrication of stars, the room was small and the only thing in it was a comfy bed. It served it's purposed.<p>

Adrian snuggled closer to her, kissing the back of her neck, her head turned away from him. "You're wonderful," he sighed blissfully, nuzzling her neck as his breathing calmed.

She didn't exactly share his enthusiasm, but forced a smile when she looked at him. "Glad you enjoyed yourself," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "We should get back, it'll be curfew soon," she started to reason.

He silenced her with another kiss. "There's no need to rush, we can just say we're doing our patrols and got side tracked," he reasoned.

Lyrisadora's fingers dug further into the mattress. "Alright then," she said mildly, turning around so she wasn't facing him anymore.

She felt him hum against her neck, before he started playing with her hair. "Snape can't find out you're backing out of the mission," Adrian said suddenly, she stayed quiet and waited for him to continue. "He'll probably try to stop you, so you're going to have to go along with it, just until we leave the country," he told her, she felt his eyes land on her expectantly. "You can do that, right Princess?"

"Yeah, it shouldn't be hard," she murmured, he kissed her on the cheek, she felt her gut twist. Two months, she repeated in her head, just two more months of pretending then she could leave, she closed her eyes when she felt him wrap an arm around her waist and pull her closer. Two months and she'd never have to see him again, they'd go their separate ways and she could stop looking behind her back every time she walked down the stairs.

"Love you," he murmured into her ear.

"Love you too," she replied automatically, trying to sound like she meant it.

* * *

><p><em>14th May 1996<em>

"….So then he fell on his fat ass," Miles laughed, retelling the funny story to Adrian, well technically it was to Lyrisadora as well, since she was sat with them in the courtyard; but she hadn't really contributed to the conversation. The three of them were sat on a stone wall. "Which knocked over all the telescopes," he continued, recalling how that Hufflepuff Damian had pissed of Professor Vector in the Astronomy class the night before. "His face was priceless," he sighed blissfully.

Adrian looked at him in amusement. "So I gather it was a good class?" he said evenly.

"Definitely worth the broken telescope," Miles replied. "But I didn't tell you the best part," he continued, remembering how a few of the telescopes had fallen out of the tower and a couple of student's had tried to climb out of the window to save them.

Adrian glanced at the giant clock. "You can tell me later, I have a class," he said curtly, offering Miles a shrug, slipping off the wall ,he looked back at Lyrisadora, who seemed to be staring into space, as if she had tuned them both out. "I'll find you after class," he told her, placing his hands on her hips to lean in for a kiss.

Lyrisadora smiled dutifully and placed her arms around his shoulders. "I'll be waiting," she chimed, giving him a peck on the cheek, Miles rolled his eyes, they acted like they were from a freaking romantic novel.

Miles glanced back at Lyrisadora when Adrian left; she slipped off the wall and dusted her skirt off, giving Miles a quick glance before waving dismissively. "Bye," she said curtly before leaving, walking through the archway.

He snorted, he hadn't expected her to stay anyway, he moved around the wall to enter the hallway that ran through. He was surprised when he found a boy hiding behind it, Miles followed his line of sight, frowning when he saw the guy was spying on Lyrisadora. What a creep. "Oi," Miles snapped, hulling the boy up from the collar. "What are you doing?" he questioned sharply.

The boy looked familiar, especially with the frightened look he was sporting, Miles frowned….wait, he knew this kid, it was that Hufflepuff boy he used to beat up when he was stressed. Hew…..Danny? No it was something like David. "Uh…..It's not what it looks like," David spluttered.

"It looks pretty obvious to me," Miles replied dryly, he considered beating the kid up now and then telling Adrian, so they could beat him up together, just so the little sod understood that it wasn't okay to perv on another man's woman.

"I just wanted to make sure Lyra was okay, please don't tell Adrian!" David blurted out, cringing when Miles tightened his hold around his neck.

Miles felt his brow crease, eyeing the Hufflepuff warily. "Why wouldn't she be okay?"

David froze and bit down on his lip, Miles narrowed his eyes and slammed the kid against the wall. "Ow! Okay….I just wanted to make sure Adrian hadn't hurt her," he confessed.

Okay, now he was more confused, Adrian wouldn't hurt Lyrisadora he adored her, sure they tended to fight and disagree over things, but loads of couples did that. "Adrian wouldn't ever hurt Lyra," Miles growled, he didn't want this jerk spreading rumours about his best friend.

David flinched. "….He tripped her down the stairs a couple of days ago," he divulged.

"Wait….what are you talking about?" Miles questioned, an unpleasant feeling forming in his stomach.

"Well, I was walking through the corridor and Adrian was yelling after Lyra and she was sort of running away from him….I just wanted to make sure he didn't hurt her," David started to mumbled, Miles shook him, wanting the boy to speak up.

_"And?"_

"I followed them and Lyra looked really upset and angry, Adrian tried to grab her but she shoved him away, then she started walking down the stairs…" David trailed off, looking at Miles worriedly, he didn't continue until the Slytherin tightened his grip to choking level. "No one else was really paying proper attention…but I saw him trip her up," he told Miles.

"Wait, what? No, Adrian wouldn't…." Miles trailed off, looking at David sceptically, he really wanted to believe David was lying, but why would the Hufflepuff make this all up? Then again David might fancy Lyrisadora, it would give him a reason to try to slander Adrian. "If you're lying…" Miles threatened coldly, his eyes flashing with anger.

David hastily shook his head. "I'm not! Just go ask Lyra," he protested.

He would, Miles needed to get to the bottom of this. "I will," he growled, before shoving David away, he glared down at the Hufflepuff, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why do you care so much about Lyra anyway?" he asked, none of the other houses gave a rat's ass about the Slytherins, so why did David? Especially seeing how he had been bullied by Slytherins for years.

David gave a pathetic shrug, his gaze lowering. "Because Adrian's not a good person," he replied grimly, his complexion turning a little paler.

Miles felt the uneasy feeling in his stomach grow as he backed away from the boy, marched off to go find Lyrisadora, hopefully she could clean up this whole mess. That David kid was probably just lying and Lyrisadora would clear it up, Adrian wouldn't trip Lyrisadora down the stairs, he wouldn't intentionally harm her.

The seventh year continued to search for Lyrisadora, wondering where the hell she had walked off to. He absently chewed his tongue, if Adrian had….and Miles wasn't saying he believed it or anything….but if Adrian had hurt Lyrisadora, then should he tell the others? He didn't think Warrington would care, but Harper and Montague might, even if they didn't like Lyrisadora. Heck even Miles didn't like her very much, but that didn't mean he'd just sit back and let Adrian continue to hurt his fiancé.

So he'd need to have a word with Adrian….that's if there was need to, which he doubted….but he had noticed Lyrisadora had started wearing longer sleeves recently. Miles stopped when he caught sight of Lyrisadora, she was standing in the hallway near the entrance of the Dungeons, trying to stuff a large book into her leather satchel.

Miles rushed over to her. "Lyra," he called.

Lyrisadora looked up at him curiously. "Oh, hi Miles," she greeted uncertainly, looking at him questionably.

Miles decided to get straight to the point, but he found himself hesitating, he gave her a quick look over, but there wasn't a blemish in sight, but then again she could have easily healed it up. "David Hewitte's been spying on you," he said, making her frown.

"Oh…that's strange," she commented warily.

"Yeah, I confronted him about it," he began, not missing how her eyes narrowed warningly. "He said he was keeping an eye on you because he was afraid Adrian would hurt you," Miles said casually, rolling his eyes dismissively, as if it was the most unlikeliest thing.

He watched her reaction carefully, but her face was hard to read. "Why would he say that?" she asked evenly.

Miles relaxed a little. "He said he saw Adrian trip you down the stairs a couple of days ago," he replied, shrugging his shoulders, keeping his eyes trained on her face, waiting for the slightest tick.

Lyrisadora paused, which made Miles tense as his eyes narrowed, but then she scoffed as if the idea was ridiculous. "Oh that," she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "No that's not how it happened," she reassured, making Miles grow less tense. "My shoe laces were untied and I slipped and fell," Lyrisadora explained.

Miles paused, he should have felt relief, but for some reason the unpleasant feeling in his stomach didn't let up. "So, Adrian's never hurt you?" he asked, looking at her intently.

She shook her head. "No," she replied evenly. "He loves me, remember?" she said reassuringly, this placated Miles suspicions. "Don't blame David though, he's a sweet boy," she said, her eyes narrowing, her voice turning colder. "He doesn't deserve any hassle," she said warningly, looking at Miles Pointedly.

He got the message, it seemed Lyrisadora had taken the stupid Hufflepuff under her protection, a shame really, David had always been a good punching bag. "I hear you loud and clear, no need to turn murderous," he said, holding his hands up in surrender.

Her coldness seemed to ease off. "Good, also don't mention this to Adrian…he'd take it the wrong way," Lyrisadora said.

Miles frowned. "Uh, okay then," he responded dismissively, even though he most likely was going to be talking to Adrian about this. She gave him a polite smile.

"Wonderful, now if you'll excuse me," she said primly, walking past him and making her leave.

Miles stayed where he was, it was all just a misunderstanding, it had to be…..well at least he hoped it all was.

* * *

><p>Adrian was starting to wonder where Lyrisadora was, his friends had been useless in providing information on where she was, especially Miles who had been oddly quiet. He sighed quietly, he'd already checked the Great Hall, the Library, the Common room, Potions Lab and looked around the corridors, but he couldn't find her anywhere, he supposed she could be barricaded up in her room, but when he had asked Daphne if she had seen her in the girls' dorm, the girl had said no.<p>

He supposed he could check the Art Classroom, she sometimes went there to read when it was empty; he remembered she had mentioned once that she liked the smell of paint. He quietly made his way towards the classroom she usually went in, which is where he finally found her, he saw her when he peered through the doorway, she seemed to be occupied with a sort of lab experiment, her hair tied up and her long sleeves rolled up.

There were beacons filled with either salt or sugar, and there were two others filled with dirt and shards of wood. The book he had given her was open on a certain page, there were also three mini ice sculptures around it.

He eyed her curiously as he entered, noticing she had started to draw on the table. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously, making her jump. She accidently knocked over the beacon filled with either salt or sugar, causing it to smash on the floor, he arched an eyebrow . "_Carefu_l," he chided, wondering when she had started to become so skittish.

Lyrisadora glanced at him, giving him a sheepish smile. "Just practicing my alchemy," she replied, before tapping her wand on the table, the glass beacon repairing itself, the contents pouring back in.

He wondered over towards her, looking over at the equipment. "What are you making?" he asked curiously, walking past her to look at what page of the book she was on.

From the corner or his eye he saw her resumed preparing her equipment. "It's elemental magic, but the drawing of power is more focused on the construction circle," she informed.

Adrian looked at the title of the page, but frowned when he realised it was written in Ancient Greek, he looked at the symbols, which depicted Earth, Fire, Water and Air in a series of triangular symbols. "Hmm, right, " he hummed, looking at her curiously.

She continued to ramble on, as if trying to fill the silence. "I already practiced making shapes with ice," she continued, glancing at him when he picked up one of them, it was in the shape of a blue bird. "I'm going to have a go making a metal one, then I think I'll try to transmute-"

"Make me something," he interrupted mildly, Lyrisadora looked at him curiously, he placed the little sculpture down, feeling it start to numb his fingers. "I always get you things," Adrian added smiling teasingly.

"Oh, okay….what do you want?" Lyrisadora asked him. "Because I might need to get more materials," she argued.

He shrugged, folding his arms as he leant on the work bench. "I'm not picky, just make me whatever you want," he replied, before adding. "Just not from ice, I want to keep it as a keepsake."

She fiddled with one of the beacons. "Alright then, just give me a second," she replied, giving him another pleasant smile, she rubbed out the previous construction circle she had been drawing.

Adrian watched her work, he glanced over at her left arm, noticing the glamour starting to fade. "Your mark's showing," he pointed out, she briefly glanced at it before shrugging, and not looking very concerned as her attention seemed focused entirely on her work. "So when are you going to be done up here?" he questioned leisurely.

She just shrugged again. "I don't know, maybe another hour," was her non-committed answer. "….You don't have to stay," Lyrisadora reasoned, shooting him an amused smile, as if he was being silly.

"No, I'll stay," he said evenly, stepping closer to her, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, before he kissed her cheek. "You really seem into this Alchemy business," he commented, shrugging back a bit to give her space to work.

"It's a hobby," she replied simply.

"Hm….so you're not still obsessing over that seer's prediction?" he inquired lightly.

Lyrisadora looked at him in irritation. "It's hard to forget, especially seeing how one of my friends could die," she argued curtly.

Adrian held back a sigh, he didn't really hold the prediction up to high standard, it was too vague and cryptic, after all 'the Twin will die' could mean any twin. "And how exactly are you going to stop it?" he challenged.

Her brow creased. "The future isn't set in stone," she argued firmly.

Well that was debatable, especially seeing how prophecies tended to always come true, it was part of the reason the Ministry stored them away from public view. "Are you sure about that?" he said, looking at her sceptically.

She shot him an irritated look. "Well I can't just sit back and let it happen," she argued.

Adrian let out a deep sigh. "Have you ever considered that by trying to change the future, you're unknowingly securing it?" he asked her, giving her a pointed look.

That seemed to make her stop and think, as she paused from her work, the new alchemic circle half finished. "Yes, I have," she replied flatly, a brief look flashing across her face, but it was too quick to properly interpret. "Can you please pass me the dish, it's under the book," she said curtly, resuming her work, barely glancing at him.

He looked over at the heavy book and lifted the side of it, finding a metal dish underneath. "Are you still writing to the Weasel twins?" he asked evenly, passing her the dish.

"Every now and then," she answered casually, starting to pour the weird mixture into the dish.

He faintly scowled, wondering why she deigned to be friends with those idiots. "Are you sure that's wise?" he queried, turning the page of the book to have a quick glance through.

"They're my friends," she said firmly, looking at him sternly. "I'm not going to cut them off," she stated curtly.

He tried to mask his annoyance. "You're going to have to when we go to America," he pointed out, she remained silent, he shrugged. "I just thought it best to cut them off now, instead of just delaying the inevitable," Adrian said smoothly, looking at her intently, because surely she must have realised she would have to let her friends go, it was a part of the reason she had started distancing herself from her family.

She deliberately ignored him after that, placing the filled dish on top of the construction circle, before hovering her hand over the mixture. The circle lit up, the mixture bubbling as something started to mould from it. He watched in fascination as the metal was sculpted; when it was complete Lyrisadora picked it up. "Here," she said, placing it in his outstretched hands. "I know you like chess."

He examined it in awe, he hadn't expected it to be so detailed, it was a rook chess piece about the size of his finger, a stylised tower with a thin snake coiled around, a majestic bird perched on the top. It was made entirely from metal and had small details in the brick work. "I should get you to make a set," he murmured, before he smiled at her. "You're really good at this," he praised.

Her lips twitched upwards, as if she was trying to fight a smile. "….Thanks," she said, before she started to tidy away.

He placed the chess piece on his pocket. "So, are you done here now?" he asked.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Well…I was actually going to move on to medical transmutation," she replied, looking at him uncertainly.

Adrian glanced at the book, he was starting to have second thoughts on whether this whole alchemy business was a good thing, what if she started devoting all her time and effort into the hobby? He'd never get to spend time with her. "You can practice that tomorrow," he said curtly, closing the book shut, as if that was the final say on matters.

Lyrisadora frowned at him, her eyes narrowing; he raised an eyebrow at her, he wasn't particularly eager to start arguing with her again. "Why can't I just continue practicing now?" she protested. "I'll only be another hour or two," she reasoned, her gaze softening, his lips pursed stubbornly. "_Please,"_ she said, a small pout on her lips as she closed the distance between them.

"….Only another hour?" he repeated, noting how imploring her gaze was.

She nodded firmly. "Just another hour," she promised.

He frowned, he supposed it was just another hour, besides it wasn't that much of a big deal. "Well alright then," he sighed, she smiled at him gratefully.

"Great, you can come back-"

"I'll just stay," he interrupted, wondering over to grab a stool, he dragged it over to the workbench. "Just pretend I'm not here," he said casually, besides he liked watching her work, she always got that funny frown on her face and would quietly mutter to herself.

Lyrisadora was quiet for a moment, looking between him and her ingredients, before she opened the book up again, trying to find the right page as he drummed his fingers on the table, he absently frowned when he saw her clench the beacon a little too tightly.

* * *

><p>There were loud shouts coming from the Auror office, Auror Orsan rubbed his eyes and loosened his read tie, absently glancing at the Head Auror office. He exchanged a look with Benshaw who shot him an amused look, Tonks had finally returned from her holiday, a few days late.<p>

Rufus Scrimgeour had been chastising the young pink haired Auror for a good hour now, with the sound of Tonks interrupting to try and a get a word in, only to be sternly told to shut up and listen. Orsan felt sorry for her, but that didn't mean he didn't think it was hilarious, especially with her muffle flabbergasted splutters in-between.

The whole department couldn't help but stray from their work to get a quick listen.

"-I should fire you right now on the spot…give me one reason Tonks, just one reason!" Scrimgeour boomed.

"Uh…because I'm good at my job?"

"Is that all!"

Benshaw tried to hide his laugh behind his cup of coffee.

"Sir, I just got side tracked!-"

"Oh just get out," Scrimgeour snapped irritably, appearing sick of her excuses.

The door was wrenched open, a number of Aurors hurriedly returned to their work, acting like they had been deaf to the whole affair.

Tonks looked like she was more or less shoved out of the office, the door slamming behind her. Benshaw couldn't hold it in anymore as he started laughing, making Tonks scowl in displeasure. "Shut up Benshaw," she snapped, marching over to him. "Stop acting like a twat," she sneered, her hair flaming red.

Benshaw grinned. "Oh come on, if it were anyone else you'd be pissing yourself, remember when he and Proudfoot gave Dawlish a royal beat down?" he laughed, his grin widening.

Orsan smirked, he remembered when the two senior Aurors had dished out on Dawlish when he had behaved like an arrogant sod. "Dawlish still can't look Scrimgeour in the eye," Orsan remarked.

Tonks rolled her eyes, her lips tugging upwards in amusement, even though she tried to hide it, her hair fading back to a vibrant pink. "Yeah, well it wasn't even my fault I was stuck in France for so long," she sighed.

Orsan raised an eyebrow. "What was the hold up?" he asked.

"I lost my travel papers," Tonks answered a little too quickly.

Benshaw scoffed. "Can't say I'm surprised, did you drop them, or did they fall into the abyss which is your pockets?" he inquired dryly.

Tonks scowled at him and folded her arms stubbornly. "No, I left them in my coat pocket, I went out to a café and accidently forgot my coat, by the time I remembered it was gone," she explained.

"So you didn't lose your wallet?" Orsan questioned, he assumed her wallet would be in the same coat.

"My purse was in my jeans pocket," she replied plainly.

"Lucky you," Benshaw commented, draining his coffee, he winced when a paper aeroplane hit him in the eye. "Bloody things," he murmured, unfolding the paper, before he let out a frustrated groan. "Gertrude says I need to resubmit my paperwork for the Blue gnome case," he grumbled, scowling to himself, he shot a look at Tonks. "Of course it would have helped if my partner hadn't bailed on me last minute to go on some exotic holiday," he rebuked.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "I'll buy you another coffee to make up for it," she sighed.

Benshaw raised his eyebrows at her, as if to say, _only one coffee_? "Make it two," he said, walking through the cubicle, before turned around to add. "Actually no, make it three," he corrected sternly, pointing a finger at her.

Tonks raised an eyebrow at Orsan. "That guy has an addiction," she stated.

Orsan let out a deep sigh as he leant back in his chair. "Don't we all," he murmured. "So how was France?" he asked conversationally, aware that a few Syndicate headliners had caught his attention, especially the story about Aurors arriving at an old townhouse to find it a literal blood bath, with ripped off limbs in a pool of red.

Tonks shrugged. "It was pretty boring actually," she said casually, waving a hand dismissively. "I just shopped a lot, bought my parents a few souvenirs," she explained brightly, Orsan could detect a hint of nervousness in her tone.

Orsan raised an eyebrow, his mind trailed back to his latest research on Ada Millers, getting information was difficult, but he had one information source near Paris, it was a smuggler who made regular trips from England to France, it was how he was able to find out where Ada Millers had been sighted.

Despite the fact she was using an fake alias, she had become quite well known since she had stuck a thorn in the Syndicate's behind, she travelled around with a Vampire for some vague reason and was currently being hunted by Syndicate assassins, the rumour was that she had stolen something. "Going to put some in the office?" he queried.

She blinked, a flash of hesitation, before she grinned. "Yeah, I just thought it best I wait until the boss cooled down, just in case he decided to pelt them with me," she joked.

Orsan grinned in amusement, his suspicions still lingering. "Wise choice," he agreed.

Tonks gave him a chirpy smile before wondering back to her desk, no doubt about to start playing catch up with the work she had missed.

Orsan turned back to his desk, glancing around before he opened his top desk draw, fishing out Lyrisadora's letter that had been hidden inside a box of blood flavoured lollypops, he hadn't finished decoding it.

He hadn't sent her further letters, waiting for a reply, just in case the letters had been compromised.

He'd looked further into the Willows case, it appeared there had been one or two sightings of a blonde haired man following Willows, there had only been two sightings, but Orsan didn't write it off as a coincidence-

His teeth gritted when he finished decoding the letter, it took quicker than normal, it looked like Lyrisadora had been in a rush writing it.

_A.O_

_The letters have been compromised, you're on your own for now. _

_I've been pretty busy lately, no research on Reynard, been dealing with a massive clusterfuck._

_L_

Orsan held back a groan.

Well wasn't _that_ just Wonderful.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora did want to tell Snape about the stairs incident, but she was worried on how he'd react. "So he bought the act then?" Snape asked, placing his vanishing potion to the side, leaving it to simmer.<p>

Lyrisadora sat at a work bench, twiddling her thumbs. "Yeah he did, he wants me to keep on pretending I'm going through with the mission, so you won't suspect anything," she told him.

Snape wrinkled his nose I disdain. "That boy is far too arrogant," he muttered acidly, his gaze refocused on her. "So, how have things been?" he asked.

Lyrisadora swallowed, she couldn't lie to Snape, especially since he was the only one she could trust. "There was an incident a few days ago," she said evenly, meeting his gaze, she saw his knuckles clench the side of the wooden bench a little more tightly. "We were fighting and he was really angry…..I was walking down the stairs, when he tripped me," she divulged, her shoulder stiffening as she waited for an outburst.

Snape was quiet for a long while, he breathed in a slow deep breath, nodding in acknowledgement. "Were your injuries severe?" he asked icily.

"….I had a nasty bruise on my knee, but he healed that, I didn't tell him about the bruise on my elbow and shoulder," she answered.

"He could have broken your neck," Snape more or less growled out, his knuckles white.

"….Witches bones are pretty strong," Lyrisadora mumbled, aware that a wizard and witch could survive a tremendous amount of injury. "There hasn't been an incident since," she added lamely.

The potion's master was gritting his teeth by now. "This can't go on," he said abruptly.

"It's only for two more months," she reasoned. "I've already started to regain his trust and I've made him swear to not betray my secrets," she argued. "I need to send him packing on a one way trip to America, but I can't do that while we're at school," Lyrisadora said.

This didn't settle Snape's temper that much, as he still looked murderous. "Meanwhile Adrian get's to batter you every time his temper flares?" he retorted cuttingly, making her flinch, because for the past week she had been afraid Adrian would lose it and start beating the shit out of her.

"He'd be more subtle," she muttered, her voice barely audible, because rationally if Adrian was going to harm her, he'd simply play them off as accidents, make her doubt the harm was intended in the first place, that it was caused by her own carelessness and that she was just being paranoid if she thought otherwise. She clenched her hands more tightly. "It's like I'm stepping on egg shells around him," Lyrisadora said, glancing back up at the Professor.

His mouth was set in a thin, line, but at least his knuckles were no longer clenched. "I don't care if it jeopardises the ruse or your submissive act," he said, looking at her sternly. "If he raises a hand against you or frightens, you are to defend yourself, that's an order," he instructed sharply, Lyrisadora swallowed a lump in her throat, his gaze grew colder. "Because if you won't hurt him, then I will," he promised chillingly.

"I understand," she replied, she paused, remembering her confrontation with Miles. "People are catching on anyway," she added. "Miles asked me if Adrian had ever hurt me…"

Snape looked at her sharply. "What did you say?"

She felt a bad taste in her mouth. "I lied…..I didn't want Adrian to find out," she replied, hoping Snape would understand and wouldn't think her pathetic. "I know I shouldn't have protected him….but I didn't want people…" she trailed off, her hands clenched painfully tight. If other people found out…..she felt a little ashamed, she didn't want their pity….and what if some people thought she was making it up?...But maybe it could force Adrian to change if he grew to realise what he had done was wrong, Lyrisadora would still leave him, but she would like not feeling like she was constantly on thin ice with him for the next two months.

She jumped a little when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up at Snape curiously, as he awkwardly patted her shoulder. "I understand," he said, she smiled at him, making him scowled at her grumpily, removing his hand to walk back to his potion. "I won't murder Adrian, but if he harms you again….Well, he might just _accidently_ fall off the Astronomy tower," Snape said lightly, looking at her pointedly.

* * *

><p>Adrian raised an eyebrow at Miles, his friend had been acting odd all day for some reason."Hey Adrian, I need to talk to you," Miles said soberly.<p>

Adrian exchanged an intrigued glance with Harper, before he closed his book and tidied up his study notes. "Alright then," he agreed, getting up to leave the Great hall with Miles. He eyed his friend curiously as they stepped outside into the hallway, a couple of feet away from the grand entrance. "What is it?" he asked.

"…Listen, firstly don't take this the wrong way, I'm not accusing you of anything," Miles began, peaking Adrian's interests. "But someone said they saw you trip Lyra down the stairs," he divulged.

Adrian did his best not to stiffen, instead eyeing his friend with confusion. "Who said that?"

Miles was quiet for a moment before he shrugged. "Well I caught that Hufflepuff, David Hew-thingy-spying on Lyra and I confronted him, and he said he was trying to keep an eye on her because he claims he saw you trip her down the stairs," Miles explained quickly.

Well it seemed the lesson he gave David hadn't sunk in well enough, he'd need to correct that. Adrian frowned. "But I didn't trip her, she just lost her balance," he lied smoothly.

Miles looked at Adrian a little sceptically. "You swear you didn't trip her?" he asked firmly.

Adrian groaned and looked at Miles in impatience. "Of course I didn't trip her! I'd never hurt Lyra," he protested testily, he felt an faint gnawing in his stomach….well he had hurt her, he supposed, but he'd been angry and his foot had just seemed to act on its own accord.

Miles seemed to visibly relax, letting out a sigh of relief. "I knew Lyra wasn't lying," he let slip, before freezing, Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"What about Lyra?" Adrian asked evenly.

His friend scratched his neck uncomfortably. "It's nothing personal…I just needed to check with her first, just in case…." Miles trailed off and shot Adrian a apologetic smile. "She said it was a misunderstanding and that you didn't trip her," he said reassuringly.

Adrian hid his surprise, he hadn't expected her to….but maybe she was convinced she had fallen on her own accord. He felt a stab of guilt, for some reason he felt suddenly worse, maybe he shouldn't have been so rough with her, and he knew sometimes it was necessary when she was being childish, but he didn't want her afraid of him. "Oh okay," he said casually, before cocking an eyebrow. "Were you not meant to tell me?"

Miles shrugged. "Lyra said you'd take it the wrong way," he explained. "She was probably trying to protect that Hufflepuff."

Adrian smiled amusingly. "Hmm, she tends to take pity on the Hufflepuffs, _bless her_," he said, exchanging a look with Miles, remembering dear old Cedric. "Best keep this between us, I wouldn't want to worry her," he said lightly.

"Yeah sure….so what are you gonna do about David?" Miles asked curiously.

Adrian sighed ruefully. "Well I can't just let him continue to creep on my girlfriend," he reasoned, Miles nodded firmly in agreement. "I'll have to teach him a lesson."

Miles frowned cautiously. "Lyra won't be happy if she finds out you beat him up…but I suppose we could just heal the bruises," he proposed.

Oh bless Miles, he could be so primitive sometimes, who said anything about fists? Adrian smiled. "I have other methods of persuasion," he informed pleasantly.

* * *

><p><em>15th May 1996<em>

Things had been oddly pleasant between her and Adrian lately, he hadn't lost his temper once and he didn't grab or yank her either, she was relieved and hoped things continued to be calm. However she couldn't get rid of the smidge of dread that lingered in her stomach, wondering if this was simply the calm before the storm.

Lyrisadora had been keeping an extra eye on David since Miles had talked to her, she had made sure to ask Astoria to keep an eye out as well. She was brought out of her thoughts when Adrian passed her bag to her, seeing how she had started to pack up her things from on the Library table, she had an Arithmancy Exam in the music room in twenty minutes, a part two covering the advanced theorem. "I'll see you later then," she said, giving him a brief kiss goodbye.

Adrian gently pulled her back to resume the kiss. "Good luck with your exam," he chimed. "I'm sure you can remember all those numbers," he added in amusement, before kissing her forehead.

She gave him a polite smile. "It's my specialty," she replied evenly, before trying to move passed him, but it appeared he wasn't finished yet, she looked at him questionably, wondering what he wanted. "What is it?"

He paused for a moment, opening his mouth to say something, but stopped and moved away to let her pass. "Nothing, just go to your exam," he said, giving her a disarming smile.

She arched an eyebrow at him, but decided to let it pass since she needed to go, walking passed him she made her way down the hall, ignoring Warrington and Miles along the way.

* * *

><p>It turned out Warrington and Miles were really good at tracking people, Warrington had intercepted the boy on his way to his Divination class and dragged him away before anyone noticed. Adrian had made sure to time it correctly, seeing how he had to make sure Lyrisadora was out of the way.<p>

It was simple, he'd just water-board David so the lesson sunk in, he'd only hold him down for ten seconds at a time, so there wouldn't be any brain damage or long lasting physical effects. Probably just some nightmares for a few weeks, nothing time wouldn't heal.

It was less painful than the previous lesson, no torture curses, just a little dunk in the water, he and Miles had done it once or twice in their first year, having grabbed first year Ravenclaw Grant Page and given him a swirly.

No bruises, just a harmless reprimand via toilet water.

Warrington and Miles carried the younger boy to the boys' toilets closest to the dungeons, Adrian soon caught up with them, entering the toilets and telling Warrington to stand outside as guard. The Hufflepuff grew deathly pale and looked at Adrian in terror. "I didn't tell anyone-" David started to splutter.

Adrian rolled up his jumper sleeves, before he grabbed David by his hair and shoved him into a toilet cubicle. "How many times do I have to remind you how annoying your voice is?" Adrian inquired coldly, as Miles started to block up the toilet. "You've been spreading lies about me, David," he hissed, his eyes narrowing.

David tried to struggle out of his grip as Adrian bound his hands, Miles flushed the toilet, the water clogging up and reaching the rim of the seat. "I hope you're thirsty," Miles sang, as Adrian pushed David's head into the toilet.

The younger boy started to kick, choking for air, Adrian held him down for ten seconds before lifting his head up for a second to breath, watching David gasp for air, before his head was shoved back down into the murky water.

Adrian continued the process, his nails sinking into the boy's skull, he really hoped David learned his lesson after this, because he was becoming a menace. It seemed to becoming a cycle, he wondered why David hadn't learned, then again Hufflepuffs were known to be stupidly loyal, it seemed David's loyalty to Lyrisadora had stubbornly stuck.

David gasped for air, choking on the water in his throat, Adrian held him down longer, thirteen seconds would be best.

He ignored Miles, who seemed to be finding the scene amusing, while Adrian kept his mouth set in a thin line, he didn't really find the situation funny-

_ Fifteen seconds._

-But he did feel some pleasure, it wasn't like he got off hurting David, it just felt relieving, like he could let go of his pent up stress and aggression-

_Twenty seconds._

-It was an outlet of sorts. Though at first he had been hesitant in torturing David….but now, he didn't feel as apprehensive, especially seeing how he had convinced himself that the Hufflepuff deserved punishment-

_Twenty eight seconds._

"Uh, Adrian?" Miles interrupted, Adrian's eyes flickered towards his friend who was eyeing him warily, before back at David who was still underwater. He lifted the boy up, letting him breath for air.

David spluttered and choked, throwing up water, trying to breath in as much air as possible, but Adrian didn't feel the lesson had sunk in, he shoved David's head back underwater. Miles was looking at him in concern now, but Adrian ignored the look.

Miles was probably just scared he'd get in trouble if they got caught, but Adrian doubted it, if the teachers and students weren't in classes then they'd be using their free period to spend time in the courtyard or Great Hall, especially since it was such a lovely day outside-

_Sixteen seconds. _

He watched David kick and struggle. Adrian wondered what he'd do if David tried to stalk Lyrisadora again, the boy had already tried to spread rumours about him, sticking his nose in business that wasn't his. Adrian supposed it was partly his fault for hurting Lyrisadora so out in the open, but he had simply let his temper get the best of him-

_Thirty five seconds. _

-Lyrisadora was so stubborn, she always wanted to get her own way like a spoiled child, she could be so naïve and delusional sometimes, wanting to believe she could fix the world and make it a better place, when in reality the world was far too broken and she'd only be met by disappointment of her own failure.

_Forty seconds._

"Adrian, I think you should-"

Adrian wasn't listening, he drowned out Miles voice.

He loved her more than anything else in the world, he hadn't thought he'd ever fall in love with someone, cared about someone _this_ much, to do absolutely anything to preserve what they had. He knew he could lose his temper with her sometimes, but he didn't mean to hurt her, he just wished she wouldn't always fight him at every turn-

_Fifty seconds._

David had stopped moving, Adrian's eyes widened._ Oh shit_. He hadn't meant to hold him down for so long.

"Adrian!" Miles yelled, shoving Adrian away to grab David by the collar, pulling him up, Adrian watched silently, realising he had held the boy under for too long. Miles frantically pulled out his wand and uttered a spell to clear the Hufflepuff's lungs that were clogged with water.

David threw up water and some of his lunch on the wet tiled flaw, panting for breathe as he curled up into a ball and sobbed.

Adrian let out a small sigh of relief, there, nothing to worry about, he told himself.

Miles looked at Adrian warily, as if there was something wrong with him, Adrian felt a surge of frustration, Miles had been on board with the idea at first, hell he had practically encouraged Adrian. "I think he's learned his lesson now," Miles said cautiously .

Adrian got to his feet and looked down at David, there was no real harm done, and now at least David had been corrected. "Have you learned your lesson David?" he asked lightly.

David hugged himself tightly, his collar and shoulders soaking wet, he rocked back and forth, choking back his sobs as he cringed. "Yes! I'm sorry I spread lies about you, I've learnt my lesson," he mumbled desperately, burying his head in his knees as he shivered.

Adrian crouched down to the younger boy's level and roughly wrenched his jaw, forcing David to look at him. "_Really_? Because you seem a slow learner," he said smoothly, digging his nails into the boy's cheeks, but not hard enough to leave visible marks. "And you're trying my patience," he threatened icily.

The Hufflepuff shook his head imploringly, Miles cleared his throat loudly, Adrian glanced at him irritably. "Come on mate, he's not worth it, I mean just look at him," Miles reasoned, faintly sneering at the crying boy.

Adrian arched an eyebrow at him, half wishing he had told Miles to wait outside with Warrington…then again David probably might have drowned, since things had gotten a little out of control….so he supposed it was a good thing Miles had stayed to watch. But Adrian didn't appreciate how his friend was looking at him different than before…he wondered how Miles would react if he told him about the prostitute he had killed during the Easter holidays?...her murder had been a necessary evil, a purposeful murder, but Adrian didn't think he would understand, Miles could be so close minded at times.

Adrian let go of David's face and stood up. "He is worthless isn't he?" he commented sweetly, glaring down at the trembling third year. "Even by Hufflepuff standards," he added nastily, Miles seemed to grow less tense, moving out of the cubicle. Adrian cast David a look, noting how he was shivering violently, hugging himself for comfort. "Oh and David, if you tell anyone what's happened here, I'll break you spleen," he warned flatly, walking out of toilets with Miles.

* * *

><p><strong>David suffers a lot, I apologise. And Miles is starting to have doubts, which is actually a good thing. <strong>

**After chapter 92 the time skip will occur, which just means I'll skip to the confrontation (the explosion of feelings and betrayal) which is going to be really fun to write. **

**And out of innocent curiosity, does anyone had a specific favourite character in this fic?**


	92. Descending

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: ****Hollywood undead, S.C.A.V.A**

* * *

><p><strong>Everybody pays, no one knows the price, We know the price of sin the sin of sacrifice, I know I'll sin again, But who can save me twice?<strong>

**Chapter: Descending **

* * *

><p>Ten<p>

* * *

><p><em>17th May 1996<em>

Adrian shook his head as he walked past a distressed Ravenclaw fourth year who was receiving a wedgy from Crabbe and Goyle. He didn't have time to ponder on it anyway, he had more urgent matters to attend to, mainly Professor Snape who had 'kindly' instructed Adrian to come to his office after dinner.

He was well aware that whatever Snape wanted with him, it wouldn't be good, and he had a strong feeling it had something to do with Lyrisadora, especially since Snape had taken a big disliking to him since Adrian had grown closer to her. He got the impression the Potion's master was quite protective of her, or at least to a degree.

He knocked on the door, receiving an expectant reply. "Come in," Snape's voice responded.

Adrian kept his face fixed in look of contempt as he entered the office, shutting the door behind him. "You wanted to see me, sir?" he said politely, looking at the Professor who sat behind his desk.

Snape gave him a cool as Adrian neared the desk. "Yes, I called you here because I've heard some troubling rumours," the Professor replied tonelessly.

Adrian wasn't even surprised, however he made an effort to at least appear a little confused. "Rumours, sir?" he questioned innocently, folding his arms as he stood in front of the desk, seeing how the slimy git hadn't bothered to place a chair nearby. "Concerning what?" He was curious of the extent of how protective Snape was, he had never struck Adrian as the warm fuzzy type.

Snape's jaw tightened by a fraction, his gaze turning colder. "Concerning you, Lyra and a staircase," he replied smoothly.

Adrian briefly wondered if Lyrisadora had confided in Snape, or if Miles and David had blabbed, but he doubted the Hufflepuff had the balls. Adrian didn't think Miles would tell, there was still loyalty between them both, plus Harper and Montague would have questioned Adrian about, Harper was quite the feminist at times.

"I see," Adrian replied slowly, a small frown on his face, he wasn't even going to bother to deny it, Snape saw through his act, there was no point pretending. "Are you upset by it?" he asked lightly, his gaze refusing to waver from Snape's, he couldn't resist pissing off the professor a little.

Snape looked like he would like nothing better than to throttle him, something Adrian couldn't fault him for. However the Professor seemed to calm himself, fixing Adrian with a veiled look of indifference. "I assume you'll say it was all an accident?" Snape said coldly.

Adrian remained silent and eyed the Potion's master coldly. "Everyone makes mistakes," he replied smoothly.

"Yes, they do," Snape retorted pointedly. "Often resulting in dire consequences," he added lightly.

The seventh year's finger's twitched involuntarily, discreetly swallowing a lump in his throat, Adrian masked his slight apprehension with a deep sigh. "This is riveting, but I think we're getting off track," he commented. "You wanted to talk about Lyra, so please sir, tell me your concerns," he urged pleasantly.

Snape's knuckles were chalk white, clenched tightly in suppressed anger, his face the picture of calmness. "If something like this happens again, I'll know….and it's quite a long drop from the Astronomy tower," he said icily, arching an eyebrow at Adrian, no doubt daring him to comment. Adrian pursed his lips and gave the Professor a dry look. "Are we clear?"

"Practically translucent," Adrian replied mildly. "Is there anything else?"

Snape looked at him silently, before his eyes narrowed. "Your shirt's un-tucked, that'll be a detention," he replied curtly.

"My shirt isn't-"

"That'll be another detention for back chatting your head of house," Snape interrupted in a clipped tone. "I'll see you seven AM Saturday morning, ready and sharp," he oozed, smiling unpleasantly. "Any more objections? ….No? Then leave."

Merlin he was a son of a bitch, Adrian openly eyed the Professor in dislike, but otherwise kept his mouth shut and left the room, not sparing the Professor a second glance.

Well that had been unpleasant, Adrian thought to himself as he made his way back to the common room, he had expected it seeing how Snape tended to interfere, but it was annoying all the same. After all Adrian already felt guilty for what he'd done, he still thought it was completely justified and barely worth all the fuss, but he still felt bad.

He'd just have to be more gentler with Lyrisadora, control his temper more and not drag her around as much, he'd be the perfect gentleman, then all this fuss would eventually blow over. Of course he still had to mend things with Lyrisadora, he knew she seemed fine, but he doubted she was and she had been pretty skittish around him lately…..But he'd soon fix that, then she'd be happy again.

When he arrived at the common room he couldn't find her, but Harper, Montague and Miles were there at least, for a change the three of them were playing a card game which wasn't exploding snap. Strange. Adrian wondered over to them, raising an eyebrow at the playing cards. "What are you guys playing?" he asked curiously.

Harper looked a bit sheepish when he answered. "That bullshit games Lyra taught us," he replied. "You want to play?"

"I'll just watch," Adrian replied, sitting down next to Miles, his friend gave him a quick glance of acknowledgement before turning his gaze to the stack of card on the table. Adrian held back a sigh, he was interested to see how long Miles would stay in this funk, and it was becoming boring. Another thing that was irking Adrian was the fact Harper and Montague kept on shooting him odd glances, something they had been doing for nearly a week now. "What is it?" Adrian asked smoothly, arching an inquiring eyebrow.

Miles looked in intrigued when Harper and Montague exchanged a glance. "….Are you and Lyra okay?" Harper asked, Adrian held back a groan. "It's just you two have seemed on and off lately," he reasoned.

Adrian rolled his eyes and shrugged back in his chair. "Lyra is just being difficult as usual," he sighed. "Nothing to worry about," he reassured casually.

Montague frowned. "Hmm…well I guess she does have a temper," he said, as if trying to back up Adrian's argument.

Adrian readily agreed. "And that's the problem," he sighed.

"I don't think it's her temper that's the problem."

Adrian blinked as he looked over at Miles who had spoken, the table grew silent as Harper and Montague looked between Adrian and Miles anxiously. Miles was fixing his friend with a perceptive look.

Adrian gave him an curious glance. "What do you think the problem is?" he asked lightly, wondering what his friend's next move would be.

Miles swallowed, his eyes flickering downwards, as if he was having second thoughts. "…..It's probably the hassle from Umbridge," he said, meeting Adrian's gaze, giving him a friendly smile. "I heard she gave Lyra a lecture because some of the Prefects didn't do their patrol last night," he added.

Adrian smiled back, the tension fading away. "That would piss her off a lot," he agreed, before diverting his gaze back to Harper and Montague.

Harper quickly steered the conversation towards Quidditch, only halting when Miles called him out for lying about placing down two fives.

* * *

><p>Nine<p>

* * *

><p><em>18th May 1996<em>

The Great Hall wasn't very crowded on Saturday afternoon, so Lyrisadora decided to catch a quick read, she had been spending most of her free time trying to absorb as much knowledge from the Alchemy book, after finally translating the rest of the runes text.

"What are you doing?" Astoria asked over Lyrisadora's shoulder peering at the writing. "What's that say?" she asked another question, pointing at a Hebrew symbol.

Lyrisadora was amused by her curiosity, but she did wish Astoria wouldn't talk to her so out in the open, but Adrian wasn't around so she supposed it was alright. "This is an Alchemy book, and I'm reading a study of wandless transfiguration," Lyrisadora explained.

Astoria scooted next to her and started looking through the pages. "Is there anything about Nicholas Flamel in here?" she queried brightly, skimming through the pages.

"There's chapters written by him," Lyrisadora answered, watching her skim through pages. "Just be careful not to rip the page," she chided.

The younger girl shot Lyrisadora an apologetic look, slowing her excited skimming. "Sorry," Astoria said. "It just seems pretty cool," she added.

"It is fascinating," Lyrisadora commented, a fond smile sliding onto her face when she saw Astoria's eagerness. "I've been reading it non-stop," she said.

Astoria looked at her in interest. "Are you studying to be an Alchemist?" she asked.

"…It's just a hobby," Lyrisadora replied, though she did want to incorporate the skill into helping her on her mission, it was useful stuff to learn, especially the medical elements.

"I think it'd be cool," Astoria murmured, staring at the pages. "You could make a philosopher's stone," she added.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea," Lyrisadora replied amusingly, the last thing wizards needed was another Goblin war. Her smile drooped when she saw Astoria's eyes darken.

"Hello my sweet," Adrian's voice cooed from behind her.

Lyrisadora hid a grimace and plastered on a pleasant smile as she turned around to face him, receiving a brief kiss. "I was wondering where you'd been," she lied evenly.

Adrian leaned on the table, casting a curious glance at Astoria, who was struggling to keep her expression blank. "I was busy watching the Slytherin team practice, your brother was entertaining to watch," he replied, amusement colouring his tone, his eyes flickered to Astoria. "Still playing babysitter I see," he observed lazily.

Astoria scowled. "Go screw a platypus Pucey," she snapped, causing Adrian to raise a bemused eyebrow. "You don't have to be so rude," Astoria rebuked.

Lyrisadora tried to hide a smile, glancing a Adrian from the corner of her eye, he rolled his eyes at the third year's remark. "Scram Greengrass, isn't it time for your cigarette break?" he asked lightly, Astoria flushed, casting an anxious glance at Lyrisadora.

Cigarette break? Oh for Merlin sake. Lyrisadora shot Astoria a stern look, they would discuss that later, the girl was far too young to smoke. Astoria glared at Adrian. "You're a fu-" Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed at her. "-Flipping weasel," Astoria spat, her face set in an unpleasant scowl.

Adrian smirked. "Such a wonderful range of vocabulary," he remarked mildly. "Now leave wont you, you're being bothersome," he said, his gaze turning colder.

Lyrisadora felt a rise of irritation, sighing quietly as she nodded at Astoria pointedly, not wanting an argument to erupt. Astoria pursed her lips as she marched off in a huff, Adrian slid into her now vacant spot. "You didn't have to be so rude," Lyrisadora murmured, focusing back on her book. "She just wanted to know what I was reading."

Adrian was quiet for a moment as he looked at her. "I just find her annoying," he said, scooting a little closer to her. "You'd think so too once you spent longer than two minutes with her," he added flatly.

Lyrisadora couldn't hold back a bitter response. "I'd have to actually be allowed to talk to her to know that," she muttered lowly, Adrian grasped her hand, making her frown when she looked at him, that hadn't been the response she expected.

He looked at her apologetically. "You're upset with me?" he stated, before he sighed ruefully, his gaze softening. She wondered what sort of tactic he was playing now. "I guess I have been a bit smothering lately," he divulged. Lyrisadora wanted to scoff, more than a little you ass, she thought to herself, but kept her face the picture of contriteness. "It's just after you told me the truth about that mission….I was worried you'd leave me," he confessed.

Lyrisadora gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand comfortingly. "I love you, I'd never leave," she lied tenderly, stroking his cheek affectionately. "So you don't have to watch me like a hawk," she chided amusingly, placing a light kiss on his forehead.

Adrian gave her a disarming smile. "I promise I'll try to be better," he said, she doubted his sincerity, but knew better than to fan the flames.

She gave him a small smile. "I'd appreciate it," she replied pleasantly, letting him continue to hold her hand.

* * *

><p>Eight<p>

* * *

><p><em>20th May 1996<em>

It was early in the morning when Auror Orsan met with his info broker, Hugh Dayne was as usual skittish, keeping his eyes peeled for any unsavoury characters. They had agreed to meet at a muggle location, in Manchester Science Museum, somewhere Death Eaters would not be eager to venture.

Orsan sat down on a chair as a few school children ran by, examining the physics display. Hugh sat down near him, keeping his eyes locked on the wall ahead, a disillusion charm surrounding them both. As usual Orsan was the first to break the awkward silence. "So any more news on Reynard?" he asked lowly.

"No, he hasn't been seen for a while now, still recovering from that injury a few weeks back," Hugh replied, looking at Orsan through the corner of his eyes. "Apparently that American and Vampire are still evading the Twins," he went on.

Hugh still hadn't fully elaborated in detail what Jenik's assassins were like, though true Hugh was still wary of Orsan, most likely afraid this was all some elaborate set up. But Orsan had managed to get him to divulge more, yet Hugh was still reluctant. Apparently these mysterious Twins weren't related and were the craziest of Jenik's elite and also were the youngest. "You said they were called Constancia and Constancio," Orsan murmured, trying to delve a little deeper.

"Named after the French fairy tale," Hugh muttered. "….The boss apparently likes fairy tales," he shrugged.

"Anything else he likes?" Orsan pushed.

Hugh shifted. "I've only heard rumours, I'm not exactly in his circle," he whispered. "The only people closest to him are his assassins and that traitor Vampire," he hissed.

Orsan sighed quietly, briefly glancing at the dried mud on his shoes. "Who is Jenik's fifth assassin , I know about Aluka, Reynard and the Twins, so who's the last one?" he asked attentively.

There was hesitation before Hugh finally answered. "His name's Bayard, another fairy tale name, the only thing I know about him is that he's a werewolf," he murmured.

So, Constancio, Constancia, Reynard and Bayard were Jenik's elite, they were quite a collection of misfits. All except Aluka were named after some French fairy tale, which was so much of a coincidence Orsan doubted those were their real names, it was most likely they had their names either stripped from them or these were simply their code names.

Orsan had done some investigating into the hotel, making up an excuse to have a quick look at their log books, trying to find Ada and Willows. Orsan had recognised the name 'Auzzie', recalling how that had been Auror Proudfoot's nickname for the man back in the early days.

"Is that all you wanted to know?" Hugh's voice broke him away from his thoughts, Orsan noticed the man was becoming twitchy.

"Do you know why Jenik is obsessed with Aluka and Ada?" Orsan asked.

"All I know is that they pissed him off, something about stealing a necklace, it's been pretty hush hush," Hugh replied.

Orsan checked his watch, he needed to start heading out for work. "Right, well, just keep an eye out," he said, before stopped, turning back to Hugh. "Was there any mention of a Metamorphasis, just in passing?" he asked curiously.

Hugh frowned. "Well….I did hear something about some odd haired woman sneaking around the docks, apparently she knocked over some crates, I heard a few workers moaning about it," he divulged.

Orsan was pretty sure that was Tonks, but he didn't want to prod the man further, Hugh was already looking over his shoulder in paranoia. "I'll contact you late," he said quietly, not sparing the man another glance as he walked away.

Orsan managed to make it to the office in good time, he noted Tonks was absent at her desk, as was Benshaw, he assumed they were working on a case. As he neared his desk something caught his eye, on top of the messy pile of old files and scrunched up paper was a tarot card. Orsan examined it carefully, giving the office a quick look around, pulling out his wand to check it for dark magic, but it was harmless.

So he turned it over, revealing the image of a skull, the word death neatly printed at the bottom.

Well, that wasn't a good sign.

* * *

><p>Seven<p>

* * *

><p><em>21st May 1996<em>

Miles wanted to be happy for Lyrisadora and Adrian, they looked like they had worked out all their issues and had a good relationship. But he just couldn't shake his uneasiness, even when Cassondria was snuggled up with him on the grass in the courtyard, the sun shining high in the sky.

Miles supposed he was being a bit of a hypocrite, he enjoyed beating people up for fun, it allowed him to release his aggression and stress without lashing out at his friends. He thought it was funny seeing those first years cry and whine, acting like a bunch of pathetic babies, but he'd never taken it too far…

There was just something wrong with Adrian, he took things a little too far, Miles had noticed his friend had a frightening coldness, like the look in his eye when he was drowning David, his eyes holding a serene clarity. It had freaked Miles out a little, he absently wondered what would have happened if he hadn't been there to stop Adrian, then what would have happened? Would he have had to help Adrian hide a body, become his accomplice as they dug David's grave?

Miles didn't know what to do, because despite it all he still cared about Adrian, he still considered him his best friend. He and Adrian had been friends since kids, Miles remembered the day fondly, he had said something mean to Adrian and Adrian had replied with an even more cruel remark, which had resulted in Miles punching him in the stomach, they had ended up beating each other up until their parents had intervened.

The aftermath had been awkward at first as the two were forced to apologise to each other, but then Adrian had said Miles had a really good punch, and then they'd laughed, the rest was history from there.

"Are you okay?" Cassondria interrupted his thoughts, looking at him curiously.

"Just thinking about stuff," he replied, shrugging his shoulders, she snuggled her head into his chest and closed her eyes. "I just have a lot on my mind….."

"You think too much," she sighed contently. "Just relax, you can think about stuff in your exams."

He supposed she had appoint, maybe he was over thinking this, Adrian had been nothing but gentle and nice to Lyrisadora for the last few days, he didn't order her around anymore and Lyrisadora didn't argue back any more. Everything looked fine and they both appeared content, so Miles shouldn't pry too much into it.

He should be a good friend and trust Adrian, he shouldn't be going behind his back or invading his business.

Miles swallowed an unpleasant lump in his throat.

* * *

><p>Six<p>

* * *

><p><em>25th May 1996<em>

Lyrisadora tried to focus on her food, but was unable to stop herself from shooting glances at Adrian. He was mad at her because she had cancelled their date to help out Snape with a potions experiment.

He hadn't tried to stop her or yelled at her, but she hadn't missed the cold look that had flashed in his eyes, not to mention he was being unnervingly polite to her, charming smile fixed in place. It put her a little on edge, she half wished she hadn't cancelled the date in the first place.

She gripped her goblet tightly, his friends were at Quidditch practice during lunch, so the two of them were with a group of sixth and fourth years instead, there wasn't much talking. Lyrisadora couldn't stand the tension any longer, she turned to him. "Are you angry with me?" she asked quietly.

He smiled at her disarmingly. "Of course not princess, "he replied sweetly, causing her stomach to twist.

She wondered if he was planning something, her hand absently slid to the outline of her wand in her robes. "I'm sorry about cancelling our date," she whispered, hoping that would get him back to normal. She looked at him intently, trying to decipher what he was thinking. "It's just this experiment was really important …" she trailed off when she saw him tighten his grip on his knife. She realised she had said the wrong thing, she supposed telling him a potion was more important than him would piss him off, he was under the delusion the whole world revolved around him.

"Don't be paranoid," he said lightly, sixth year Emma Murley glanced at them. "I know you like pleasing Snape," he said pleasantly, Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed slightly, she noticed Slytherins Vaisey and those Carrow twins look up curiously. Lyrisadora felt a bad twist in her stomach, Adrian couldn't be implying what she thought he was implying. "I know you'd do anything to get a good grade," he said pleasantly, smiling at her warmly, as if he'd just given her a compliment.

She didn't know what to say, she could feel the other Slytherin's eyes on her, realisation dawning…..she hadn't thought he'd stoop so low to imply…People couldn't possibly think her and Snape's relationship was like….that? It was disgusting, Professor Snape would never...

She felt ill.

Lyrisadora heard the Carrow twins snigger in amusement, looking at her in disdain, Adrian looked perfectly content. She felt a flush of humiliation, because even though it wasn't true, the fact some of her housemates would believe it…..the small malicious seed had been planted.

She refocused on her meal and tried to ignore the stares, remaining perfectly composed.

When she was finally alone in her room, she let herself cry, wishing he hadn't sounded so kind when he had said it.

* * *

><p>Five<p>

* * *

><p><em>31st May 1996<em>

David tried to pretend everything was alright, but his friends noticed something was wrong, he couldn't hide the nightmares or his skittish nature, especially when he had wet the bed. Merlin that had been humiliating, he had wanted to die right then and there.

His friend Phillip was the most perceptive, trying to prod at him for answers, but receiving only a stubborn silence. David was becoming more and more aware that he was driving a wedge between himself and his friends, but at least it meant they wouldn't keep bothering him. The last thing he wanted was for them to go confront Adrian, David suppressed a shiver.

Besides once Adrian graduated things would eventually return to normal, and David would stop feeling anxious every time he saw Adrian in passing.

Things would get better…..they had to.

David didn't really like showers anymore, the thought of his head being covered in water freaked him out. His housemates thankfully hadn't picked up on that change, they couldn't fault him for preferring baths over showers, and using a flannel to wash his face.

Or the fact that when he saw a glimpse of Lyrisadora he went in the opposite direction, which had resulted in him being late to a number of his classes. But Lyrisadora would be graduating soon as well, so things would get better. He just had to wait another few weeks and he could leave Hogwarts and forget all about the seventh year Slytherins, because quite frankly he felt like he was losing his mind, he couldn't sleep properly and he felt ill every time he tried to eat.

He did sometimes wonder if Adrian ever felt bad for what he did, but David doubted the older boy cared, he acted like he enjoyed hurting him, a lot of the Slytherins enjoyed hurting people, David didn't try and understand why. But he supposed he could see the appeal, he wouldn't mind seeing Adrian suffer, but David knew he didn't have it in him to inflict the said pain on Adrian, in a fair fight Adrian would beat the shit out of him.

But sometimes he dreamt about punching Adrian in the face, it helped ease his anxiety.

* * *

><p>Four<p>

* * *

><p><em>17th June 1996<em>

Narcissa sat in the drawing room, absently tidying up some books on a shelf, she had received another letter from Lyrisadora, it had been short but she had appreciated the effort. Draco and Lyrisadora appeared to have finally made up, so that eased her worries a bit.

Also Lyrisadora would finally be graduating in two days, stepping out into the big world, Narcissa felt an unpleasant knot in her stomach, her officially join her father in the ranks….perhaps even Draco.

Narcissa hastily tried to shake this thought, no, her son was too young, he hadn't even graduated, but one day he would join, she knew it was inevitable.

She supposed she had been delusional to think they wouldn't follow in their father's footsteps…..but when the Dark Lord had disappeared, she had let herself hope. She knew it was selfish, she knew sacrifices had to made for the cause, but they were her children, she couldn't risk losing them.

Though it was a little too late, a voice murmured, she sighed quietly, leaving the rest of the books be while she made her way over to the hallway, wanting to retire to her room. Narcissa wasn't blind to her daughter's change, but she felt helpless, she didn't know how to fix it.

She was brought out of her thought when she heard footsteps down the hall, she moved to the top of the stairs, catching sight of Lucius in his black robes. "Lucius?" she called, diverting his attention, his shoulders appeared stiffer than normal.

She walked towards him. "It's time, isn't it?" she spoke, remembering the Dark Lord's plan.

Lucius kissed her forehead. "Potter's taken the bait," he said, a cold smile spreading onto his face.

Narcissa wasn't surprised, Gryffindors were predictable. "I won't keep you then," she replied curtly.

There was a tense silence, Lucius looked like he wanted to say something, but he just gave her another kiss. "I'll see you soon," he said tenderly.

And then he was out of door, she didn't realise that would be the last time she saw him for months.

* * *

><p>Three<p>

* * *

><p><em>18th June 1996<em>

Lyrisadora felt a series of happy and sad emotions in the space of thirty minutes.

The second Wizarding war had officially begun.

Dumbledore was a free man again.

Umbridge had been rescued form the centaurs by Dumbledore and she was now under investigation.

Sirius Black was dead.

Her father was in prison.

And Draco was trying not to cry.

She sat with her brother in a secluded area where no one could see them. She wasn't sure if she should hug Draco or not, especially seeing how his body language was guarded, but his anger had mostly deflated since confronting Potter, now he just appeared low.

Lyrisadora hadn't wanted to deal with her emotions, not now, so she pushed them into the darkest corner of her subconscious, to be looked at when she felt safe. "So…" she said quietly, her mouth feeling dry, she didn't know what to say, what could she say?

She looked back at Draco and placed an arm around his shoulder, the effect was immediate, he let out a choked sob, before he leant his head on her shoulder and cried.

She held him close like she did when they were children, she hadn't seen him cry in a long time.

Her throat felt sore. She was sorry, she was sorry for the hurtful things she had said and she was sorry for what was to come.

* * *

><p>Two<p>

* * *

><p><em>19th June 1996<em>

Lucretia's head didn't hurt anymore, the healers said she'd be able to go home in a month or so. They said the damage was fixed, the only consequence was that she was now missing a year of her memory…..which wasn't a good thing.

But at least she could think straight now and sometimes she tried to remember…but then her head started hurting again, so she stopped thinking about that kind of stuff.

But she'd be able to leave the hospital soon, she'd have to redo a year at Hogwarts, but it was okay….

Lucretia bit down on her lip, who the hell was she kidding? This was all awful, she had lost a year of her memory, how could things ever be alright again? There was so much to catch up on, because apparently her best friend couldn't walk, You-Know-Who was back so the Wizarding world was on terror alert. And she was stuck in a mental hospital because apparently she had suffered an identity crisis, as well as a mental breakdown!

She collapsed on her uncomfortable bed, the food in this place was horrible and the chicken was always too dry.

* * *

><p>One<p>

* * *

><p><em>20th June 1996<em>

Orsan dropped his keys on the coffee table, shutting the door of his apartment, the Auror department was in chaos, the public was calling for Minister Fudge's resignation and Orsan had a ton of paper work to do, the Department of Mysteries battle had caused a shit load of damage.

The cost of repairs was-

Orsan stopped, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling, he looked at his window.

A blinding light shone.

Before the glass shattered and he was knocked back by the force of the explosion.

* * *

><p>Zero<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN And kaboom! Been busy with hand-ins, but I still managed to churn this one out! Give me a medal!**


	93. The Fox and The Rabbit

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: House of Cards season 3 trailer**

* * *

><p><strong>"Do you wanna know what takes real courage? Holding it all together, when the stakes are <em>this <em>high."**

**Chapter: The Fox and the Rabbit**

* * *

><p><em>22nd June 1996<em>

The weather wasn't fairing very well, rain splattering against the glass of the windows, Lyrisadora sat with Mrs Pucey in the conservatory, even though it was summer the elder Witch had insisted they have tea, but at least it was camomile tea for a change.

Sapphira was happily sleeping on Mrs Pucey's lap, apparently Adrian's mother had a way with animals, because she doted on the elderly cat like there was no tomorrow.

Mrs Pucey smiled at her, Lyrisadora forced a smile back, her dislike of the woman had risen dramatically when she discovered the letter in Umbridge's office when the pink fire cracker had been kidnapped by centaurs. If Lyrisadora had thought Adrian was a manipulative son of a bitch, then the said bitch who bore him was the offspring of the devil himself.

"Have you finished packing?" Lyrisadora asked politely, rearranging her napkin on her lap, as one of the house elves started presenting a plate of freshly cut sandwiches.

"Yes," Mrs Pucey replied lightly, smiling pleasantly back. "I've sent most of it ahead," she continued before taking a sip of her tea. "Just a few things in my wardrobe" she added, before giving Lyrisadora's yellow summer dress a quick look over. "I could leave you a little something if you like," Mrs Pucey said mildly.

Lyrisadora stopped her eyes from narrowing, what was she trying to imply? Was she implying she needed new clothes? Lyrisadora's smile tightened. "That's kind of you, but I still have clothes at home," she said politely, taking a large sip of her tea.

Mrs Pucey's expression morphed into the appropriate level of sympathy. "Ah, yes, how are things at home, is your mother coping well?" she asked cautiously.

Lyrisadora allowed her smile to dim. "She misses father, but is coping well, as is Draco," she half-lied. She supposed her mother was coping well enough, but sometimes Narcissa forgot to put silencing charms on her room at night, so Lyrisadora couldn't help but overhear he sobs. And Draco…..was coping as well as predicted, his anger had simmered at least.

Home wasn't a pleasant place to be right now, it was part of the reason she let Adrian convince her to stay at his family home after graduating. But there was still the Dark Lord to worry about, Lyrisadora still had the scars on her back from his latest temper tantrum. "Such a tragedy," Mrs Pucey spoke, regaining Lyrisadora's attention. "And to think, Elatus was so ready to shove Adrian into it all," the elder woman sighed, taking a bite of her sandwich.

Lyrisadora kept her face unreadable, she felt uneasy as Adrian's mother started to breech the topic into Death Eater territory, she supposed it was unavoidable seeing the Dark Lord's return was public knowledge now. "Hmm, Mr Pucey did seem to favour You-know-who's cause," she responded evenly.

"It was all talk of course," Mrs Pucey informed dryly, rolling her eyes. "He was not one to get his hands dirty, he hardly had the spine for it," she added disdainfully, Lyrisadora pinned Mrs Pucey as the only sane one in this family, but even that was a stretch. "Oh well, that's dust under the carpet now," Mrs Pucey said brightly, waving a dismissive hand, smiling at Lyrisadora cheerfully. "What I'm interested in most, is you and Adrian," she said, swiftly changing the subject.

Lyrisadora felt her stomach churn as she finished off her tea. "What specifically?" she asked.

Mrs Pucey smiled playfully. "The wedding of course, there's so much to do, have you even got a date ready?"

Lyrisadora looked at Mrs Pucey apprehensively, smiling sheepishly, as if overwhelmed. "I scarcely know where to begin," she confessed. "I've been so overwhelmed with everything going on with my family," she reasoned, deliberately fiddling with the hem of her dress, before she sighed and looked at Mrs Pucey apologetically. "Has Adrian been asking about it?" she questioned anxiously. "I'm worried he's upset with me about not mentioning it," she divulged, averting her gaze.

Mrs Pucey grasped her hand and looked at her sympathetically, Lyrisadora was pretty sure it was forced. "Stop worrying, Adrian hasn't mentioned a word of it, I don't expect him to," she said, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Men can be so unorganised in this area, I had to organise my wedding all on my own, because Elatus didn't have a clue," she said, squeezing Lyrisadora's hand affectionately.

Lyrisadora's smile wavered. "I just worry sometimes…he can be so temperamental," she admitted, lowering her gaze. "And he gets angry over the smallest of things…." She let herself trail off, she spared Mrs Pucey a quick glance, noting the woman's smile had gone, replaced with a questioning frown.

"He isn't cruel to you, is he?" Mrs Pucey asked evenly.

"No," she lied smoothly, before fixing on a meek smile. "Please don't say anything, it's not a big deal, I'm fine," Lyrisadora said, hoping Mrs Pucey would buy into the act, if Adrian's mother wanted a submissive daughter-in-law then fine she could act the part.

"But I do worry," Mrs Pucey murmured, tilting her head to the side as she looked at her. "If there's a problem, you should tell me, I won't have my son mistreat his future wife," she said sternly.

Lyrisadora was impressed by Mrs Pucey's acting, the woman was talented, her tone sounded so concerned and sincere. "You don't need to worry, I've learnt to try and be pati-"

"It's try _to_," Mrs Pucey interrupted curtly, removing her hand, Lyrisadora paused and arched an inquiring eyebrow. Mrs Pucey sighed and shook her head. "Goodness knows my son's grammar is lacking, I can't have you setting a bad example."

"….I see," Lyrisadora said slowly. "Well I shall try _to_ improve," she said evenly.

Mrs Pucey smiled placidly. "That's all I ask," she stated, picking up another neatly cut tuna sandwich. "By the way, did you hear the latest tragedy in the news?"

"It all seems rather miserable," Lyrisadora commented dryly, but listened attentively all the same.

Mrs Pucey's lip curled in amusement. "There was an attack on an a apartment block in London," she gossiped. "Two dead, ten injured, but nine of them were muggles, so not much of a loss," she said.

"Any specific reason why it was targeted?" Lyrisadora asked, she supposed it could have easily been a simple muggle killing, but with three of the occupants wizards and the fact Mrs Pucey was bringing it up, there must be something else.

"The official aren't sure," Mrs Pucey sighed, a hint of scepticism in her tone. "One Witch and two Wizards were living there, one of the wizards was Auror….Orsan I believe they mentioned," she went on, eyes focused on Lyrisadora. "Auror Orsan was the one rumoured to be dead, his apartment was at the frontline of the attack," she explained.

Lyrisadora suppressed a grimace, instead fixing her face in the picture of detached concern. She had warned Orsan to be careful, but the man was reckless and determined. "Did they find the victim's bodies?" she asked, holding her tea cup out for a house-elf to refill with tea.

"Yes, but they were charred black, but they managed to identify Orsan by his wand….or what was left of it," Mrs Pucey informed callously.

"Hmm, it's upsetting," Lyrisadora sighed, burying a twist in her gut, there could be a slim chance Orsan had survived, but she didn't get her hopes up. Besides, she didn't have time to mourn, she could feel bad about his death when she had time to dwell on her feeling for her father's imprisonment.

* * *

><p>Rosalie found her discussion with Lyrisadora most informative, she was still suspicious of the girl, but she did appear genuine in wanting to please Adrian, but Rosalie needed to be fully sure that it was sincere.<p>

She'd have to speak with Adrian, she hadn't had much chance to speak to him since he'd had the family finances to deal with after he graduated, now he was out of school he could fully engage in the family matters. There was still the trouble of properly dividing the lands and ensuring certain promises her husband had made before his passing.

Lyrisadora had informed her she would be running a few errands in town and wouldn't be back until dinner, Rosalie had half wanted to send one of the elves to stalk her, but Rosalie supposed the stupid creature would break its cover and Lyrisadora would see it.

No, she'd have to keep the spying contained to the house, have a few elves hide in the cupboards, little Dora would suffice, the old house-elf was fiercely loyal and was also such a quiet thing. Rosalie approached her son's study, not bothering to knock as she entered. "Sweetheart, I need a word," she told her son warmly.

Adrian was sat at his desk, going through some paper work, he shot his mother an irritated look, one she ignore, she was used to his testing behaviour. "What is it this time? Was breakfast too bland?" he queried dryly, looking back at the papers, absently signing a number of them.

Rosalie grimaced. "The eggs did lack flavour," she commented primly, shutting the door behind her. "But unimportant, I wanted to discuss Lyra with you," she said, this seemed to gather his attention, she drew closer to the desk, resting her palms on the smooth surface. "She seems so eager to please of late."

Adrian moved his work to the side, he shrugged. "I did tell you I was working on her," he replied. "She's much more compliant…though sometimes it can be dull," he murmured, brushing away a faint frown.

Mrs Pucey eyed her son intently, he seemed convinced Lyrisadora had changed. "Be more detailed," she instructed, wanting a full report, his letters had gradually become shorter over the last couple of months, she was worried he was becoming complacent.

She was glad to see him sit up a bit straighter. "Well….she doesn't like upsetting me, we don't argue that much and when we do, she backs off when I start yelling…..she seems content," he answered.

"And you are absolutely sure she's sincere?" Rosalie questioned evenly.

He hesitated, which was all she needed to know. "…Yes, I'm sure."

She sighed, sometimes she wished she had bore a girl instead of a boy, Lyrisadora knew Adrian's weakness and she exploited it easily. "Don't underestimate her," she said coolly.

Adrian's eyes narrowed. "I'm not," he bit back firmly , standing to his feet so he was at eye level with her. "I don't trust her-"

"Yet you still don't realise what she's capable of, do you?" she interrupted. "Girls like her are not easily broken, trust me on that, I know," she announced, smiling his dark amusement. It was almost comical on how her son's infatuation had blinded him,_ again_, it was pathetic and she felt a stab of disappointment. She _expected_ better. "It's the little things that reveal the truth,"

His jaw clenched, but otherwise remained silent, it appeared he was using that brain of his to connect the dots. His shoulders slumped a little. "…..She couldn't have figured out the truth though….." he reasoned.

Well if she had, then it was probably because her son had done something very stupid, all it took was one mistake and everything would fall to pieces. "But could she have?" Rosalie pressed.

"No….Elizabeth's letters were blocked and even if she looked into Lucretia's mind, she wouldn't of been able to find the missing memory, everything was too messed up," he divulged.

"And my letters?" she asked.

"I burnt them after reading," he sighed, discreetly rolling his eyes at her paranoia.

_"All_ of them?"

"Yes, all of them!" he snapped.

She narrowed her eyes, his lack of manners were vulgar, this must have been that impatient temper of his. "Mind your tone and control yourself," she rebuked coldly. "All it would take is one slip up and everything would be ruined, do you want that?" she asked lightly, moving around the desk towards him.

"No," Adrian replied, lowering his tone to a polite degree.

"Then be careful," she chided, speaking to him like he was five years old again, she forced a smile. "I only want you to be happy, I'm trying to help you, so I would like some more appreciation," she said, looking at him pointedly, it was about time he buried these ridiculous child abandonment issues, they were tedious to deal with.

Her son didn't look very pleased by this, his jaw tightening to uncomfortable proportions, his body language hostile. "Well, I'm sorry, "he began, barely able to hold back his sarcasm, she arched an eyebrow. "….You know how stubborn I can be. I do appreciate your help, mother," he told her evenly.

She knew it was barely an apology, hardly even considered praise, but she'd take what she was given. She smiled tightly, placing her hand on his shoulder, causing him to grow stiffer, as if he wanted to recoil. "I want you to be happy," she repeated. "And if Lyra makes you happy, then she's yours," Rosalie told him, she was fond of Lyrisadora, but her son would always come first, he could beat his wife bloody and blue if he wanted, she didn't care, if that made him happy and content, then Rosalie would make sure Lyrisadora could never leave him. "Don't underestimate her, she's clever….but she's human, so when she thinks she's safe and so sure of herself, she'll make a mistake, you just have to be one step ahead of her when she slips," she advised, smiling icily.

Adrian remained silent, avoiding her gaze, she squeezed his shoulder tightly. "I won't underestimate her," he replied tonelessly, his shoulder slumping, he appeared tired, she wrote it off from all the hard work he'd been doing. Her poor boy needed time to relax, but of course Lyrisadora had wondered off so his needs went unchecked. Rosalie sighed, such a selfish girl.

"Go rest, I'll sort out this mess for you," she instructed curtly, lightly pushing him towards the door. He frowned at her, but obliged anyway, she was glad, she didn't really want to argue with him right now, especially when they were getting along so well.

Rosalie turned back to the unfinished paper work on the desk, she would be leaving tomorrow to carry out this little plan Adrian arranged, but for the first time she felt apprehensive in leaving him. She let out a deep sigh, hopefully he heeded her advice and paid closer attention to his future wife, Merlin knew Rosalie couldn't do everything for him.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora lounged on the couch in Tonks' vibrantly coloured apartment, the Weird Sisters hit album playing in the background. She let out a content sigh as she watched Tonks place a plate of pizza on the coffee table.<p>

"So when does he expect you back?" Tonks questioned, grabbing a greasy slice of pepperoni, grease smearing on her top sleeve.

"Not until late," Lyrisadora murmured, using a napkin to pick up her slice of pizza. "He's not really bothered anyway, he's been too busy with organising his family's finances," she informed.

Tonks plopped down next to her, kicking her heavy shoes across the room as she placed her feet on the couch. "What about his mother?" she asked.

"Sadly she's been more attentive, but she'll be leaving tomorrow, so there's always that silver lining," Lyrisadora replied, taking a large bite of her slice. "Adrian's due to leave five days after," she mentioned.

Tonks looked at her curiously. "So you said you'd place him in a week long coma and have him shipped off to America….?"

"After I break his heart and emotionally destroy him, yes," Lyrisadora responded lightly.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Right, just checking….It's still risky though, I mean after everything you've told me about him….it's a bit dangerous," she argued cautiously.

Lyrisadora sighed in annoyance. "Adrian's child's play in contrast to the Dark Lord, he doesn't scare me," she replied evenly, her stomach feeling uneasy, she decided to forgo the rest of the pizza.

Tonks gave Lyrisadora impatient look. "He's still dangerous….listen I've dealt with a lot of domestic cases like this…" she continued, going into what Lyrisadora considered, 'Auror mode'. "Guys like Adrian can be unpredictable and they don't think about the consequences….they'll do _anything_ to keep a girl from leaving them," Tonks lectured, looking at her pointedly.

"He won't kill me," Lyrisadora said firmly, Tonks gave her a sceptic look. Lyrisadora could understand her cousin's reasoning, she even agreed with most of it, but Adrian was not a fully fledge Psychopath, he wouldn't kill her, she knew he wouldn't. "When I confront him, I'll have the high ground," she added, hoping this would reassure her cousin. "..Besides, if you don't hear from me then you'll know something's wrong and you'll know why," she murmured, offering Tonks a sheepish smile. "And I had him make a vow remember? He can't betray me."

"He can't betray your secrets, but he can still hurt you," Tonks pointed out, her face was set in a rare stern look, her usual bright hair faded to a plain brown, Tonks shook her head and sighed, the stern look disappearing as a crooked smile took its place. "You're so bloody annoying sometimes," she rebuked, the tension easing away, Lyrisadora smiled in amusement, trying to lighten up the mood again. "All this hassle over a stupid boy."

Lyrisadora scoffed. "Says you, at least I'm not love struck over a werewolf," she remarked, smirking when she saw Tonks flush.

"Shut up," Tonks muttered, throwing a furry cushion at her.

* * *

><p>When Lyrisadora entered Adrian's room she tried to be as quiet as possible, Adrian was peacefully snoring away, Lyrisadora wondered over to the wardrobe they were temporarily sharing, when she opened it she was surprised to find new clothes stuffed in, she frowned at the expensive looking robes and dresses. She assumed Mrs Pucey had played her hand in this…well at least the woman had style. Lyrisadora grabbed a blue satin night dress before closing the wardrobe door.<p>

She knocked over the alarm clock as she clambered into bed, stirring Adrian awake, she quickly picked the small clock up and placed it back on the side table. "How was your cousin?" he murmured, snaking an arm around her waist.

She forced her body to relax, sinking into his embrace. "She's fine, it was nice seeing her," Lyrisadora replied.

"You remembered to put a disillusion charm on yourself?" he inquired evenly.

A flash of irritation appeared on her face, but the lack of light hid it. "Of course, I'm not an idiot," she retorted smoothly.

"Just checking," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. "…By the way, I'm going to be away for a few days," he told her, she frowned, looking up at him curiously, barely able to make out the outline of his face from the dim light. "There's some family business I have to attend to," he informed regrettably.

"….Oh….well okay then," she replied, making her tone sound crestfallen. "I understand….so how long will it exactly be?" she asked.

"Only four days," he answered mildly, stroking her arm tenderly. "I promise I'll make it up to you," he said warmly.

She forced a smile. "You always do."

* * *

><p><em>24th June 1996<em>

Voldemort hated failure and he despised weakness, so Lyrisadora tried her best to not cry when he fired another crucio at her, she also stopped herself from begging him to stop. He liked it when she screamed, so she thankfully didn't have to hold back on that.

She writhed on the floor in agony, she was at least fortunate that a number of Death Eaters were absent, seeing how they had another Azkaban breakout to orchestrate. "I wonder," the Dark Lord mused, sinking in the curse deeper as she let out another blood curdling scream. "If your brother will be as much of a disappointment as you," he said lightly, red eyes gleaming in amusement as he looked down at her trembling form.

Lyrisadora held back her vomit, forcefully swallowing it down, she panted for breathe when the Dark Lord finally lifted the curse. "He won't disappoint my Lord," she lied miserably, feeling a pang of self-loathing. She severely doubted Draco had the nerve to kill and torture, she shivered when she imagined her brother being held under the crucio. At least he'd be in school though, so the Dark Lord couldn't damage him too much, he'd simply take his outrage out on Narcissa or Lyrisadora….which was barely a comforting thought.

"So optimistic," The Dark Lord hummed, stroking Nagini as the snake coiled around his waist, Lyrisadora glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Maybe I should have you teach Draco his place…..how is your skills with the crucio fairing?" he questioned silkily.

Lyrisadora kept her gaze lowered, her hands clenching into fist. "Progressing slow, my Lord," she ground out, feeling a rise of rage., barely able to keep her tone even.

The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed as he stared at her in contempt. "Such a pity, let me give you a few more lessons," he said softly, raising his wand again. "_Crucio_."

* * *

><p><em>25th June 1996<em>

Lyrisadora winced as she stepped out of the shower and got dressed, she had managed to heal most of her injuries, but the Cruciatus curse left its mark, the cuts and bruises being hard to remove, so she'd have to let them heal naturally.

Adrian was absent as expected, this time trying to finalise negotiations with his aunt. The new robes he bought her were nice and expensive, so she decided to humour him and wear the shaded blue ones, fastening a belt around her waist to bind the outer robe in place.

Mrs Pucey was in America now, with Lyrisadora's cat, she knew it was silly but she felt a stab of betrayal that Sapphira happily left with Mrs Pucey. Bloody disloyal cat. But at Least Sapphira would be safer and Lyrisadora knew she would have had to leave the cat behind anyway….she still missed the furry hair ball though.

She'd sent a letter to Elizabeth's father, asking permission to visit, the reply was late, but Elizabeth's parents had granted her permission, albeit reluctantly judging by their curt reply. She supposed it was expected since the Malfoys weren't very popular right now.

It'd be the first time she saw Elizabeth since the incident…..she didn't really know what she was going to say, how was she going to fully explain herself? Lyrisadora looked over at her bag and picked it up, she took out a small box, using a specific spell to unlock the chest, there viles of potions inside, all differencing in colour and neatly labelled.

She gave the room a quick look around before she took out the orange coloured vile, it was about the size of her palm, and as thin as a pen, she liked to keep her potion bottles small, more discreet. This would knock him out for twelve hours, her eyes glanced at another potion, the liquid a deep maroon, that one would put him in a coma for a week, much easier to transport.

"Miss Malfoy." A voice squeaked, making her jump as she jerked around.

Her eyes landed on a scrawny looking elf in the middle of her bedroom, where the hell had it come from? She hadn't heard it enter and the door was still shut, she hadn't heard a crack or anything. "Yes?" Lyrisadora asked in a clipped tone. "I was in the middle of applying my skin potions," she snapped, making the elf flinch. She couldn't trust the elves, or the portraits, they were all loyal to Adrian and were no doubt spying on her.

The elf presented her with a black box, lowering its gaze. "Dora is sorry, miss, but Master instructed me to give you this," Dora the elf said meekly.

Lyrisadora tried to settle her nerves, closing the small chest and placing it back in her bag, she'd have to hide it later, she took the small gift and eyed it curiously. It was a necklace, the stones diamond and as white as snow, it looked charmed, as the stones swirled like there were miniature dancers inside. She let her magic lick over it, trying to find any dark magic, but there was nothing, the magic covering it was entirely light. "Please pass on my gratitude, Dora," Lyrisadora said evenly.

Dora bowed respectfully. "Master wants you to wear it for dinner tonight," she added.

Lyrisadora placed the flashy jewellery back in its case. "Then I shall do so. Is there anything else?" she asked evenly.

"No, miss," Dora replied reverently, giving her a bow, before apparating away.

Lyrisadora placed the gift on the dresser, before locked her chest, trying to think where to hide it.

She settled for underneath the floorboard of the third guest room, since no one really ventured near, because of the dust pixies that infested the area.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth tried to keep sitting up straight, settled on a coach in the livening room, facing Lyrisadora who sat opposite, her family home wasn't a great mansion like Lyrisadora, but it was a nice townhouse in London, the extension charms allowing great deal of room. Elizabeth bit down on her lip, absently stroking Bolton's fur, the dog's head resting on her lap as it sprawled on the couch. "So…." Elizabeth said, clearing her throat. "You look well, are those new robes?" she asked, a hint of bite to her tone, Lyrisadora must have picked up on it, her shoulders growing tenser.<p>

Elizabeth held back a sigh, she had hoped things wouldn't be this awkward, after all it wasn't Lyrisadora's fault her boyfriend was a sick obsessive asshole…..but at the same time, if Elizabeth hadn't been friends with her then she wouldn't be paralysed right now. Being collateral damage was bitch. "Thank you, I bought them yesterday," Lyrisadora replied smoothly, smiling politely, before the smile quickly faded. "…..Listen, I just wanted to….well the truth is I'm not really sure why-" Lyrisadora started stumbling over her words, Elizabeth felt her lips quirk upwards, it was a little funny seeing her splutter over her words. "-I just needed to see you…..I mean I didn't want you thinking I'd forgotten you," she finally managed to explain, looking at her earnestly.

Elizabeth eyed her for a moment, debating whether she was being sincere or not, she did sound sincere and looked it, but Elizabeth wasn't sure. "I'm not mad at _you, _Lyra," she said evenly. "…And I appreciate that you _avenged_ me," Elizabeth added, some amusement creeping into her tone, her expression became more serious, she needed to know what Lyrisadora was keeping from her….especially with Voldemort's return. She had her suspicions, but she needed to hear the truth. "I'm crippled, not blind, Lyra," she said evenly, looking at Lyrisadora intently. "I know you're hiding something and I'm pretty sure I know what it is…Just tell me the truth."

Lyrisadora was quiet for a moment. "….I guess I'm more like father than I care to admit, I guess that's why we never got along," she said, averting her gaze. "I have a lot of complications in my life right now, and I can't tell you everything, but I think it's best….if I stay away from you, just keep you safe," Lyrisadora said reluctantly.

Elizabeth tightened her grip on Bolton's fur, swallowing a painful knot in her throat. "Have you killed anyone?" she asked tightly.

"….Two so far," Lyrisadora answered in a strained voice.

"So far?" Elizabeth repeated, hating how her voice shook.

"There's a traitor who needs to be dealt with, I have orders, " she elaborated tonelessly.

"….Okay then….has Adrian killed anyone?" Elizabeth pried, wondering how far Adrian would go.

"As far as I know, he's only killed one person," Lyrisadora answered in a detached sort of voice.

Elizabeth was beginning to feel uneasy. "How did you feel after you….murdered?" she asked uncomfortable, avoiding her friend's gaze.

"…Well, the second one did try to rape me so not much, the first was back in Bulgaria…. It was self defence," Lyrisadora replied flatly, her hands clenching.

So it had been in self-defence….Elizabeth nearly let out a sigh of relief, but she couldn't relax, she wanted to change the subject. "Have you visited Lucretia?"

"No, her parents aren't allowing any visitors," Lyrisadora replied. "Besides….I don't think I'd help much," she muttered.

Elizabeth decided to confront the elephant in the room. "And what are you going to do about Adrian?" she asked coldly, looking at Lyrisadora with interest.

There was a pause, Lyrisadora looked back at her. "…Do you want revenge? I could arrange-"

"I don't want revenge," Elizabeth interrupted harshly, before biting down on her lip in aggravation. Lyrisadora just didn't get it. "What's the point? I mean you made those Slytherins suffer and it didn't heal my legs," she continued in a painfully cheery voice, a sick feeling forming in her stomach, Lyrisadora remained silent, she probably didn't understand…how could she? She was far passed that stage. "I won't ever forgive him, but torturing him ….it's not going to fix things, I won't feel better," Elizabeth divulged, letting out a tired sigh. "I just want to forget about him and move on with my life," she sighed, there was already death looming in the air, Death Eater attacks, nowhere was safe anymore, even the weather was grim.

"….But…." Lyrisadora seemed to having a hard time processing this. "He needs to suffer, to understand what he's done is wrong," she argued.

Elizabeth sighed, she understood Lyrisadora's point of view, but Adrian most likely wouldn't feel remorse for his actions, people him rarely did. "And what if he doesn't care Lyra? You could torture him for days and the result could be the same," Elizabeth reasoned, shrugging weakly. "Sometimes people just don't change."

Lyrisadora looked at her irritably. "Well you can't just let him get away with it, you can't just give up. Aren't you angry? Upset? He crippled you," she rebuked, rising from her seat.

Bolton's head shot up, her growled at Lyrisadora, Elizabeth calmed him down, not wanting him to attack her friend. "Of course I am, and maybe one day I'll make him pay, but I'll do it the right way, by locking him in prison," Elizabeth countered, she looked at Lyrisadora sternly, she felt a rise of frustration, she knew Lyrisadora didn't want to hurt Adrian for Elizabeth, Lyrisadora wanted to hurt Adrian because she wanted herself to feel better, maybe to ease away her guilt or other hidden issues. "….Just be honest Lyra, this isn't about me getting revenge, is it?"

Lyrisadora's jaw tightened, she looked away for a second or so before she sighed. "I'm sorry….I should go," she said abruptly, grabbing her hand bag. "It's getting late and I've overstayed my welcome," she said quietly.

Elizabeth didn't want her to go, but she didn't stop her from leaving either. If she was being honest, she felt a bit relieved.

* * *

><p><em>26th June 1996<em>

Ex-Death Eater Igor Karkaroff was dead at Lyrisadora's feet, his throat slit. Dolohov looked at her with interest, dragging himself to his feet, an injury to the ribs making him falter, as he wondered over to her, a little too close for her liking. "Nice curse, impressive reflexes," he complimented, his eyes gleaming as he stared down at Karkaroff's still body, crimson blood staining the collar of his ragged robes.

Lyrisadora eyed him warily, stepping away from him. "Let's just get out of here," she replied stiffly, walking towards the door, she masked her displeasure as Dolohov left the Dark Mark in the sky, her disdain for him only worsened when she saw his eyes linger on her for an unnervingly long time, catching a glimpse of his thoughts that dripped out from his occlumancy shields.

She tightened her grip on her wand.

* * *

><p><em>27th June 1996<em>

Lyrisadora was starting to lose her nerve, not a good thing when all her plans were finally being concluded. This was it, the final stage, after this she could stop forcing the words 'I love you' every time he looked at her.

Sneaking the potion was a bit of a hassle, she had planned to wear long sleeved dress robes for dinner, but Adrian had said it was too hot for that and picked out a sleeveless dress instead, when she had protested he had told her not to be a prude and he had already seen everything she had to offer.

So she wore the sleeveless dress, she was sat at the end of the bed, Adrian would be waiting downstairs, she'd bought him his favourite bottle of wine, a Spanish brand, rich in flavour and well refined. She finished curling her hair with her wand, having it in a half up half down style, she swallowed a lump in her throat, feeling butterflies in her stomach.

She placed on the necklace he bought her, before slipping on some more new rings and bracelets he got her as well. She'd checked all of them for dark magic, just to be careful, but they were all harmless. She was afraid she was becoming over paranoid, Merlin knew she wasn't getting enough sleep.

She placed the small potion into the knot of her hair, using a small gemstone grip to conceal it, before she made her way downstairs, the bottle of wine gripped in her hand.

When she arrive downstairs Adrian was already sat down, that house-elf Dora pouring him a glass of bourbon, Lyrisadora hid a frown, she could always get him to drink the wine later. His eyes slid towards her as he smiled appealingly, rising from his seat to greet her. "You always take forever to get ready," he chided pleasantly, giving her a deep kiss, being a bit more forceful than usual. She leant into the kiss, trying to force a blush to her cheeks to make it look convincing.

She smiled at him cheekily. "I had to fish out your gift," she replied once he broke away from the kiss, presenting him the wine. "I thought I'd return the favour for all the things you've bought me," she explained. "Plus…it's a special occasion," she added, moving towards her seat at the table, eyeing the array of different foods, she noticed they were mainly her favourites; Lobster, chicken, pork, Sea-bass, she didn't think she'd be able to finish it all.

He looked like he was pleased by the gesture of gratitude. "I just wanted to make it up for being absent for so long," he said, returning to his seat.

She placed her wand next to her knife, declining the glass of Bourbon when Dora offered her. "You don't have to make up for anything, I understand you're busy," Lyrisadora commented, starting to fill her plate up with food.

Adrian started filling his plate up as well, she waited for him to take the first bite of food. "….How have you been?" he asked. "I know things with your family are…well you know," he continued, shooting her a meaningful look.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh you know, mother's in despair and Draco thinks he's ready to take father's place as head of the family," she sighed. "Oh and I think Dolohov wants to rape me, but besides that…."

Adrian nearly choked on his food. "What?" he exclaimed.

"Nothing will happen, " she reassured. "I'll be fine."

"Don't joke about that," Adrian said sternly, his eyes narrowing. "It isn't funny. Besides remember last time someone tried –"

"I remember well enough," Lyrisadora interrupted bitterly, diverting her gaze, she knew it wasn't funny, but being afraid would only make her more anxious and she was already on edge as it was.

She heard him sigh quietly, he gently took hold of her hand. "I just worry, you know that," he said, she nodded dutifully in agreement. "I just want to protect you _always,_" he told her firmly, squeezing her hand tightly, crushing her fingers a little, she winced, shooting him a sharp look, he released her hand. "I love you," he reminded her softly.

"I love you too," she replied automatically. "But I can take care of myself," she assured him.

He stared at her blankly, before he gave her a crooked smile. "I know that, I guess I'm just protective," he said dismissively, holding his glass out for Dora to refill.

She hummed in agreement, eagerly eating her food, savouring the refined taste. "….So is everything sorted for when we leave?" she asked.

"Almost everything," he answered, giving Dora a kind smile, Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow, since when had he been outwardly nice to the elves? She knew he didn't beat them, but he hardly showed them real appreciation. He noticed her look and added. "I think I'll take Dora with me to the states, I'm quite fond of her," he said lightly.

"Oh really? I didn't think you liked elves that much," Lyrisadora commented, absently scratching at her neck when she felt an itch.

Adrian shrugged. "I value their loyalty," he replied casually, resuming eating his food.

For some reason she felt uneasy, her lips felt dry, she tried to keep herself relaxed. She wished he'd finish his bourbon already so she could break out the wine. She finished off her plate of food, forcing the meat and fish down, as she started to feel sick, she needed to stay composed, she was being paranoid.

She rubbed the tiredness from her eyes, she really needed sleep. "Aren't you thirsty?" Adrian asked, looking at her curiously.

"I don't really like bourbon," she replied, she glanced at the wine, playing with her hair, as if she were readjusting it. "I think I'll break out the wine," she added playfully, discreetly swiping the vile into her palm.

"Sure why not," Adrian said, draining the last of his drink. "Just don't get me drunk," he teased.

"It'd be your own fault for being a lightweight," she retorted, picking up the bottle, she cracked her neck, her bones feeling stiff, she resisted the urge to stretch. She picked up his glass to pour his drink.

"Did I ever tell you I once owned a pet rabbit?" he asked, looking at her intriguingly.

Lyrisadora shook her head. "No, tell me about him?" she urged, wanting to keep him distracted as she slipped in the potion.

Adrian smiled in amusement, looking like this story was going to be a funny one, absently tapping his fork on his plate, a clinking sound reverberating. "His name was Ralph, he was pretty pudgy, I was six, he used to have this pen he hopped around in," he told her.

She blinked a few times, finishing pouring his glass, before she sat down to pour her own. "What happened to him?" she asked, trying to hold back a yawn, she frowned as the bottle felt heavier in her hand, she tried to pay attention to Adrian's story.

"Well one day he escaped from his pen and wondered off," Adrian continued lightly, his fork slowly clinking against the plate. Lyrisadora felt her stomach churn, something was wrong….she felt so tired. "…..It got killed by a fox, we found its body a few days later," he sighed ruefully, stirring the wine in his hand as he looked at her intently.

Then Lyrisadora realised something, her hands moved to her necklace, her grip feeling weak, her whole body felt exhausted, she heard a chair rub against the floor as Adrian moved towards her, firmly grasping her hand.

"Are you alright Princess?" he questioned gently, she felt an icy shiver run up her spine when she looked at his eyes, she felt like something was draining her, her energy depleting rapidly. "Did my story upset you?" He said silkily, crushing her fingers, the necklace felt like it was chocking her.

She tried to reach for her wand, but her movement was sluggish as she accidentally knocked it to the floor, she leant on Adrian more, she felt a rush of fear run through her. "….Your m-mother never mentioned…a rabbit before," she mumbled, her head feeling jumbled, she tried to move and tried to fight whatever magic that was draining her, her body going limp like a rag doll.

He let go of her hand and gripped her chin tightly, forcing her eyes to meet his, his eyes were no longer warm. "Oh that, I made it all up," he answered flippantly, smiling at her in contempt, squeezing her jaw tighter, she slipped off the chair and fell on her knees, her eyelids drooping. "And for the record, your acting isn't as good as you think it is," he whispered, letting go of her chin, she lay on the floor, exhaustion finally overtaking her as her eyes closed, the last thing she heard was, "…now sleep, we have a lot to talk about when you wake up."

* * *

><p><strong>Ah, it was fun writing this chapter. And just for the record Adrian didn't drug her and the next chapter will...well you'll see.<strong>

**also my laptop is being weird with ads and adblocker isn't helping, so if some words are in capitals, just ignore it. **

**Review!**


	94. Rabbit Hole

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: Let it die, Starset**

* * *

><p><strong>"I cut you into pieces,searching for your imperfections<br>I had plans to make you whole  
>But all my threads couldn't stop the bleeding"<strong>

**Chapter: Rabbit Hole**

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora was dreaming,, she wasn't sure when she had come to realise this, or how much time had passed, but she realised being in a blank space with thousands of silhouetted dancers flocking around her, wasn't a usual occurrence.<p>

She tried to wake up, put she couldn't get out, she groaned, trying to get away from the weird shadow dancers , but finding herself wondering in circles as a C-minor symphony played in the background, the same song repeated over and over. Merlin this was becoming a nightmare.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus her mind, maybe she could try to find the source of the enchantment, then maybe she could figure out how to break it, she just had to try to focus and organise her mind.

The dancers disappeared like dust in the wind, the dust zooming around her like she was in the eye of the storm, she kept her mind focused and tried to draw out the magic binding her, trying to clutch at it like grabbing grains of sand.

The silvery dust shifted into the shape of a young female dancer, Lyrisadora felt a bit awe as she watched the dancer take on a more human form, a silver dress tunic fabricating, the young woman's skin an unhealthy stark white, her hair a silvery grey. "Hello….?" Lyrisadora spoke hesitantly, watching the woman dance around in circles.

The woman's head jerked towards Lyrisadora, as if only now just registering her, she stopped dancing and looked around. "Oh…..this is odd," the dancer spoke, looking around the blank space, before back at Lyrisadora.

It was strange, Lyrisadora stared at the dancer, it was weird seeing a spell taking on human form, even more strange seeing the magic talk and act like a real person. "I need to get out of here," Lyrisadora stated forthrightly.

The dancer frowned. "Why would you want to leave?" she questioned, before she smiled dreamily and twirled on the spot. "You can dance forever," she said, before swishing her hand. "Think of all the balls and dresses you could wear!" she exclaimed, transferring Lyrisadora's plain dress into a golden ball gown.

Lyrisadora's eyes widened, the material feeling weird against her skin. "Uh….I don't have time," she protested, looking back at the dancer, an overwhelming feeling of dread started to form in her stomach, she wondered how long she had been here, what if Adrian had taken her to America…..but no, he wanted answers, so he probably wanted to interrogate her, just to know what exactly was happening so he wasn't falling into a trap. "I need to leave, I can't stay here, I never wanted to be here in the first place," Lyrisadora said firmly.

The dancer's smile dropped. "But you put the necklace on, you consented to the magic," the dancer protested strongly, a frown appearing on her face.

Lyrisadora almost felt sorry for the….spell…or whatever it was, but she let the feelings slip away. "I was tricked, I thought the necklace was harmless-"

"I don't harm people!" the dancer snapped, looking very offended by the notion, she placed her arms on her hips. "I'm _light _magic, my magic is _pure_, and not unnatural," she sneered.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow, it seemed magic was pretty arrogant. "I never said it was….I'm sorry if I offended you," she apologized placidly. "But I need to get out of here," she reaffirmed.

The dancer huffed and folded her arms. "Well you can't until someone takes the necklace off," the dancer informed primly, before she started to dance on the spot again, twirling around like a ballerina. "And that could be a while, so if I was you I'd just have fun while you can," the dancer chimed, the slow symphony of music fading in again.

Lyrisadora bit back a groan as the hundreds of silhouetted dancers returned. Now what was she going to do? She sat on the floor, bringing her knees up to her chin as the dancers swirled around her like irritating bugs.

Hopefully Tonks and Snape would find her in time, but she and Adrian could be miles away by then. Lyrisadora chastised herself for letting Adrian gain the upper hand, she shouldn't have been so dismissive of the light magic, but having grown up only recognising the dangers of dark magic, she hadn't really given much thought on the hidden dangers of light magic.

Adrian was smarter than she gave him credit for, and now she was the helpless one. Her eyes narrowed as she felt a bile of anger, when she had discovered the truth of what he'd done, she had disliked him, but now she was really starting to hate him, the last inkling of care and love slipping away.

She wanted to hurt him, she wanted to hit him and punch him, maybe break his arm or push him down the stairs, humiliate him and make him feel every negative emotion he had made her feel in the last few months.

* * *

><p><em>29th June 1996<em>

Adrian eyed the small Veritaserum potion, it was lucky Lyrisadora kept a bottle of it in her potions box, of course finding the small chest had been difficult at first, he'd had to search for hours, trying to think like Lyrisadora, before he'd finally found it. Then there was the hassle of finding the right spell to unlock the chest, but after ten tries he managed to get it to open.

He sat on a chair, his eyes flickering to Lyrisadora's unconscious form in the dim candle light. He'd felt betrayed when found the sleeping potion in her hand, he'd also been quite angry, realizing the true length of a conniving bitch she could be. He'd stripped the dress off, along with the rings and bracelets, seeing how it had been his gifts to her, of course she was asleep, so it didn't have the humiliating affect right then and there….but he just hadn't wanted her wearing his gift when she wasn't worthy of it.

He sighed ruefully, he'd bound her wrist and her ankles, before shoving her in his trunk, which was when he'd saw his pet Eukaryote plant stir awake, which is how he got the idea to bind her further. So he'd coated her with sugar, the plant's vines embracing her tightly, so she wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.

He'd spent the last day shipping the rest of his stuff out, along with Dora, the elf had done more than prove her loyalty, so the old elf was a keeper. He told his mother he still had a final matter of business to attend to, so she didn't expect him to travel just yet.

And then there was Lyrisadora…..he knew he had to transfer her out of the house quickly, people would notice her absence soon enough, so he took them both somewhere safe, where they could sort out this little relationship hurdle.

Adrian let out a deep breath before he got up and walked towards her, the plant was pretty close to the floor, the roots dug deep into the wall, Lyrisadora was crouched on the floor in a bed of vines and leaves. He bent down close to her, taking in her peaceful expression, his hand rested on her cheek momentarily, before he removed the necklace from her neck.

He watched her intently as she began to stir, her blonde hair a mess around her face and her make-up smeared. "Don't…wanna fucking…dance," he heard her mumble.

When her eyes opened they widened a fraction when she saw him, before they darted around the room as she wriggled against her binds, her struggles became more frantic when she realised what was holding her.

He supposed waking up naked and tied up would be unpleasant. "Don't struggle, it'll only tighten its hold," he informed calmly, stepping closer towards her.

She recoiled away from him. "What the fuck is this…thing holding me?" she hissed, squirming in disgust.

Adrian eyed the plant lazily. "Oh this, it's a Eukaryote, we bred them in sixth year Herbology, we were meant to plant them near the forbidden forest when they were past infancy," he told her, smiling fondly, remembering how small the little plant had been. "…But I'd grown quite attached to it, so…." He absently stroked the plants vines. "It likes sugar, absolutely loves it," he informed, before looking back at her, he stuffed the necklace into his robe pocket, his other hand clenching the truth serum. "You tried to drug me," he stated, standing up to full height, his elbow resting against the wall as he looked down at her.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "Like you're any better," she spat.

He frowned at her harsh tone, his gaze turning colder, before he pulled out his wand and flicked the potion cap off. "I think it's about time you told the truth for once," he said lightly. She tried to move away from him when he bent down closer to her, his wand hovering near her face. "Drink it," he instructed tonelessly, his eyes narrowing when she gritted her teeth. "Do you want me to imperius you?" he asked mildly, prodding his wand into her cheek. "I've gotten quite good with the unforgivables, would you like a demonstration?"

She glared defiantly at him, but he could definitely detect some apprehension in her gaze, reluctantly she opened her mouth, he roughly grabbed her jaw, straining her head upwards as he poured a few drops of the potion down her throat. He waited a few seconds before he stood up and looked at her critically. "Why were you going to drug me?" he questioned.

"I was going to confront you about everything you did," Lyrisadora divulged, forcing every word out.

His stomach twisted unpleasantly. "And what exactly did I do?"

Her gaze became more fierce. "You fucked up Lucretia's head, somehow orchestrated Elizabeth being paralysed, lied and manipulated me and tried to isolate me from my friends and family!" she exclaimed heatedly.

Adrian struggled to keep his face blank. "And how did you find out?" he asked because she couldn't have read his mother's letters, he had been careful-

"Astoria found a letter from you to your mother, with horrible grammar," she answered.

Oh bollocks.

He'd forgotten all about that letter, he felt like hitting himself repeatedly, all his plans had fallen apart because of some stupid joke letter! He felt like screaming in frustration, he'd never felt so stupid in his entire life. He closed his eyes as he tried to keep himself composed. "I see," he replied evenly, before looking back at her. "How long have you known now?"

"For nearly two months," Lyrisadora replied cuttingly. "Two _very_ long months," she growled.

"What were you going to do to me when you confronted me?" Adrian asked coldly.

Lyrisadora kept her lips shut, as she tried to stop herself from talking, he waited patiently for the potion to work its magic as her lips trembled. "…I was going to break your heart," she revealed , as if it hurt to speak.

"How dramatic," Adrian replied evenly, looking at her stonily, seeing the anger in her eyes. "Is that everything?" Seeing how the potion would be wearing off soon.

Lyrisadora gritted her teeth. "Well, I also think you're a needy little bitch, but did you also want to know I was faking orgasm just to shorten the sex?" she said sweetly, he narrowed his eyes at her, feeling his temper mount. " Merlin knew it was hard work trying to fake pleasure and not vomit every time you touched me," she went on, a twisted grin sliding onto her features.

"Shut up," he ordered tonelessly, his fists clenching, resisting the urge to punch that smile off her face.

"-So , was I convincing enough? Adoring enough? Because you bought into it so easy," she taunted, her grin widening, making his blood start to boil. "Especially when you showed how vulnerable you were, my god you were pathetic-"

"I said, shut up!" He backhanded her across the face to shut her up, the noise reverberate around the enclosed place.

He clenched his fists tightly, his stomach twisting painfully….he shouldn't have….no, no she deserved it, he told himself. She shouldn't have provoked him, she had done it on purpose, she was behaving like an arrogant child.

She looked up at him darkly, her mouth set in a thin line. He stared back at her, his gaze refusing to soften. The tense silence was broken when he heard her stomach growl in hunger, not a surprise seeing how she hadn't eaten in days, he considered giving her some food, but after what she had said….surely she should have known better? She must have wanted to provoke him, in her head she had nothing else to lose. "So what now?" she asked quietly, her tone unmistakably bitter.

He stared at her unflinchingly, he could fix this…he could fix their relationship, Lyrisadora was rightfully upset with him, but that was only because she didn't properly understand . He was still furious with her, livid in fact, but he couldn't give up on her, when you loved someone you made it work, despite the complications. "….I still love you," he told her, not missing how her teeth visibly clenched. "And I know you still do as well," he said strongly, his tone softening as he crouched down to her level. "You're just upset right now," he reasoned.

She looked at him in disbelief. "You're delusional," she stated bluntly, making him frown, she shook her head. "Did you not hear anything I just said?" she spluttered. "You can't fix this relationship Adrian, not after…_this_," she protested, looking around the dark room.

He looked at her intently, she was wrong, she underestimated his patience, he had spent years gaining her trust and love, did she really think he'd give up so easily? She was his, he'd never let her go. He sighed, she just didn't understand, not properly. Had she not said years ago that she'd never hurt him? That she'd never become his wife? Yet here they were years later engaged, even if she claimed it was fake, she'd nearly given all of herself to him, all her secrets and weaknesses, she could insult him all she wanted, but he knew she still loved him deep down. She was just angry right now, he could make her fall in love with him all over again if he wanted to.

He stroked her bruised cheek tenderly, ignoring how she flinched away from him. "I know you still love me Lyra," he said firmly. "You would have gotten me imprisoned if you didn't," he reasoned which he knew was a weak excuse, but it was partly true, she could have gotten Snape to get rid of him if she wanted to, or physically harmed him, but she hadn't. "We need each other Lyra, Remember?" he murmured.

"I-I don't need you Adrian," she stated, her voice wavering as she looked at him, a troubled expression on her face. "This isn't healthy, you can't keep me locked up forever," she argued, trying to move away from him.

He brushed some hair out of her face, wishing she wouldn't keep fighting him, he just wanted her to be….his shoulders slumped in tiredness. Didn't she want to be happy? Why couldn't she see how much he was willing to sacrifice for her, he remembered how she smiled when he gave her that Alchemy book, had that been real? Had she been happy….he was certain she had been happy before she had discovered the truth, she must have been, back then she had loved him…."You don't give up on the person you love, no matter how much they hurt you," he stated sternly. "We deserve each other, Lyra," he kept telling her.

Her jaw stiffened as she shook her head, her eyes glistening as she visibly tried to hold back her tears. "I think, I deserve better than someone who hits me when he's angry and pushes me down the stairs," she said in a measured tone, looking at him accusingly, he grew tenser.

"You provoked me," he argued, removing his hand from her face, trying not to look at the bruise on her face. "…You shouldn't have provoked me," he reasoned, a bad taste forming in his mouth. "I don't like hurting you," he said calmly, looking back at her. "…But you need to start seeing sense. Because I've made a lot of sacrifices for you," he chided, Lyrisadora looked at him with wide eyes. "Everything I've done, I've done because I love you," he said, smiling warmly as he cupped her face in his hands so she couldn't look away from him. "Everything was for you, the torturing, the memory loss and the blackmail, I did it all for _you, _Lyra. And you'll never find anyone else who loves you as much as I do," he protested, kissing her forehead, his grip on her face tightening as she struggled slightly.

"Stop it," he heard her hiss brokenly, he felt tears slide down her face and wet his hand.

He frowned when he looked into her eyes, using his thumbs to wipe away the salty tears. "Sshh, don't cry, everything will work out, you'll see," he reassured, gently kissing each of her cheeks soothingly, she was probably just overwhelmed by it all, she just hadn't realise how much he loved her. "I still need to figure out a way to transport you," he told her, releasing her face and standing to his feet. "You'll be happy in America…..I'll make sure of it," he promised, stroking a hand through her soft hair, she jerked away from him, trying to hide her face in her shoulder as she cried.

He wished she'd smile, he'd do anything to hear her laugh or even look remotely happy…..but she'd come around eventually, his chest ached when she continued to cry, he couldn't stand the sight of it, he hastily picked up the candle and left her in darkness, venturing upstairs, locking the trap door behind him to effectively silence her choked sobs.

She just needed time, he tried to reason, trying to ignore the protests she had raised, pushing away a pang of self loathing. He couldn't afford to have regrets at this point, he couldn't allow himself to feel doubt or question his own judgement. He had to remain focused, he couldn't be apart from Lyrisadora….he needed her, the very thought of not being with her….she was his entire world and focus, he didn't know what he'd do without her.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora tried to regain control of her emotions, the little box of emotions she had buried deep down in her subconscious leaked, making her chest ache. Her stomach hurt as well, but she put that down to hunger, her mouth was dry from dehydration and her muscles and neck ached. She sniffed as she buried a sob, feeling the utmost pity for herself.<p>

Adrian was deluded, she had never quite realised how deluded he was, she should have been more careful, then maybe David wouldn't have been tortured, maybe Lucretia wouldn't still be in hospital and just maybe Elizabeth wouldn't be disgusted by her.

She tried to focus, to push her negative thoughts away, because she needed to get out of here, she buried her disgust when she felt the plant vines slide tight around her, Astoria had been right this plant was weird.

She tried to figure out a way out of this, the first step was getting out of this plant's hold, she didn't have a wand, so she'd need to use wandless magic, which would be difficult, especially with figuring out what spell to use,. Her best bet was to burn the plant, she could do it by extending her magic outwards through her skin, she had accidentally done it once or twice when she was angry but not to a fire making level, if she wasn't careful she could end up burning her own skin.

So she tried to remain focused and channelled her magic, she winced when she felt her skin burn and blister, she pulled her magic back when the pain became too much, she licked her dry lips, her throat beginning to hurt. Her body felt so weak, her stomach growled loudly in hunger. "I wouldn't have starved him," she mumbled to herself, feeling another stab of hatred, she flinched when her stomach gave another painful growl, she tried to ignore it and closed her eyes tightly.

* * *

><p>Tonks tried not to panic, really she did, she was an Auror trained to handle intense situations, so she <em>tried<em> to remain calm and collective in Snape's presence when they discussed Lyrisadora's disappearance, the two of them in his living room. But when Snape mentioned that Adrian had once pushed Lyrisadora down the stairs, something Lyrisadora had neglected to tell Tonks, she stopped trying to remain composed.

"What if he's killed her!" she exclaimed, pacing back and forth in front of the irritated Potion's Professor. "Or he's torturing her this very moment?" Tonks fretted, wriggling her hands.

Snape sighed deeply. "_Nymphadora…"_ he said irritably.

But Tonks was too busy worrying to even scold him for using her first name, she couldn't shake the disturbing images of Lyrisadora's mangled sobbing form, her baby cousin locked away in some torture chamber while Adrian raped her bloody. Tonks shivered. "We need to rescue her," she announced firmly, she'd kill that bastard if he harmed so much as a hair on Lyrisadora's head.

Snape shot her a frustrated look. "Then stop wasting time worrying," he snapped. "You're an Auror for Merlin sake," he rebuked harshly.

Tonks winced; she supposed worrying hadn't really helped much. "Sorry," she mumbled, before straightening up more. "So how are we going to break into the manor? You said it was heavily warded," she said.

"There might be a weak spot in the wards, I'll have to get some help…" Snape murmured, before his eyes flickered back to Tonks. "But I doubt he would have stayed there for too long….He might be hiding in one of the Pucey's properties, you should look into any factories or buildings they own," he said. "Lyra mentioned that Adrian kept property deeds and contracts in his study."

Tonks nodded firmly. "She also mentioned a family lawyer, I could interrogate him," she suggested.

"I'd prefer something more subtle," Snape reasoned.

Tonks frowned, they didn't have time to be subtle, if they didn't find Lyrisadora in time then who knew what Adrian would do, plus what if he managed to transport her to America? "I can wipe the lawyer's memory, I'll be discreet," she argued. "Besides we need to find her quickly and the lawyer is the best lead we have right now," she reasoned.

Snape arched an eyebrow. "Miss Tonks, you wouldn't know 'discreet' if you tripped over and bashed into it," he commented snidely.

It appeared he'd been hanging out with Lyrisadora too much, Tonks scowled at him, she knew the definition of discreet…arrogant son of a bitch, she thought bitterly to herself. "Then what do you suggest?"

"If we incriminate Adrian and make this a missing person case, then we can have a lot more resources, if I break into the manor and plant false evidence I can then influence Narcissa to file a missing person case, it'll mean Adrian will have to be brought in for questioning and we'll have better access to his family dealings, it'll also give you a valid reason to search for her, we could even get Shacklebolt involved," Snape informed, a plan already forming behind his eyes. "I'll need you on call to receive the missing person case, the Malfoy's aren't the most popular people right now, so not many Auror's will be eager to help them, especially with the Death Eater paranoia," he continued to explain.

"….Okay, but if that doesn't work we go with my plan, right?" Tonks reasoned .

Snape gave her a dry look and sighed. "Fine."

* * *

><p>In the Wizarding world there was one thing that was widely agreed on, blood mattered and family was to be held in high importance….which sometimes was debated when it was okay to kill family off if they were squibs or blood–traitors, but most didn't dwell on that technicality. The point was family was important, specifically to the Lestranges, they were unhinged and sadistic, but Rodolphus and Rabastian valued family.<p>

So it had been pretty easy to convince Rabastian to help him discreetly, all Snape had to do was mention that he believed Adrian was being abusive to Lyrisadora and she'd been missing for two days, and Rabastian had readily jumped on board.

"…So you say I can't kill him?" Rabastian repeated, as he and Snape reached the edge of the wards.

"You know how these abuse victims are," Snape drawled. "Give her a few months and she'll cave," Snape sighed.

Rabastian smiled grimly. "I hope the kid's okay, it'd be a nasty way to go," he commented.

Snape gave Lestrange a curious look. "I take it you've grown quite close to her?" he inquired out of curiosity.

"Oh, I barely know the girl, we only chat over a cigarette once or twice and that's it," Rabastian retorted, shrugging casually. "But it's more about principle, she's my niece, I can't have this little shit disrespecting my family," he argued.

Snape chose not to comment on that and instead directed his attention to the wards. "How long will it take to break them?" he asked.

Rabastian ran a hand through the magic, seeing it shimmer in the dark."It's impressive work, so it won't be easy, but….."A slow smile stretched on his face. "That's never stopped me before," he added.

Snape smiled grimly. "No, it never has."

* * *

><p><em>30th June 1996<em>

Adrian knew he'd have to move fast, but getting the transport handled was a hassle, travelling on his own would have been easier, especially with the fake travel papers, but it was transporting Lyrisadora which was the problem , he supposed the best option was by boat, but the journey would be longer.

He couldn't trust Lyrisadora enough to travel with her out in the open, he had been hoping to fix this relationship mess and regain her trust, but he had been much too optimistic on her ignorance, he had covered his tracks to make sure her allies couldn't find her, but that would buy him only so much time.

He sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair as he sat at the kitchen table, he eyed the food on the table. It had been three days, he'd need to feed her. He stood up and wondered over to the counter to make some porridge, her stomach wouldn't be able to handle anything too heavy.

He grabbed a glass of water, before he placed the food on a tray as he wondered back to the trunk. He lit a candle and placed it on the floor. He wrinkled his nose at the lingering smell of piss, he felt a stab of guilt, it was inhumane to make her sleep in her own filth, she wasn't an animal, he waved his wand to clean up the puddle of urine.

"You must be hungry ," he stated, placing the tray down in front of her. Her lips were set in a thin line as her eyes narrowed, he pressed the glass to her lips, she didn't drink it automatically, no doubt out of petty defiance, but she eventually took a small sip, leaning into the glass, her lips dry and chapped as she drank.

He supposed he shouldn't have delayed feeding her, he didn't want her to waste away to nothing, but he'd been angry still over what she had said; she just didn't appreciate him. "I gather you didn't sleep well," he murmured, placing the water down to pick up a spoon to feed her the porridge. "I'm sorry you had to sleep in your own…" he trailed off, looking at her apologetically as he fed her the porridge, she didn't speak and barely uttered a sound. "I'll take better care of you and if you're good I'll give you a bath," he promised.

Her face wrinkled up in fury as she jerked away from him. "I'm not a dog!" she spat.

"I know that," he quickly tried to placate, stroking back her tangled hair. "You deserve to be treated like a princess and you will be, once I can trust you again," Adrian told her warmly, before scooping up another spoonful of porridge. "Now eat, I can't have you wasting away," he said.

She glared at him, but nevertheless accepted the food, swallowing it eagerly, he continued to feed her in silence until she had finished the porridge off. He looked at her face, the old make-up still caked her face, so he pulled out a handkerchief and dipped it in the glass of water, he should be taking better care of her, he didn't blame her for becoming more upset, she should be sleeping in better conditions than this. "Adrian," he heard her mutter, drawing in his attention, he looked at her curiously, she looked at him sombrely. "This is wrong, you know that, everything you've done, it's wrong," she said, his expression remained calm as he listened to her. "I won't love you, not after this, it won't be real love, I'll never be happy," she continued.

He gently wiped away the make-up covering her eyes. "You'll be happy," he mumbled, he tried to ignore the sickening sensation in his stomach, he wished she hadn't said that. "I'll make sure you are."

"How?" she questioned, looking at him searchingly, he wiped away the lipstick that was smeared on her lips.

He paused for a second or so. "I won't hurt you again, I'll try and make this better, I'll give you anything you want," he answered, pressing a little too hard against the clothe. "I'll never judge your actions, I don't care if you murder or torture, I understand you Lyra, no one else does," he protested, looking at her almost imploringly, pushing her side fringe out from her face, he absently debated washing her hair since it was gathering grease, maybe that would make her less upset.

"….That's not enough," she said, looking at him sadly, as if she pitied him. "I'll never be happy with you, not after this."

He felt a spark of anger, why was everything he did never good enough for her? He moved away from her, crushing the clothe in his hand. "Then what do you want?" he exclaimed standing to his feet, she flinched away from him, as if expecting another blow, it just made him more angry. She always wanted so much from him when he asked so little from her. "I'm doing what's best for both of us, and all you're doing is making things difficult," he snapped. Lyrisadora didn't speak, her lips pursed tightly as she looked away from him. "Lyra," he said sharply, but she ignored him, her gaze firmly focused on the empty bowl of porridge.

He gritted his teeth, he stood in silence for a while, debating whether to ignore her and leave her to squalor in her own shit for the rest of the journey. But she wasn't a dog, and it was his job to take care of her, no matter how stubborn she was being. He kneeled back down, using his wand to conjure up a brush to clean her hair, if he charmed the bristles with a cleaning charm then that would remove the grease.

"I'm sorry…..Lyra, I do love you, it's why I can't let you go," he confessed, running the brush through her hair. "We have so much history together…remember Bulgaria, when we had to pretend to be a couple eloping," he said, a small smile creeping onto his face. "And when I flirted with Yasen at the museum?" he continued, trying to get some acknowledgement from her. "….Or when you got drunk at new years eve and we cuddled…." The sentence got away from him, he swallowed a lump down his throat, her expression was dead, all her emotions tucked away. "Remember all the times I held you when you cried?" he asked again, tenderly stroking her cheek as he brushed her hair back, but she remained unresponsive.

He placed the brush back in his pocket, before he picked up the tray, picking up the candle as well. "I'll come back later with more food," he said, realising there was no point trying to further engage her. "…Is there anything particular you'd like to have?" he asked, gauging her face for a reaction.

But she didn't nod or shake her head, she just remained as still as a statue, her eyes stuck firmly on the floor. Adrian gripped the tray tighter before he turned away from her, he decided he preferred her better when she was yelling at him.

* * *

><p>Narcissa was quite livid when she found out her disowned niece would be in charge of finding Lyrisadora. She was at least glad her missing person report hadn't been ignored, she had feared Lyrisadora would be simply forgotten under a pile of paper work.<p>

"So you say the last time you saw your daughter was a week ago?" Auror Tonks questioned curtly, taking notes in her notebook, her partner Auror Benshaw by her side.

"Correct," Narcissa replied primly, smoothing down her skirt as she folded her legs on the sofa. "Apparently Adrian convinced her to stay with him," she informed, her stomach twisting, wishing she had protested more against Lyrisadora's decision, instead of wallowing in her own mourning. "I wasn't happy about it, but they are engaged and she is an adult, so…I didn't try and stop her," Narcissa sighed.

"I see," Tonks said, appearing to write it all down. "Did Lyrisadora mention any places she and Adrian might have gone to, anything that can help us locate her?" she asked.

"No," Narcissa replied curtly, not missing how Auror Benshaw arched an eyebrow, as if he found it odd Lyrisadora didn't confide in her. Narcissa pursed her lips in displeasure. "My daughter is very independent and often keeps to herself, it's a mission just to try and get two words out of her," she lied smoothly.

Tonks smiled politely, grating Narcissa's nerves. "Completely understandable, Mrs Malfoy," she said evenly, tucking her notepad away. "Now if that's everything, we'll be on our way." Narcissa stood to show them to the door, she was at least grateful they hadn't touched anything, and her niece's pink hair was irking her, the bright colour made her face look unflatteringly flushed.

"We'll notify you as soon as we find something," Auror Benshaw told her, as they made their way to the door.

Narcissa gave them a strained smile as she walked them to the door, her smile becoming more fixed when she saw Auror Tonks nearly knock over a vase. "Sorry," Tonks apologized feebly, trying to push the vase back in place with her grubby fingers.

Mrs Malfoy gritted her teeth as she kept her smile in place, snapping the front door open. "Oh it's fine, don't you fret now," she chimed, having hoped Andromeda had installed _some_ level of grace in her daughter, but sadly it appeared Narcissa's niece had inherited the lesser genes from the pool. A pity, but expected.

Narcissa was happy to be rid of them when she slammed the door behind them both, Aurors were such dreadful company.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora strained against her binds, the food had given her more energy, but she still couldn't get out, she discarded the idea of burning the plant, seeing how it was only hurting her skin and causing her more pain.<p>

She tried to think of an alternative wandless magic to use, she sighed, wishing she had paid better attention in Herbology. She let out a frustrated growl as she struggled, she couldn't burn the plant…she stopped as an idea struck her, making electricity would be easier than using her skin to burn the plant, especially since now her body had protein and calcium in it now, it would make channelling her energy flow better.

She'd have to point the electricity in the right direction, strike at the centre, her hands were bound behind her back, but if she angled them carefully and found a gap in the vines. She shifted more, trying to break her hands free, the vines moved as they slither and curled around her, some of them gently curling around her neck.

She managed to get her hands free, she was in darkness so she was going in blind, so she tried to find the centre of the plant by using her cheek to feel where the vines moved upwards to the source. She rubbed her fingers together, gritting her teeth as she focused her emotion and magic to her hands, small sparks emitting from her fingers. Reciting the elemental properties discussed in the book of Alchemy, the cold fire of electricity , the electrons moving from one atom to another, her magic fuelling it and channelling it like a wire.

Her fingers burned as the electricity sparked more fiercer, a blue glow emitting, she tried to aim it, building up enough power, the vines twitched. The power grew and stung the plant, she felt a surge of power before she aimed upwards, there was a frazzled light, as the vines twitched and went limp around her as the plant died.

She panted for breath as she struggled away from it, afraid it would spark to life again. She fell to the floor, before eyeing the rope around her ankles, she held back a groan, as she still had another hurdle to get over. She tried to twist her arms out of the rope, attempting to pick at the knot, if Adrian had used a spell to conjure up the ropes, then the knot would be less complicated, she tried to use the small sparks of electricity to burn away at the rope, gently picking at the bristles.

Her hands were free when the rope weakened as she tore her hands free, she easily untied the rope around her legs, letting out a sigh of relief, before she froze when she heard footsteps approaching, her heard racing, she couldn't let Adrian subdue her again.

Thinking quickly she grabbed the rope that was still intact and moved into the shadows near the trap door, she tried to slow her breathing and keep her breathing as silent as possible as she waited in the dark.

The door creaked opened, she tightened the rope in her hands, adrenaline pumping in her veins, Adrian stepped down, a new tray of food in one hand, his other hand holding his wand lit up to provide light.

She jumped him from behind, wrapping the rope around his throat as she strangled him, the tray fell to the floor with a piercing crack, he tried to grab her from behind, trying to aim his wand at her. She twisted the rope tighter around his throat, her heart thumping against her chest, as she tried to kick him to his knees.

She screamed in pain when she felt a knife stab her in the thigh, she put all her body weight onto Adrian and pushed him to the floor, she wrenched the knife from her thigh, her wound burning, she felt a surge of fear, because she had an awful feeling that it was the cursed knife he had given her.

"Lyra," she heard him growl, as he tried to grab her.

She used her good leg to kick him in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him back, she scrambled to her feet and ran for her life, rushing out of the prison and slamming the door behind her.

She was shocked for a second when she realised she had been in his trunk all this time, and was currently in a small basement, but she didn't have time to dwell on that, she needed to get out of here. She felt physically sick as she tried to ignore the pain in her leg, add that to the fact she was naked and had no wand to protect herself.

She staggered up the stairs and through the hallways, the whole place looking like a maze, there were no windows, making her feel like she was in another box. She tried to desperately open the front and back door but they were all locked, she tried to find the kitchen, she might be able to get a weapon. She skidded on the floor as she ran into the small kitchen, her heart clenching in fear when she heard a banging noise from down the hall, her hands were shaking as she grabbed the sharpest knife she could find, before she ran off to find a room to barricade herself in.

The place looked like a townhouse of sorts, dust littering the carpet and walls, her leg throbbed in pain as she tried to rush upstairs, she could hear Adrian hot on her tail. She found the nearest unlocked room and ran into it, slamming her body against the door as she looked around the room. This appeared to be the bedroom, her eyes lit up, maybe her wand was here, she thought.

She could hear him coming up the stairs, she hastily dragged the dresser to the door, wincing in pain as her back ached, dragging it in front of the door. She moved away from the door, flinching when she heard yelling from the other end, she frantically searched around the room, knife still clutched in her hand. She grabbed the nearest dirty T-shirt and boxers on the floor, hurriedly shoving them on, wanting to feel less exposed, maybe even feel a little bit more protected, she shivered in fear when she heard banging on the door.

"Lyra," she heard Adrian's voice from the other end. "Just calm down for a second," he tried to reason, she ignored him and searched the room for her wand, tearing away the bedding. "Just open the door, we can talk about this….I promise I won't tie you up again," he said, his tone sounding earnest, she didn't believe him, from now on she'd never believe a single word from him.

Lyrisadora hastily looked under the bed, then she searched his suitcase, but there was nothing of use. "_Lyra,"_ Adrian's voice took on a more testing tone, she waited for the inevitable, looking around the room for an escape, but there was no window in sight; what kind of fucked up house didn't have windows?

Her panic started to grow, she flipped the bed over, around the same time the door was blasted off its hinges, she pushed the bed up as a shield, knife drawn and ready to stab him, she gritted her teeth as her wound started to throb in agonising pain, her nails dug into the fabric of the mattress. "Lyra," Adrian repeated as he entered the room, his wand drawn, blood dripping from his broken nose, her eyes narrowed at him like a wild animal finally free from its cage. "You're hurt," he said gently, as if the injury was self-inflicted.

Her eyes widened in anger. "Because you stabbed me you bastard!" she yelled, her leg trembling as the dark magic spread. He took a step closer to her."Stay away from me!" she screamed, pointing her knife at him.

"If we don't treat your wound you'll die," he said evenly, having the audacity to play the part of the caring boyfriend.

Her rage was mounting and her thigh was stained with blood, a pool and trail of it painting the sole of her foot red. If she died then her blood was on his hands, she couldn't think for a more fitting punishment. "Then fine I'll die, so what? Anything's better than living with _you_," she snarled venomously, she saw his face become paler as his hand tightened around his wand.

"You're not thinking straight."

She almost laughed, she'd never felt more clarity than in this moment.

"I did love you once, but now I know how sick you are, I despise you," she said harshly, her teeth gritted, she baited him, she wanted him to attack her with his bare hands, then at least then she'd have a fighting chance. "How could anyone love someone as needy and pathetic as you," she leered.

"You don't mean that," he insisted, taking another step closer to her , she moved back against the wall her body feeling weak, but she forced herself to stand.

"I will never trust or love you again and I would rather _die_ than be your prisoner," she said sternly, looking him in the eye, saying every word with absolute certainty. "You're a monster and you disgust me, everything you do hurts people and that's all you'll ever be good for," she rebuked hatefully. "I _hate _you." Her words cut worse than a knife as she saw a wild look flash across his eyes.

He dropped his wand and lunged for her, she aimed her knife for his stomach , but he avoided her blow as she sliced his torso the gash deep as blood stained the fabric of his robes. She cried out in pain when he broke her wrist, the bone cracking in half, the knife wrenched from her grip. "I hate you!" she screamed at him, she bit his arm, drawing out blood. "I hate you!" she repeated, wanting every word to cut him like his fists punched her.

"Shut up!" he growled, punching her in the face, pushing her underneath him, her eyes stung as he punch her again, his fists slamming repeatedly into her face as rage overtook him, she choked on her own blood as she kicked and screamed, trying to move away, trying to push him away.

Her head was becoming foggy, she couldn't breathe properly, she saw him raise his fist again but saw him stop, the blood coating his knuckles dripped onto her face, her vision becoming blurred, her ears feeling like there was cotton wool in them, a ringing in her ears.

He lowered his fist, his eyes widening in horror. "Lyra?" his muffled voice said desperately, he violently shook her, his tone becoming more frantic. "No…no,no,no! ….I'm sorry!..._please_…..don't! Lyra, _Lyra!_" his voice was becoming fainter.

Her head felt heavy, her body going limp as he held her in his arms, trying to shake her awake. She remembered the faint sound of a C-minor symphony as the world turned black, except this time, it didn't feel like sleeping.

* * *

><p><strong>I couldn't resist another cliffhanger, I really couldn't. <strong>


	95. Greek Tragedy

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: Things we lost in the fire, Bastille **

* * *

><p><strong>"Do you understand that we will never be the same again?<strong>  
><strong>The future's in our hands and we will never be the same again"<strong>

**Chapter:Greek Tragedy **

* * *

><p>Her body was becoming more limp and her eyelids were closing, her breathing becoming more strained. Adrian had never felt more terrified in his entire life, even during the whole Bulgaria incident he had at least managed to keep a level head. But he was starting to panic, unable to think straight.<p>

She was dying and it was all his fault, he felt like he was going to throw up, his hands trembling.

He tried to think straight, he had to save her, his eyes scanned her bruised face, as he hastily grabbed his wand, dragging her away from the bed, so he had more space.

He tried to get rid of the swelling, but trying to pinpoint the damage was difficult, he cleared the blood from her mouth. He worked frantically, half-aware of the infecting wound on her right thigh, the curse would actually be easier to remove seeing how he had placed it on the knife in the first place. He tried to focus his mind, while juggling the tasks of healing different parts of her.

He looked at the curse that was spreading though her veins, it was probably weakening her body and making things worse while it drained her strength. He guided the curse back to the gaping wound, his wand pressed against her skin as the dark magic tried to coil onwards through her body. He tugged it back, gritting his teeth as he pulled it though the cut, the magic looked like oil, moving and wriggling on its own accord, he violently shifted it away as it became still and lifeless on the floor.

Adrian kept an eye on her heartbeat, it was faint but it was still there, he could still save her. His stomach clenched as he continued to heal her, trying to stabilise her.

He held her tightly, looking at her desperately, he kept his two fingers on her neck, feeling her pulse start to increase, her breathing became less ragged and slowed, her chest rising calmly up and down. He pressed his cheek against her forehead, as he listened to her steady breathing, like it was a soothing melody.

After a few minutes he gathered up his nerve to gently pick her up, he used his wand to flick the bed and mattress back over before he laid her down on it, his eyes never leaving her bruised face, Ignoring the painful gash near his ribs.

…He'd almost killed her….

He gripped her hand tightly as he knelt down next to the bed, burying a wince of pain. He tasted bile in his mouth as he realised what he had done, blood still caking his knuckles. How could he allow himself to lose control like that? He winced when he took in all the bruises, it looked like she'd been attacked by a violent animal, he felt a rise of disgust run through him.

He stared at her hand in his, if he hadn't realised in time….she'd be dead, he would have killed her….the one thing he treasured most and he would have beaten her to death.

A painful lump was stuck in his throat, making it hurt to swallow, he absently wiped his mouth, wincing when he touched his broken nose. She had a hell of kick, he'd give her that. He clenched his wand tightly, muttering a low 'episky' to fix his nose, his head jerking back as the bone cracked into place. He then healed the gash on his torso, sealing up the cut, he imagined she had been aiming for a deeper cut.

His eyes widened when he remembered breaking her wrist, he felt even more horrified when he realised he had been holding the hand of the said broken wrist. He murmured another 'episky' to heal the broken bone, before moving to her face to heal the rest of the damage, he didn't want her waking up being in more pain than she already was in.

Once he was done her face actually looked normal again, though some of the yellow tint from the bruising remained. He stared at her for a long time, a part of him afraid she'd never wake up, he swallowed. "I'm sorry," he whispered, feeling an overwhelming wave of regret, fear and shame.

How was he meant to protect her, when the main person who was a danger to her was him? He couldn't trust himself to keep her safe when he could so easily slap and punch her when his temper flared. He didn't want her to flinch away from him every time he touched her, he wanted her to trust and love him.

He sat in silence, wondering how he could possibly fix this, but he couldn't imagine Lyrisadora being happy with him, no matter how much he tried to convince himself she'd eventually come around and learn to love him…..deep down he knew she wouldn't be really happy with him, not after this.

"I'm sorry," he repeated again, having the tiniest hope that she'd forgive him, that she didn't hate him. "This isn't what I wanted….I didn't mean to hurt you," he mumbled, leaning his cheek against her hand, wishing she'd wake up.

Adrian remembered all the things she had screamed at him, the absolute disgust in her eyes and certainty in her voice. He was starting to believe they were true, maybe he just wasn't meant to fall in love, all it had done was make everyone else's lives miserable….he hadn't made Lyrisadora happy or feel loved , he'd just hurt her repeatedly.

And maybe some twisted part of him had enjoyed it, seeing her under his control, feeling confident that she wouldn't leave him. But if she didn't love him, then what was the point? Every action and false pleasantries just felt forced and empty. In the early days she had been the one, she had been perfect, the one companion he had wanted to be by his side forever as his equal.

But now she wasn't his companion, she was just his victim, another toy he'd handled carelessly and broken.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora's body felt weak, feeling out of breathe, she felt a hand brush her hair out of her face, her skin feeling clammy. The hand quickly retracted when she opened her eyes, her heartbeat increased when she saw Adrian kneeling down next to her, as she hastily jerked away.<p>

"I won't hurt you," he said desperately, backing away from her, holding his hands up in a nonthreatening gesture. She stilled, her eyes narrowed in distrust as she kept her eyes trained on him. "I'm sorry-" he began to apologise.

"Save it for someone who gives a fuck," she snarled, trying to sit up more, but stopped when she realised she couldn't move from the waist down, her heart clenched in fear, like a bucket of ice cold water had been poured over her.

She felt tears prickled her eyes, realising just how helpless she was, she couldn't run away, hell all Adrian had to do was knock her out, it was Childs play-

"Did you mean everything you said?" Adrian asked quietly, the docility of his tone caught her off guard.

She looked at him warily, his emotions so clearly displayed on his face, she supposed she could understand his regret, he hadn't _meant_ to beat her half to death, but that didn't mean he wasn't still delusional. She refused to feed his fantasies. Yet still she hesitated. "Yes…..there's something wrong with you Adrian, you need help," she replied coldly.

He was silent for a moment, before he looked at her again. "Where do you want me to drop you off?"

Wait….what?

She looked at him in confusion. "Drop me off where?"

"….Do you want me to take you to Snape's house…or back to your mother?" he questioned tonelessly. "You wanted to leave, but you're in no condition to apparate….so Floo would be safer," he suggested, his voice still sounding unsure, like a child afraid of a rebuke by its parents.

Lyrisadora stared at him, he was….letting her go? Was this some trap to get her to come along with him to America?...she didn't trust him, so she wasn't planning on going anywhere with him. She could send a patronus to Snape though; at least she'd feel safer. "I'm not going anywhere with you," she said clearly. "I want Snape, and I want my wand," she instructed sharply, looking at him harshly.

Adrian was quiet for a moment, before he nodded and left the room to wordlessly obey, much to her surprise, she absently wondered if she had damaged his brain when she kicked him. Her shoulders relaxed a little when he left, he hands ran across her face, she was aware he must have healed her wrist since the bone was no longer broken; she noted that he had also healed a lot of the presumed bruising from her face, the blood now dry on her skin.

When he returned, her wand was in his hand, when he held it out she snatched it from his grip and pointed it at him, her eyes narrowing. Adrian didn't back away, instead he just looked at her, there was a look of understanding in his eyes. "I wouldn't blame you if you did," he muttered.

Her jaw stiffened, he didn't even attempt to withdraw his wand, but she didn't lower hers nevertheless. "How do I leave this place?"

"…Since I cast the wards over the place, and bewitched the locks, only the caster can unlock them," he answered apprehensively.

"Remove the wards," she ordered cuttingly, her fingers tightening around her wand.

She was surprised by how compliant he was, it unnerved her a little, especially considering he had seemed beyond negotiation only a few hours prior. He lowered the wards, the protective magic falling away, an old window started to dissolve onto the wall, revealing the orange and hue light from the sunset form outside.

She looked back at him, her eyes lingering on the blood staining his robes, before lowering to wear the bloody knife rested on the floor, at least she had managed to leave some damage on him. "…Now leave," she ordered, her voice feeling raw.

He paused, shifting uncomfortably. "You're still injured-"

"I can take of myself!" she snapped, unable to bury her flash of rage, he had no right to be protective of her, especially since he was the reason she was injured in the first place, under the twisted delusion he was keeping her safe. "I don't want you here and I don't need your help. The only thing I desire is to never lay eyes on you again," she told him harshly, forcing her arm to stay steady as she kept her wand trained on his face. "Now, just leave."

Adrian took a step back, his hands shaking, he reached for his finger and removed the promise ring, the ring burning red as he tossed it onto the floor. She frowned, she had almost forgotten all about that ring, her own ring burned for a second, before it cooled down. "….I know it doesn't mean much, but….I am sorry, for everything," she heard him say, she searched his eyes for any deceit, but she couldn't find any.

Her stomach churned uncomfortably as she watched him hesitantly walk away.

* * *

><p>Snape had never felt more relieved to see a patronus, the silvery crow carried the information of where Lyrisadora was, with the promise that she was fine.<p>

Snape wondered why she bothered to pretend he believed she fine, did she think he was an idiot? He got her out of the house when he found her, the place looking like a tussle and fight had issued, when he ventured upstairs and saw the door blasted off its hinges he feared she'd be on the floor missing an arm and a leg.

But if the damage had been fatale or severe, the traces of it were barely there, but there was some hint of bruising and dried blood, and there was the scar on her right leg. Whatever had transpired it had damaged her body, so she wasn't strong enough to apparate. The house was situated in Milton-Keynes , so he could fly her to his house if need be….

In the end she didn't protest on the flying, but considering she looked exhausted he didn't expect her to. She also wasn't keen to speak, warding off his questions, so he decided to let her answer in her own time. He had conjured up a long robe to cover up her scarcely clad form, he buried his anger when it became apparent Adrian had locked her up naked in a trunk, practically lording his power over her like the arrogant bastard he was.

Yet still Snape didn't press too much, years of experience had taught him patience after all. However Tonks wasn't as patient, when he had discreetly sent her a message detailing that her cousin was in his care, she had hurried over like a woman on a mission, banging on his door loudly so all the bloody neighbourhood could here.

"How is she?" Tonks exclaimed, more or less barging into his house when he opened the door.

He crisply shut the door. "Recovering well," was his tight lipped response as he led her to the living room.

Lyrisadora stirred from the armchair, offering her cousin a meek smile. "Hey Dora," she greeted.

Tonks smiled in relief and rushed over her. "You have no idea how worried I was," she said, forcing Lyrisadora into a hug.

"Ow, uh Dora, I'm still not 100% healed right now," Lyrisadora gasped, her face consorting in pain.

Tonks hastily let her go. "Sorry!" she exclaimed.

Snape took a step forward, and eyed Lyrisadora expectantly. "Do you want another healing potion?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," She reassured, earning a sceptic look from Tonks.

The Auror's eyes narrowed slightly. "So where's Adrian?" she asked, her voice growing colder.

There was a pause. "….I told him I never wanted to see him….so he left," Lyrisadora replied.

Snape frowned, surely it hadn't been that simple? "He left? Just like that?" he questioned slowly.

"Yeah…" Lyrisadora looked away, her grip on the armchair tightening. "It turns out he does have a conscience after all," she added in a strained voice, her foot twitching, it appeared the nerve damage was finally healing up.

"Well if he does return we can always arrest him," Snape informed leisurely.

Lyrisadora frowned in confusion. "What?"

Tonks stepped forward to elaborate. "Snape broke into the manor and left fake evidence of domestic abuse, then he convinced Narcissa to file a missing person case to help hunt you down. So if he tries to contact you, we can hold him in custody for questioning on the abuse," she explained.

"Oh…you did that all for me?" Lyrisadora questioned in surprise.

Snape resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, half wanting to call her a ninny. "What else did you expect? For us to just sit back and drink tea, while we twiddle are thumbs, anxiously awaiting your return?" he said dryly, shaking his head in disbelief. "Now I'm still curious as to how you became injured in the first place?" He added.

With some reluctance she divulged to them what had happened, the strange tentacle plant, Adrian's insane delusion that he could fix their relationship, the chasing through the house, she became more vague when she described how he had beat her, not going into graphic detail.

It didn't little to quell Snape's rage, but he managed to control himself, and instead looked at Lyrisadora with an appraising look. "You handled yourself well," he praised, not missing how her lips tugged upwards at the praise. "But the whole reason you found yourself in this mess was because you made this personal," he added tightly, effectively making her scowl in displeasure.

The look of displeasure was shared by her cousin. "Lay off her will you, she's been through enough," Tonks came to Lyrisadora's defence.

"It's fine, he's right," Lyrisadora interjected. "I made it too personal and Adrian gained the upper hand," she admitted.

Tonks gave her a smile that resembled a grimace, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. "Well it's over now, you're back, that's what's important," she reasoned, shooting Snape a pointed look, which he promptly ignored.

"Do you wish to return to your mother? She's been worried about you," Snape said, noticing Lyrisadora was able to shift her feet again, she should be able to apparate soon enough, maybe another hour or so just to be safe.

Lyrisadora sighed quietly. "I'll go home, she has enough on her plate without me adding to it…." she muttered.

Snape nodded, he tossed Tonks a look, which indicated he wanted her to get out his house, because the last thing he needed was her knocking over his book shelf. But she didn't move, so he decided to be more vocal. "_Nymphadora,_ it's getting late, I can handle things from here," he said, arching an eyebrow when she glared at him angrily, muttering something about him being a jerk, or something equally childish.

Lyrisadora looked on in faint amusement. "I'll be fine, Dora," she reassured placidly.

Tonks scowled, breaking away from her stare off with Snape to look at her cousin, her scowl fading. "Well okay, just promise to visit me as soon as you can," she said sternly.

"Of course," Lyrisadora replied evenly, smiling in a way that indicated Tonks should leave her be, no doubt feeling a bit smothered by the vibrant haired woman.

Snape was all too eager to shove the Auror out of the door. "She's nearly as bad as your mother," Snape stated briskly.

"She means well," Lyrisadora protested, giving him a brief shrug, they sat in silence for a while before she spoke again. "So, now he's gone, I can focus more on the mission," she announced, wanting to push Adrian out of her mind. "Is Dr Penma finished with the body?" she asked.

"Nearly, he just has one or two touches to place and then it's finished," Snape answered.

"Good, then it looks like things are getting back on track," she commented, her gaze wondering over to the overly stuffed bookshelves along the wall, before she her eyes brightened, as she'd remembered something. "Were there any of my things still left at the manor, like a school bag?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, there might be, why?" he questioned, wondering what was so important.

"It's just a book, Adrian gave it to me, I was sort of hoping he left it behind," she explained unsurely, looking away.

"The place is more or less empty and most of the wards have been removed, so you could go back and check," he answered, seeing how this book seemed very important to her.

She forced a smile. "Alright then, hopefully he left it behind…." she replied, before the smile quickly fell as she focused her attention back at the book shelf.

He wasn't quite sure what she was thinking at this point, but he recognised the look on her face, something that was bitter but was also sad. He respected her privacy and left the room to make some coffee in the kitchen, he absently wondered how Adrian was handling it all, because if Lyrisadora was sad, then he imagined the boy's emotional baggage was back breaking.

* * *

><p>Narcissa hugged her daughter tightly when they were reunited, thanking Snape profusely, Lyrisadora winced in pain, her bones still sore, but she didn't have the heart to tell her mother. "I'm alright, mother," she insisted.<p>

Narcissa released her, her eyes raking in her form, as if trying to find the tiniest hint of a blemish. "You must be famished," Narcissa fretted, before looking at Draco who was standing idly by. "Draco, go fetch your sister some tea," she instructed.

Draco looked at her in confusion. "But we have serva-"

Their mother wasn't paying much attention. "Do as I say," she repeated, her tone sharpening, as she gently led Lyrisadora to a sofa, as if she was made from glass.

Draco shared a look with Snape before he stomped off to fetch some tea. Snape looked at Narcissa a little hesitantly. "I best leave, it's late," Snape said.

"Oh, yes or course," Mrs Malfoy replied, before gracing him with a grateful smile. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter," she said sincerely.

Snape nodded gruffly in response. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening," he responded curtly, sparing Lyrisadora one last look before making his leave out of the room.

Narcissa sat next to her daughter on the sofa, rubbing her back soothingly. "I was so worried," she said, smiling at her faintly, kissing her forehead. "When Severus told me about the violence and that you were missing….I thought I'd never see you again," her mother confessed, pushing her hair back to see her face.

Lyrisadora felt guilt nestling in her stomach, for a number of reasons, she was half afraid to ask what her mother would do if her child died. "I'm sorry I caused you so much worry," she apologised, forcing a strained smile.

Narcissa smiled at her warmly and stroked a hand through her hair, Lyrisadora found it soothing as she nestled deeper into the couch. "I'm used to it," her mother replied, before the smile on her mother's face drooped. "I should have noticed before things escalated," Narcissa began, causing Lyrisadora to give her an annoyed look, the last thing she wanted to her mother blaming herself for what happened. "I mean I knew something was wrong, but I didn't-"

"Mother, please," Lyrisadora sighed. "It's not your fault, I made the choice to stay with him," she pointed out. "It's not your fault," she reassured.

Her mother's shoulder slumped as she sighed deeply; if she disagreed then she didn't voice it, instead placing another kiss on Lyrisadora's forehead. "I'm just glad you're home."

Draco marched back into the room, a sloppily made looking tea in his hand, Lyrisadora raised an eyebrow at him when he presented the tea to her. "Is _that_ supposed to be drinkable?" she commented, wrinkling her nose at the green tea, it appeared he had mixed up his tea bags.

Narcissa frowned at the poorly made beverage. "Dear, I thought I told you to fetch a house-elf?"

"You told me to go get her tea!" Draco exclaimed.

Their mother's eyes narrowed. "Don't take that tone with me," she chided, effectively making him cower a little. "I thought you'd have the sense to know I meant, go fetch an _elf_ to make the tea, there should have been one or two of them in the hallway somewhere," she said, it seemd she was under the impression her son was a mind reader.

Her brother's lips tightly pursed, so instead of saying something he regretted, he wisely turned to his sister. "So where's Adrian now?" he asked.

Lyrisadora shrugged. "In America? I'm not sure, but I doubt he'd stick around in England," she replied.

"…So, what happened?" Draco questioned tactlessly.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Lyrisadora told him, avoiding her mother's concerned gaze. "I just want to go to bed," she said, forcing a smile when she looked at her mother. "We can talk more in the morning."

"…Of course we can," Narcissa said after a pause, sending a look Draco's way out of the corner of her eye. "You need your rest."

Lyrisadora stood up and gave her mother and brother a reassuring smile, as she walked out of the room, her legs still feeling sore. The smile dropped from her face as soon as she was alone. When she entered her room it was just how she had left it, albeit cleaner than before.

She sat on the bed, basking the soothing silence, before she reached into her robe pocket, removing the ring Adrian had left behind, along with the cursed knife. Because although he may have stabbed her with it, it was still a useful knife, plus it had been a gift to her.

She examined the ring, she hadn't expected him to break the contract, but she was glad she wasn't tied to it anymore. She removed her promise ring from her finger, it slipped off like a glove, she stared at the two silver rings as she held them in her palm, before she stuffed them into a draw by her bedside table, along with Cedric's charm bracelet and the other keepsakes she stored away, wishing she could forget.

* * *

><p><em>1st July 1996<em>

He travelled to America via Floo, his mother had purchased a house in Chicago, just outside the city, when he arrived there it was late evening, his stomach felt like he had drunken some bad milk, the lingering sickly taste in his mouth.

When he bypassed the wards and entered the house, his mother was leisurely sat in the living room while Dora served her a glass of wine, Sapphira peacefully slumbering on her lap. He stopped in front of the doorway, catching her by surprise. "Adrian….?" Mrs Pucey greeted unsurely, frowning at the troubled expression on his face, she waved the elf away, before placing the cat on the floor as she stood to her feet. "What's…..where's Lyra?" she asked, looking at him questionably.

Adrian avoided her gaze as he stepped further into the room, resting his hand against the wall, feeling completely lost. "….I…she didn't love me, she was pretending," he divulged, still unable to look his mother in the eye.

There was a tense silence, he glanced back at his mother when she didn't speak, he noticed her jaw was stiffer and her shoulders were more squared, her expression had grown colder. "Where is she Adrian?" she asked lightly, taking a step closer to him.

"…Back in England…I broke up with her," he revealed.

His mother's expression became slightly more curious. "Tell me what happened," she instructed pleasantly, her smile stretched a little too tight.

He was apprehensive at first, but he told her what had happened, about his suspicions, locking Lyrisadora away and her revealing that it had all been an act, that she had found out the truth, then about her escape and how he had lost his temper and almost beat her to death. His stomach churned at the memory, but he carried on in his explanation. "….I just wanted her to be happy, so I left," he finished, watching his mother carefully, her calmness unnerving him. "It was the right thing to do."

Mrs Pucey inhaled a deep breath as she moved closer to him. "The _right thing?"_ she echoed, her smile looking strained, she stopped in front of him, before her smile morphed into a sneer. "You idiot!" she snarled, slapping across the face.

He stumbled back, his eyes widening in shock, he clutched his cheek as it stung, as he backed up against the wall. "Mothe-? "

She whacked him over the head. "Shut up," she snapped, effectively silencing him. "Months of planning and carefully manipulating her and you just threw it all away, because you thought it was the _right thing_ to do?" she mocked, her hand clenched around her wand as she looked at him coldly. "You had her in the palm of your hand and you let your pathetic feelings dictate your actions, you were _weak_," she rebuked harshly, making him flinch.

He shook his head desperately. "She didn't love me, she was never going to-"

"How many times do I have to drill it into that thick skull of yours? It isn't about love, it's about dependence, _contentment, _control_,"_ his mother interrupted, looking at him like he was an idiot. "If you had just been patient and left her with me, I would have moulded her into the perfect wife for you," she said slowly.

Adrian felt his gut twist, he didn't want his mother moulding Lyrisadora into anything, let alone into some twisted version of what she classed at 'perfect'. "…I didn't want a perfect wife," he said quietly, avoiding her fierce gaze. "I just wanted her…." He mumbled brokenly, his chest aching.

"How did she find out the truth?"

He froze, a rush of fear running down his spine when he looked at her, because if she got angry over the fact he had let Lyrisadora be happy…then he really didn't want to think of how disappointed she'd be if she found out about his carelessness.

She repeated the questioned, her eyes narrowing. "_Adrian_, how did she find out the truth?"

He licked his dry lips, forcing himself to look at her, not wanting to appear weak in front of her. "…You know that joke letter I-I sent you? With the bad grammar?" he asked, forcing his voice to remain even, her lips thinned. "Well, she found it…."

There was a long agonising silence as his mother's eyes burned him, but then his mother's expression morphed into a painfully pleasant smile.

"I see, " she commented, twirling her wand in her hand as she looked at him intently. "You know sweetheart, I've always thought there was something mentally challenged about you, but I was comforted in the fact that I believed you possessed some sense," she chimed, her eyes narrowing as her smile became crueller. "But now I realise, that not only are you pathetic, needy and overall a foolish little boy, but you also have as about as much common sense as a brain dead pixie," she insulted, her gaze harsh, using her magic to slam him against the wall, he winced and clutched his shoulder as her magic pushed him to the floor. "I don't even know why I ever bothered," she said icily, looking down at him with disdain.

He gritted his teeth, her words stinging like a needle, it shouldn't have bothered him…..but he couldn't help but agree with her, he was pathetic and weak, even Lyrisadora had said so. He was worthless, even his own mother was ashamed of him.

She looked at him in contempt before turning her back to him, she walked away from him, and for a split second Adrian was afraid she'd leave him. "I'm sorry," he apologised hurriedly, hating how weak he sounded, for the first time in a long time he didn't want her to leave him, not so soon after he'd lost Lyrisadora….he didn't want to be alone. "Don't leave," he said, looking at her imploringly.

She looked at him stonily, before her brow creased. "You want me to stay?" she questioned evenly, eyeing him warily.

Adrian bit down on his tongue, feeling a pang of shame, wishing he could control his emotions better. But Lyrisadora was gone and he didn't know what to do anymore, he felt like he was missing a limb, his chest aching as his eyes glistened as he tried to hold back his tears. "Please, don't leave," he whispered, feeling like he was once more seven years old, begging his mother not to abandon him again.

He brought his knees to his chin, feeling completely lost, he'd never felt so empty before, it was like someone had cut him open and scooped his insides out. He hid his face in his knees as tears started to leak from his eyes.

"Oh you foolish boy," his mother sighed, as she stood over him, before she bent down to stroke his hair soothingly as he sobbed.

* * *

><p><strong>And as one story arc is near it's end another will begin! I did want to wrap this story up at 100 chapters, but let's be realistic, I have too much to wrap up.<strong>

** The end is in sight, I've already got it more or less fully planned out, but I still have one last story arc to wrap up before that. **

**And as for Adrian I'm still not done with him yet, he still has his uses after all. **


	96. Red Eyes

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: Christina Perri, I believe **

**'...' in French **

* * *

><p><strong>"And I believe that the darkness reminds us where light can be."<strong>

**Chapter: Red Eyes**

* * *

><p><em>5th July 1996<em>

Losing a year of your memory was bizarre, it was like waking up, only to discover the whole world had been flipped upside down. Lucretia stared at the ceiling , everything felt so surreal, she wondered if she'd ever get her memories back…

"Lucretia," he mother's voice brought her back down to earth.

Lucretia glanced at her mother across the breakfast table, their house-elf Pits serving them, her father was looking at her in concern. "Yes?" She asked curtly, looking at her mother expectantly.

Her mother cast her a critical look….or was that just her usual look, she couldn't tell the difference anymore. "Have you given any thought on Beauxbatons?"

Lucretia's eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to school in another country, mother," she replied in a clipped tone.

Her father sighed wearily. "Lucretia, we've discussed-"

"Why can't I just go back to Hogwarts?" She interrupted, looking at them in confusion, before her brow creased. "If this is about the war-"

Her mother gave her a stern look. "It isn't just about that," she interjected. "We want you in a safe calm environment, away from any…..distractions, so you can focus on your exams," she insisted.

Lucretia paused, looking between both her parents suspiciously. "Then why can't I be homeschooled? I mean I barely know any French," she argued, not to mention the prospect of being in a foreign land was downright terrifying.

Her father decided to quip in. "I've already talked to the headmistress and we've looked at the international policies, you'll have all the support you'll need," he reassured.

This didn't ease her concerns, being the school's 'special' case wouldn't help her fit in. But the reality was she needed to get her qualifications, or she'd never get a decent job and escape from under their thumb.

But there just something off about everything, they seemed so reluctant to tell her what had transpired over the last year and they more or less forbade her from going out alone, saying she was too _fragile_.

She felt like someone had been cut out of the picture, an ache in her chest, but she couldn't remember. "….So will I have to take French lessons over the summer?" she asked cautiously, her shoulders slumping.

Her mother and father beamed. "You'll pick it up in no time," her mother reassured, an expectant air in her voice.

Lucretia forced a smile, a strange anger nestled in her chest.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora watched as Mad-Eye was the last to enter the decaying room, after applying the last of the wards around the derelict housing estate. Dumbledore was notably absent, apparently he was tracking down a lead, the details had not been disclosed, as per usual.<p>

So Kingsley started the meeting, the table fully set up, covered with maps, detailing different locations in France, mainly the north region. "We believe Auror Orsan is alive," Kingsley said, placing a thick file on the table. "This was left in Tonks' draw yesterday. He's been very busy. "

Lyrisadora flicked it open, Snape glanced over, reading the text. Tonks looked at the map, before her finger landed on a region just outside of Paris. "Around here is roughly where their HQ is," Tonks informed, her voice sounding unusually flat….her hair was duller as well, but Lyrisadora decided she could focus on that later.

She scanned through the information in the file, there were notes on robberies, sex trafficking, gambling, murder. It all looked self-investigated, most of it hand-written in shaky writing. "Is this the only contact he's made with us?" she asked, holding the file up.

"Pretty much," Mad-Eye replied. "His ID badge was attached at the back, which is bloody reckless of him, mind you, besides that, he's keeping low. And I think we best leave him like that," he said.

"He is more useful dead," Snape commented, picking up a photograph from the file, an image of a young woman, the name Ada Millers scribbled at the bottom.

Kingsley pulled out a newspaper from his robes and placed it on the table. "This also caught my interests," he said.

Lyrisadora scanned the French newspaper, and by the look of it, it had some remnants of a translation spell on it, some of the words in English and French. The paper was called 'The _Two way Mirror'_.

Snape looked at Kingsley curiously. "How did you get this?" he asked.

"Fleur Delacour," Kingsley replied. "I told her I had a cousin overseas who wasn't replying to my letters, so I needed to find out what was happening over there, and that I was hoping she could get her family to send me a few newspapers I figured it would be less suspicious if the paper was ordered in her name," he explained.

"Let's just hope she keeps quiet about it," Mad-Eye muttered.

"She should, she might find it odd, but she doesn't know enough to really ask any poignant questions," Kingsley replied, before glancing at Lyrisadora who was reading the front page. "Turn to page 3."

She opened to the instructed page;

'**ROYAL MAFIA?**

_France's magical community is shaken by rumours of a Royal and a Crime lord being on friendly terms. _

_The Queen's cousin, Prince Adalard III has denied allegation that he interacted with Klaus Gauther; the current head of the alleged Gauther crime family. The two were rumoured to be seen conversing together in the Toadstool's casino last month, but no eye witnesses have come forward. _

_The Queen has given no comment, however the Prince's wife has given this statement, "My husband is a victim of false rumours and conspiracy, I fully support his claim that he has had no interaction with any members of the Gauther family," says Princess Gisele. No further statements have been issued._

_There is no current investigation under war way, however it begs the question, can these rumours be ignored? Is there trouble in paradise in the royal family?' _

Lyrisadora looked up from the paper. "Only page 3? The story must have them panicking," she commented, tossing the paper back on the table.

Mad-Eye pulled up a chair. "Oh yes, and what makes it even more interesting is the fact the Queen has been campaigning to get rid of organised crime for over five years," he informed.

Snape arched an eyebrow. "I take it her cousin isn't as passionate?"

"I could write to my cousin Zurie," Lyrisadora quipped in, looking around to see if anyone would object. "She might not know much, but it might help," she suggested.

"Write to her," Kingsley concurred, before he turned to Snape. "Also, how's Dr Pemna doing?"

"He says the body is ready," Snape answered, his eyes flickering to Lyrisadora.

She felt her chest tighten, but she kept her expression passive as she glanced back at the Professor. "Good…so when do I fake my death?" she asked clinically.

"The next Death Eater raid is in five days, with a quick tipoff from the Aurors, they'll be enough chaos for an accidental kill, and if not, I expect you can improvise," Snape said.

"I'll be the one to kill you," Kingsley told her, which she supposed she was meant to find reassuring.

Lyrisadora's lips felt dry, five days….that would fly by, her stomach twisted painfully. "No pressure then," she said dryly, morphing her face into a determined look. "So, I take it I need to solve this mysterious connection between the royals and the Syndicate?"

"And you need to find Ada Millers and that Vampire," Snape reminded. "They're valuable, you'll also need to gather more allies if you're going to successfully cripple the organisation," he advised.

"I'll be as charming as can be," Lyrisadora reassured, before looking back at the map, trying not to feel the pressure when she felt their eyes land on her.

* * *

><p>When Lyrisadora arrived home, she knew something was definitely off, the manor was eerily silent. She tensed when a house-elf popped into view, the elf squirming anxiously as it stared at the floor. "Miss is wanted in the main drawing room," the elf whispered fearfully, which only served to put her nerves more on edge.<p>

"Thank you," Lyrisadora said stiffly, before brushing past the small creature, she felt dread settle in her stomach, as she tried to control her nerves. When she reached the doors of the room, she took a moment to take a deep breath.

When she stepped inside her gut clenched. Voldemort was standing in the middle of the room, as if leisurely examining it, Her mother and brother were standing anxiously by, a good safe meters away, while her aunt seemed to want to be as close to her master as respectfully possible, Rabastian was there as well, having narrowly avoided capture unlike his brother.

Her master's red eyes landed on her like a rat sensing movement. "Ah, Lyra," he greeted lightly, a smile spreading on his lips. "You've been gone awhile."

Lyrisadora closed the door behind her and moved forward to kneel. "My lord, if I had known you were here, I would have come straight away," she apologised earnestly, keeping her gaze lowered. She wondered if the Dark Lord had deliberately not summoned her just so he'd have an excuse to torture her.

"Where were you?" the Dark Lord asked curiously, coming to stand in front of her.

"I went to the library, to have some time to myself," she answered quietly, she cautiously strained her gaze upwards to look at him when he signalled her to rise. "I've had a lot on my mind lately."

His eyes narrowed down at her. "Hm, Yes I was informed of your little domestic," he sneered, causing her to avert her gaze, she stiffened when his wand poked her neck, causing her to meet his piercing eyes. "Perhaps I saw potential in the wrong student," he remarked, smiling coldly.

"My Lord," Narcissa interrupted, making the Dark lord's smile twist into a scowl.

He shot a stinging hex at her mother. "Did I ask you to speak?" he hissed.

Draco gripped his mother as she winced in pain and flinched back, hastily shaking her head apologetically.

The Dark Lord turned back to Lyrisadora, whose eyes had widened in fear. "I'm afraid in your absence you missed some important information, my dear," he chided, his eyes landing on Draco. "Your brother has been bestowed a great honour," he continued, his voice almost taunting.

Lyrisadora stared at her brother apprehensively, fearing what was underneath his left sleeve. "My Lord?" she looked at the Dark Lord inquiringly.

"Don't be shy now, Draco," the Dark Wizard encouraged, appearing to find their discomfort amusingly.

Lyrisadora remained motionless as she watched her brother roll up his robe sleeve, an identical skull tattoo stained his pale skin, still fresh, like a wound. There was an unbearable silence, Bellatrix looked almost proud, Rabastian had a sort of concerned but pleased expression, while her mother looked numb, her expression tight.

"An honour indeed," Lyrisadora spoke evenly, walking towards her brother, noting how unsure he looked, as if undecided if he should be proud or afraid, she squeezed his shoulder reassuringly as he pulled his sleeve back down.

"Yes an honour," Bellatrix interjected, taking a step closer to their lord.

He ignored her. "Do you think your brother will perform well?" the Dark lord asked, as if Draco wasn't even in the room.

Lyrisadora ignored the tightness in her throat, feeling Draco stiffen, she met the Dark lord's gaze. "My brother is resourceful and clever, he is a better Slytherin than I ever was," she replied, earning a surprised look from Draco.

The Dark lord's smile became more sly, her uneasiness grew, something more was going on. "Then Dumbledore has much to fear," he commented coyly, before he surveyed the rest of the room occupants, before his gaze focused back on Lyrisadora, his smile disappearing. "Everyone leave, except _you,"_ he ordered coldly.

She felt a rush of fear, wondering what she had done wrong, she half hoped her mother would protest, but like good servant they obey, leaving her alone with snake-like man. "My lord?" Lyrisadora questioned, looking at him in confusion.

"Your brother's memories were quite interesting," he said silkily, making her blood run cold. "So enlightening…."

Lyrisadora remained silent, keeping her occlumency shields up high, and then she felt a painful piercing in her head, like someone had stabbed a needle into her skull. "I don't understand, my lord," she implored, clutching her head in pain as she cowered away when he neared her.

He circled her, his wand resting in his palm. "I decided to take a peak, and I admit he did resist quite a bit," he revealed. "But one memory was quite interesting….poor Cedric," he sighed, her eyes widened. "I'm surprised Draco managed to hold back his disgust for so long-you should have felt it, the shame of imagining you with a Hufflepuff, behaving like some dirty little slut," he taunted, making her flinch, the Dark lord's smile returned.

The stinging in her head lessened as she forced herself to look back at her master, hopefully she'd escape this with some dignity. "I was young…..I ended it because I knew it had no future," she hastily argued. "It hasn't affected my performance, I have tried to fulfil your orders-"

"_Adolebit_," he fired the curse.

Her body felt like it was burning from the inside, before the invisible fire started burning her skin.

She screamed and writhed on the floor. "_Crucio_," he changed the curse. The pain was unbearable, the previous curse feeling like a warm up compared to the Cruciatus, she clawed at the floorboards as her screamed became more higher pitched. "I knew you were weak, but I had hoped you were not a blood-traitor," the Dark lord leered, staring down at her in disdain. "A tad naïve of me…..but I had hoped you'd show potential, you had such brains, you could have even surpassed your aunt, with a few years of the right training," he spoke above her screams. "But now….well, can I really trust a blood-traitor?"

"My lord, please," she choked, needing to find the strength to convince him of her loyalty. "Let me ex-explain," she struggled to speak, feeling like she was going to pass out from the pain.

He looked at her with mild curiosity, before he lifted the curse, allowing her to properly breathe. "Then explain away," he replied softly, his red eyes glinting.

She took a deep breath, swallowing some vomit, she kept her eyes locked on his. "Cedric was kind to me…and I was so alone, I just wanted to be with someone who didn't judge me or expect something from me," she went on, half-afraid the Dark lord would grow tired of her excuses and continue torturing her. "But I've changed, I know that if he was alive today, he'd be disgusted with me, I'm a liar, a murderer and a thief, I could never join the light, not now," she assured shakily, lowering her head in shame as she clenched her hands. "What's the point of fighting a lost cause?" she muttered.

Her master was silent for awhile; she could feel the heat of his gaze. "You always know just what to say, don't you?" he questioned calmly. "Just like your father," he added tenderly, using his wand to levitate her to her feet, he roughly grabbed her face, forcing her to look him back in the eye. "Have you ever wondered what Diggory's last moments were like?"

She stiffened, her heart feeling like someone was squeezing it. "….Yes," she replied, because what was the point of lying when he didn't believe her?

His smile grew. "I barely remember him you know, I just said kill the spare, and it was done," he revealed, his eyes shining in amusement when he saw how sick she looked. "He didn't even fight back, pathetic." His words cut deep.

She assumed he got off on her misery, perhaps she was his new source of entertainment. "What do you want from me?" she whispered desperately.

"Oh Lyra," his tone condescending. "I only want to make sure that we understand each other," the Dark lord replied, his nails dug painfully into her skin, drawing blood, she hissed in pain as he pulled her in close, she scrunched her eyes up and tried to duck her head as she felt his breath on her skin. "Your father, brother and mother all belong to me, just like you," he whispered in her ear, making her shiver as she bit down on her tongue. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt with Diggory, but if I suspect anything less than absolute devotion from you…..well, I think we both can guess what will happen next," he told her smoothly, she recoiled, he pushed her jaw up so he was looking her back in the eye. "Now, do we understand each other?"

"Yes, my lord," she answered in a strained voice, already picturing her family's mangled dead corpses as she stared into his blood red eyes. .

* * *

><p><em>6th July 1996<em>

Mrs Pucey looked at her son in concern when he didn't eat his breakfast, he just seemed so….detached since he arrived in Chicago. She finished off her plate of waffles and sighed. "So I assume we're staying here?" she asked, seeing how going back to England seemed firmly out of the question.

Adrian glanced up at her, as if only just registering her presence, he shrugged. "Why not," was his dispassionate response, as he picked at his waffles with his fork.

"The casino will need a lot of work, I'm sure you'll enjoy the task," she said conversationally, her son needed something new to divert his attention, this little business endeavour would do him a world of good. "I've already applied for a citizenship," she told him, since her sister's family were already residents, it shouldn't be too hard to get it approved, plus funnelling money to the right people would help speed things along. "…And placed an Ad in the paper, for your new assistant."

He frowned, looking at her questionably. "What assistant?"

"Well if you're going to be managing a business you'll need a secretary," she replied, as if it were obvious. "Don't worry about picking a candidate, I'll find the perfect one," she reassured, smiling placidly.

He didn't seem to care about her making choices for him. "Okay, fine," he said dismissively, spreading his food across his plate.

She stared at him for a long moment. "You don't need her, Adrian, she was holding you back," she placated, smiling at him warmly, his face remained unreadable as he gave her a cold look. "This is a fresh start for both of us-"

There was a clatter of cutlery, as his chair scraped against the wood, as he got up and left.

She grew silent as she watched him leave the room, and frowned when she heard him go upstairs. Rosalie sighed to herself, she just didn't understand him sometimes.

* * *

><p>Draco was managing to pick up occlumency fairly quick, Lyrisadora had only just started teaching him after breakfast, but he was progressing well. "Try pushing another memory forward to distract me," Lyrisadora suggested, the two of them outside in the gardens near the flower beds, a bit of sun would do him some good.<p>

He let out a deep breath, before nodding. "Okay, I'm ready."

She cast the spell non-verbally so it wouldn't be as piercing, memories flashed by, she recoiled when she saw Draco making out with Pansy. "Change the memory!" she exclaimed, hastily diverting to another memory to where Draco had been turned into a ferret, he hurriedly shoved a memory of him eating breakfast in front.

Lyrisadora pulled out from his mind. "Good, a little late, but good nevertheless," she praised, before raising an eye-brow. "…Pansy, really?"

Draco's cheeks tinged pink as he scowled. "We only kissed!" he protested. "Besides, it was fourth year, before she became more annoying," he muttered.

"Doesn't stop you from letting her fawn all over you," she remarked, a smirk curling onto her lips. "Come on, let's take a break," she said, pocketing her wand as she sat down to relax near the flower beds.

He frowned in displeasure, choosing to remain standing. "I'd rather keep going, I'm not going to master it in time unless I work at it more," he argued.

Lyrisadora sighed, and glanced up at him from her comfortable position as she leant back. "You'll only end up getting a headache, trust me on that, I had a migraine for a solid week when Snape was teaching me," she retorted, her brow creased when she saw a look or anger flash across Draco's face. "What's wrong?" she questioned warily, sitting up straighter.

"Nothing," he replied, purposely avoiding her gaze.

"Oh come on, you can lie better than that," she scoffed, pushing herself to her feet, she looked at him curiously. "Did something happen between you and Snape?" she inquired.

He shifted uncomfortably, before he replied. "Doesn't it bother you that he took father's place?" he blurted out, looking at her searchingly. "The only reason father's in prison is because he fought, while Snape hid away-"

"He's a spy, it's not like he could fight anyway," Lyrisadora pointed out. She could understand Draco's' anger, Snape had benefited in their father's imprisonment, but such was the nature of power shifts. "Father's in disfavour, Snape's not, it's expected the Dark Lord would hold Snape in high favour, especially-"

"Do you even care?" Draco interrupted, anger mounting in his voice.

Lyrisadora kept her emotions under control, feeding his childish temper would not solve things, besides she couldn't afford to waste time arguing with him. "I do care, I've just learned to accept the situation, getting angry about it isn't going to solve anything," she reasoned, withdrawing her wand. "Now, if you want to continue our lesson, _focus_," she reprimanded, the lesson should calm him down.

He stiffened his shoulders, his brow still creased. "You know I have a point," he commented.

She gritted her teeth in frustration. "_Legilimens_."

She was drawn into a memory of their father teaching Draco how to ride his first broom.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora accepted the cup of tea from Snape, the two of them in his kitchen, she had been pretty unnerved when she found out Wormtail would be serving under Snape during the summer, it also didn't ease her paranoia that the Dark lord was watching her. "So who is Wormtail anyway, everyone seems to hate him?" she questioned.<p>

"Because he's a pathetic excuse for a man, you could easily replace him with a house-elf," Snape replied venomously.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow. "I see," she responded, sensing that Wormtail was a touchy subject. "I'm worried about Draco," she said, looking at him pointedly. "He overestimates his abilities," she sighed.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Snape reassured.

"….He also thinks you've taken father's place, so you're not his favourite person right now," she told him hesitantly.

Snape sighed in annoyance. "He'll need to swallow this childish pride if he hopes to succeed," he rebuked, a look of aggravation flashing across his face as he drank his tea.

"I've tried to tell him, but he's being difficult," she sighed, shaking her head regrettably. "But, please, just look after him, for me," Lyrisadora requested, her gut twisting uncomfortably.

"I will," he promised, his face hard to read, he paused for a moment, before he reached into his inside robe pocket. "Here," he said quietly, passing her a folded brown material.

She unfolded it, realising it was a small sack about the size of her arm, she glanced at Snape, nodding in understanding. "Where's your toilet again?" she asked clearly.

"Upstairs, second door on your right, you'll have to refill the toilet paper, there's some in the attic, where the boiler is," he informed curtly, a small smile playing on his lips. "Wormtail! Get in here and clear up the kitchen, it's filthy," Snape snapped, as Lyrisadora got up to leave the room, the bag nestled in her pocket.

* * *

><p>George placed the last of the boxes from delivery round back, he opened the door to the storage room and nearly jumped back in shock when he saw Lyrisadora sitting on some boxes, leisurely reading a magazine. "Hi George," she greeted politely, glancing over at him. "I came in from the back, you need to up your defences," she chided.<p>

George blinked a few times before giving her an incredulous look. "And you decided to wait in here, because….?"

Lyrisadora stood to her feet, tossing the magazine to the side. "I wanted to wait until all the customers were gone, I can't risk being seen," she replied, before giving him an expectant look. "Did you get my owl? Are my orders ready?" she questioned.

Oh, so she was the mysterious customer, Verity had passed him an order slip with no name of sender, just to have the products ready by evening, he dumped the box to the side. "Yeah, they're ready," he replied, not sure what else to say, he'd barely spoke to her since he left Hogwarts, and she didn't seem up for idle chit-chat. "Come on, the shop's closed, it's just me and Fred here," he said, gesturing her to follow him.

"I like what you've done with the place," she said, as she followed, glancing around the vibrantly coloured shop.

George grinned. "Well, I always was the one with style," he commented, glancing over at her, he couldn't help but notice the dark circles under her eyes and that she was wearing all black…..she also looked more reserved than usual.

George took her to the main office, seeing how a lot of the reserved and ordered in stock was held there, just until they finished the expansion charms for the new storage room.

Fred was in the office, counting the days takings, a playful grin crept on his face when he saw Lyrisadora. "Well, look who decided to show her ugly mug," he exclaimed.

She arched an eyebrow. "Considering your standards, I'll take that as a compliment," she retorted, before looking back at George, as he presented a medium sized box. "How much is it all?" she asked.

"With your 25t%, around three sickles and a knut," he replied, making up a price from the top of his head.

"Thanks," she replied, reaching into her pocket to pull out a purse.

Fred eyed her curiously. "Any specific reason you need Instant Darkness powder and a decoy detonator?" he asked curiously.

George shared his curiosity, though he had his suspicions as to why she'd need it, but he didn't particularly want to confirm them. Lyrisadora handed over the money, squeezing the box into her pocket. "I'm just preparing, the world isn't exactly rainbows and sunshine right now," she said dryly.

Well that was true, half the reason their defence products were selling so good was because of public paranoia. "How's the leech?" George questioned, his eyes narrowing when he saw her body tense.

"….We broke up," she divulged, shoving her hands in her pockets as she glanced at the motivational lizard poster on the wall.

Fred and George looked at her in surprise. "You actually broke up with him?" Fred questioned.

"As in, you tossed him to the curve?" George added.

"-Kicked his ass to the dog house?" Fred continued.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. "Yes," she answered testily.

George grinned. "Fred! Breakout the Fire-whiskey," he commanded cheerfully.

She frowned. "Uh…wait-"

Fred leapt to his feet. "I'll grab the best glasses, come on Lyra," he exclaimed grabbing her right arm while George grabbed her left. "Tonight we celebrate."

Lyrisadora looked between them in alarm. "I…." she trailed off as they started to whisk her away upstairs. "…Oh fine, but only a quick drink," she sighed, her shoulders slumping in reservation

George almost laughed, why on earth would they stop at one drink? Lyrisadora was no fun, he blamed Adrian's suffocating influence.

Their flat was still a bit of a mess, but he doubted Lyrisadora would mind, and if she did, she'd only make some sly comment that they'd choose to ignore.

He did frown though when he saw her hurriedly close the curtain when they turned the lights on, but he decided not to comment, and instead sat down on the couch. "So tell us all the details," Fred chimed as he started gathering the glasses.

Lyrisadora sat down on the floor next to the coffee table. "It's kind of private," she reasoned, giving George a reproachful look.

George scoffed. "Private? Oh come on, you can't leave us in the dark," he reasoned.

"It isn't exactly a happy story," she said cautiously.

Fred placed the glasses on the coffee table. "Hence the alcohol, you can drown your sorrows," he reassured, popping the bottle lip.

She looked between them both warily, before she groaned. "Fine," she grumbled, swiping up a glass. "But I can't stay here long, the last thing I need is the wrong type of people becoming suspicious," she protested.

George filled her glass. "Less moaning, more storytelling," he insisted, as Fred sat down next to him.

She took a large gulp of her drink. "Well I guess I should start off with the whole fake engagement….."

By the next hour they were both drunk, and George wasn't finding Lyrisadora's story as funny as he originally thought, he and Fred listened with a sort of dazed look about them.

"…And I wouldn't have minded the stalking that much if he wasn't so jealous all the time," she recounted, rubbing her eyes as she finished off her second glass. "I mean, the guy has abandonment issues, he wanted to be with me_ all_ the time, I swear he would have followed me to the toilet if he could," she sighed, resting her head on the table.

"I told you so," Fred quipped in, pointing a clumsy finger at her. "You have horrible taste in men," he stated.

She tipped her glass to that. "I know, I know, but to be fair, Cedric….Cedric was a nice guy," she slurred, refilling her glass. "...He always got me a charm thingy, for my brace-thing-let, my bracelet, every year without fail. That's dedication," she reasoned.

George was going to comment that, that was pretty sappy, but even in his drunken state, he had some level of tact….besides he'd only had one drink….or two….and half, it didn't matter anyway, he felt fine. "So how did you break up with Adrian?" he asked, because she'd been evading the actual question long enough now.

Lyrisadora grew suddenly silent, as she stared at her drink, before taking a large gulp, which could not be good for her kidneys. "He found out I was going to l-leave him, so he tricked me into passing out and….then he locked me up…" she began lightly. Fred grew tenser, as George felt a sick sensation in his stomach. "And I was naked and tied up with this tentacle plant….kinky right?" she gave a strained laugh, avoiding their alarmed looks. "So….um, he found out the truth and got really angry and I got angry too and said some bitchy things….and then he hit me-"

"What!" George exclaimed looking at her incredulously, feeling a rise of anger, while Fred looked murderous. "Why the hell didn-"

"Shut up and let me finish," she snapped impatiently, scowling at him. "Then he started rambling on about how much he loved me and that every horrible thing he did was for me…..which was….uncomfortable to listen to," she muttered, polishing her glass clean, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. "But anyway….I g-got out, but he stabbed me, and I couldn't leave the house, um, so I ran into the bedroom and….barry-baric-aded myself in there," she hastily continued. "Then he found me…andbeatmeup," she mumbled, George clenched his fists as he started to see red. "Then he felt guilty and left, so now we're broken up," she finished quickly, lowering her gaze.

George stared at her for a long while, the three of them sitting in a tense silence, until Fred broke it. "…..I'll see if we have any beer," Fred announced, standing to his feet as he headed to the kitchen.

"…Um," George tried to speak, what the hell was he supposed to say? He'd never dealt with something like this before, and he couldn't really throw in a joke to make things less awkward, what joke could he possibly make about this! "…You want a hug?" he asked apprehensively, making her frown, but to his surprise she nodded, wondering over to the couch to give him a hug.

He stiffened as she hugged him tightly, he hesitantly pat her on the back, sending a desperate look Fred's way. "I love you guys," she mumbled, nuzzling her head into his chest.

Now George felt even more out of his depth. "Uh….we love you too, Lyra," he replied, as Fred returned empty handed, cramping in at the end of the couch. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She sighed quietly. "…..Do you guys ever feel like your life's a bad joke?"

"Uh, no," Fred replied tactlessly. "Our life's the best joke there is," he said.

"Not helping Fred," George sighed, rolling his eyes at him. "Come on Lyra, look on the bright side….you still have us," he reassured lamely.

Lyrisadora glanced up at him, making him shift, she smiled at him warmly, making his lip twitch upwards. Then her smile dropped. "Do you think me and you could ever could have worked out?" she questioned unsurely, rubbing her eyes tiredly, looking only half aware of what she was saying.

This was past uncomfortable territory, they were in no man's land right now. "Uhhhh…." George hummed unsurely, looking at Fred frantically.

Fred looked at his brother blankly, before a stupid grin crawled onto his face. "Well it looks like nature is calling," he exclaimed, jumping to his feet, whistling a slurry tune as he made his way to the bathroom.

Bloody bastard! George looked back at Lyrisadora, the same sad smile still stuck on her face. "Well…"

"It's okay, it never would have worked," she murmured, closing her eyes. "I would have just messed you around, plus my family probably would have targeted you and killed you….." she said flatly.

She had such a way with words, he thoughts dryly, still though, he wasn't quite sure if he really liked this new Lyrisadora….she seemed….a little too detached and unhinged, his eyes kept absently flickering to her left arm. "I guess…..but um…" He trailed off, the question having bugged him for years.

"Yeah?" she asked curiously, letting out a yawn as her eyes struggled to stay open.

"Did uh….was there ever a moment where…?" he let the questioned hang there, hoping she'd get the gist.

"What?" she murmured sleepily, frowning up at him.

"….Nothing, just forget about it," he said, deciding that he didn't really need to know.

Her head rolled to the side. "Okay," she mumbled, already half asleep, George wondered how much she had drunk, she was such a lightweight. "I'm gonna…rest…eyes….night," She yawned, falling asleep.

He arched an amused eyebrow, before he cringed when she started drooling on his shirt, he'd never let her live that down. He carefully popped her up, before settling her head down on a cushion. He left her on the couch as she instinctively curled up on the couch, snuggling into the soft material.

"Aw, such a gentleman," Fred cooed, making George whip around, his brother leaned against the counter in the kitchen, a smug smile slapped on his stupid face.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh voldy, such a charming character. <strong>

**Also reviewer Katie, the link you sent didn't work, so what was the song you wanted me to listen to?**


	97. Burning Bridges

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: American Horror story, Constance Langdon**

**'...' in French **

* * *

><p><strong>"One of the many comforts of having children is knowing one's youth has not fled but merely been passed down to a new generation. They say when a parent dies, a child feels his own mortality. But when a child dies, it's immortality that a parent loses."<strong>

**Chapter: Burning Bridges**

* * *

><p><em>7th July 1996<em>

Lyrisadora's head felt like it was nursing a wild party and ten hours of exam revision simultaneously, so when she arrived home in the early hours of the morning, she was quick to take a healing potion for her hangover, but the potion was a bit slow to act, so she did still feel a lingering headache.

She sat on her bed and closed her eyes, barely recalling the events of last night, she remembered some things, like getting drunk and asking George some….sensitive questions, which she didn't want to linger on. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the box from her extended pockets.

She suspected George and Fred knew she was involved in some dodgy stuff, but at least they were polite enough to not bring it up.

The detonator and Darkness powder would reside with the body in the brown bag, she took a deep breath, only three more days…..she licked her dry lips, she needed a hot chocolate, something sweet to settle her nerves.

The house-elves would be tidying up from breakfast, so she doubted they'd interfere too much when she slipped into the kitchen to make the beverage. They tended to be a bit over indulgent when she visited them, and it tended to give her a headache.

She saw a few of them tidying up the hallway, dusting vases, polishing floors, hurriedly bowing when she walked past, averting their gazes. She offered them a polite smile here and there, Merlin knew they weren't picky on praise, they were grateful over something as simple as not being kicked when in a wizard's presence.

She paused when she walked past her father's study and noticed the door was ajar. When she peered in she found her mother next to her father's desk, holding a framed photo in her hand. "Mother?" Lyrisadora spoke, stepping into the room, catching Narcissa's attention.

"Oh, you're back," she greeted uncomfortably, absently dusting her robes as she placed the photo back down on the desk. "…..Where were you?" her mother asked apprehensively.

"I just….had a few drinks," Lyrisadora answered hesitantly, forcing an embarrassed smile as she wondered over to her mother. "Maybe more than few and just lost track of time," she said, looking at her mother apologetically. "….Sorry."

Her mother looked worn and tired. "Lyrisadora," her mother spoke her name like an exasperated reprimand. "You can't stay out all night, it's dangerous," she chided.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow. "I think drunken yobs are the least of my worries," she replied dryly.

This only served to make her mother look more irritated. "This isn't a joke, I don't like it when you disappear like that," Narcissa said sternly, grasping Lyrisadora's hands. "I'm not trying to patronise you, I'm just trying-"

"-To advise me to make the right decisions," Lyrisadora interrupted flatly, before she let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry, I worried you," she said soothingly.

Her mother eyed her warily, before she gave her an annoyed look, laced with motherly concern. "….I know things are hard right now," Narcissa told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But I don't want you drowning your sorrows away in some bottle….I'm here if you need me," she offered.

Lyrisadora's stomach clenched, her eyes landed on the photo on the desk, she felt a bad taste in her mouth when she realised it was a photo of her family, all four Malfoys happily bunched together. She shifted away and picked up the photograph, her brow creasing as her fingers traced the eight year old image of herself. "I never really noticed this," Lyrisadora murmured.

"….You never did like the dresses I put you in," she heard her mother comment, drawing in closer, glancing at the bright pink frilly dress the little girl was wearing. "Even when you were a baby, you used to fuss," Narcissa recalled fondly.

Lyrisadora gave her mother an amused smile. "I liked some of the dresses."

Narcissa gave her a sceptic look. "Of course you did," she remarked doubtfully.

Lyrisadora's smile twitched into a grin, as she placed the photo back down, before turning back to her mother. "Mother, I did like them," she said firmly.

A small smile crept onto her mother's face, there was a tender silence for a moment, before her mother clapped her hands together. "The Orchids still need to be planted," Narcissa said suddenly. "The elves won't have a clue about the arrangement," she fretted, offering Lyrisadora a warm smile.

Lyrisadora returned it, before glancing back at the photo, hearing her mother's retreating footsteps. "Mother," she said, glancing behind her, Narcissa peered around the door. "…I don't hate father," she said unsurely, her chest tightening, her mother looked at her curiously. "I still love him, and I love you…" she continued uncomfortably. "I just wanted you to know that," Lyrisadora said firmly, looking at her mother sadly.

Narcissa paused, looking at her daughter curiously, before she smiled warmly. "I love you too," she replied, looking a bit apprehensive when she left.

Lyrisadora picked up the photo, gripping the frame a little bit too tightly, as her stomach twisted. "….I'm sorry," she whispered, a swallowing thick lump down her throat.

* * *

><p><em>8th July 1996<em>

'_Dear Lyradora_

Lyrisadora gritted her teeth at her misspelled name, she had written it at the bottom, how could Zurie miss that?

_I did want to write in English, but was unsuccessful, I'm sorry. But I was so happy to receive your letter, I did fear you weren't fond of me like the rest of the family. Not that I don't love my mother and father-in-law, quite the contrary, they have always made me feel welcome, it's just unfortunate that I don't get to see them very often._

_I've been so busy with the Queen, being a lady in waiting means I have a lot of responsibility, not to mention I have to still care for my baby, her highness adores my little Rosalie._

Lyrisadora cringed at the name; she had almost forgotten Zurie's name choice for her baby girl.

_ I wish you could have come over to see her when she was a newborn, she used to make gurgling noises all day, it nearly drove Damien mad._

_She's such a sweet baby, well I say baby, she's nearly a child now, time flies so fast. I and Damien have agreed to delay further plans of children, until my service to the queen is over, I'm so busy lately, not that I can complain, her grace is like a radiant sun, I love spending time with her. _

_Besides her grace has insisted my presence is vital in pleasing the Veela especially with the rebellion in Bulgaria upon recent, and the horrible rumours about the Vampires rising in power, so I must keep my priorities focussed, more children will follow when the time is right. _

_I hope you are well, I give my condolences to your family, things must be hard, I understand losing a parent is never easy, especially when you know they're alive but you cannot see them. But things will get better, the bad can't always last forever. _

_I would really like it if you write to me again, just to keep me updated on how the family is doing, I've only really heard rumours of what's going on in England. Her highness is most upset with the UK's stubbornness in refusing France's help._

_Forgive me if I'm rambling, I've nearly run out of parchment. I was just so happy to receive your letter, I hope to receive more. _

_Sincerely, you're welcoming cousin._

_Zurie Malfoy_

Lyrisadora folded the letter away when she finished reading, well the letter had been somewhat informative, the Queen seemed to be feeling the winds of war.

It didn't really surprise her that the Ministry was refusing help, they probably wanted to keep the war contained and not become an international incident, but it was a little too late for that, even the Queen had picked up on that. Voldemort's forces were already spreading across Europe, but the Ministry seemed stubborn in its resolve to appear strong, when really it's foundation was crumbling beneath.

Lyrisadora glanced at the brown bag on the floor, she'd already given it a brief check over, but another one seemed overdue, everything needed to be perfect.

She carefully pulled the body out, it was a bit surreal seeing a clone of herself laying on the wooden floor, she examined the duplicate's left arm, comparing the Dark Mark against hers, it was perfect, Dr Penma was a true artist, shame they'd have to obliviate him.

It was strange to see herself, she frowned when she examined her body, examining the faint stretch mark on her stomach before lifting up her dress to examine her own stomach. The doctor had an unflattering accuracy. But at least the body looked convincing; she wondered how he replaced the eyes.

She duplicated her Death Eater robes, placing the real one on the clone of herself, the last thing she needed was someone finding something off with the Death Eater robes, or realising they were copies.

With duplicating her wand, Snape had said he would sort out acquiring a duplicate, he had said her wand wasn't rare, so it wouldn't be that hard to acquire another, and with Ollivander having been kidnapped during the whole 'Death Eaters attack Brockdale and Milennium bridge' fiasco a few days ago, stealing a wand from the now abandoned shop, it was pretty easy as long as you knew how to bypass a few wards.

She assumed her family would have a traditional funeral, so her body would most likely be burned. The body was placed back in the back, she also wondered who would deliver the eulogy, or maybe they'd just burn her body and stuff her in some grave, no ceremony.

She sat on the floor as she leant against the end of her bed, it would be expected her family would all be in attendance, or at least those who could be bothered. She tried to think of who might actually go, and who actually liked her enough to put in the effort to attend.

Fred and George wouldn't be invited, but Lucretia and Elizabeth might attend…..she wondered if Adrian would believe she had died, he already knew she had a mission, she hadn't divulged the full details of the mission, so he didn't know everything….she wondered what he was doing now…

She felt a rush of hurt when she thought of him.

* * *

><p>The food tasted flavourless, like cardboard, which was peculiar seeing how he had placed salt of the Sea Bass, but all that did was make the fish taste bitter.<p>

"Still not hungry, Adrian?" his mother questioned dryly, from across the restaurant table, shooting a glance at his barely touched plate, her own plate practically empty.

Adrian's eyes flickered back to his mother, eyeing her blankly as he slowly chewed; she gave him a tight smile, he took his time to swallow. "It tastes plain," he responded tonelessly, taking a sip of water.

His mother's smile twitched. "Maybe your taste buds are too unrefined," she remarked.

Adrian buried back a sarcastic remark, feeling unusually tired, what was the point of riling her up? "Maybe," he agreed dully, before scanning the lavish restaurant from their private booth, noticing with disdain that it was full of couples, did his mother enjoy tormenting him? "Why are we here anyway?" he questioned, his eyes narrowing suspiciously, his mother tended to have an ulterior motive in her acts of warmth.

Mrs Pucey just smiled and checked the time on the wall clock. "Oh sweetie, you know me so well," she praised, shooting him an amused look. "I digress that someone else will be joining us, but they're running a little late," she explained, letting out a disappointed sigh. "Such a bad start."

"….Who's coming?" he asked curiously.

His mother glanced behind her shoulder. "You've seemed so down lately," she began, looking at him with fake sympathy, his jaw tightened and he clenched his fists. "I decided to get you something to cheer you up," she revealed lightly, before her smile widened when she saw a pretty looking girl enter the restaurant, the girl was in a deep purple flowing satin dress; the material looked cheap.

Adrian tensed. No….no, surely his mother wasn't that insensi-oh who was he fooling, his mother was as about as sensitive as a werewolf. He gritted his teeth as he saw the girl walk towards their table, his mother's smile widening. "Please tell me you're joking," he said flatly, eyeing the girl coldly.

The pretty girl frowned, she looked around maybe seventeen? He was at least thankful the girl was strawberry blonde and not platinum, at least there was that small positive. "Didn't you tell him I was coming?" the girl questioned quietly, she sounded like she was from…Washington? He was still getting to grips deciphering the different dialects.

His mother ignored the whore and gave him an irritated look. "I thought this would cheer you up, release some sexual-"

His gaze turned colder. "I'm not fucking a prostitute," he told his mother calmly .

His mother's gaze turned deadly. "You're upset, so I'll let that comment slide," she said smoothly. "I went to a lot of effort in finding the right girl," she chastised. "Her name's Crista, and she's barely been used, only two men I've been told," she continued, acting like the said girl wasn't even in the room, Crista's face remained unreadable. "And she's seventeen, so she's a decent age," his mother argued. "Besides I've already paid."

"I never asked-"

"Oh shush," his mother interrupted, grabbing her bag as she stood, giving Crista a tight smile. "You take care of my boy now," she instructed sweetly, before glancing back at Adrian. "I've already booked a room for you both at the Golden ring hotel, just drop my name in at the desk." And with that last remark, she left.

Adrian felt his temper rising, he could feel the whore staring at him. "What?" he snapped, shooting her a hateful look.

The girl took a step back, looking a bit unsure. "Nothing," she mumbled, averting her gaze.

He saw a waiter come to the table, casting an intrigued look at Crista, before placing the bill on the table, Adrian gave the waiter a withering look.

Adrian rolled his eyes and leant on the table, staring back down at his plate, as always his mother was meddling in things that didn't concern her. He stiffened when he felt the girl come behind him and stroke his cheek. "I'm sorry you didn't know I was coming," Crista said. "I can make you-"

"Be quiet," he interrupted cuttingly, glancing at her coldly, making her jerk away, he eyed her warily, taking in her pretty heart shaped face, curvy figure and sun kissed skin….she had a nice nose too, one that pointed a little upwards at the end, making it more refined. Her eyes were a hazel brown, not like Lyrisadora….Adrian paused, looking away from the girl, as he considered sleeping with her.

He didn't particularly want to, he didn't really want to do anything nowadays…but why shouldn't he just do it? It wasn't like he had anyone else, and masturbation didn't have the same effect. He looked back at the girl who was standing awkwardly by. "How much time did she pay for?" he asked.

"….The whole night," Crista replied, looking at him curiously, she stepped back when he stood up paying the bill, leaving a small tip out of common courtesy .

"Let's get this over with then," he said dryly, his lips tugging upwards when he saw a flash of annoyance across her face, but the girl hastily forced a sweet smile.

She entwined her arm around his. "I'm really looking-"

He felt a twinge of annoyance. "You aren't paid to speak," he told her icily, giving her a warning look.

She silenced at once, averting her gaze as he led her out of the restaurant, he found her compliance refreshing.

* * *

><p>When Lyrisadora arrived at the meeting, only Dumbledore and Snape were present, she also noticed with alarm that Dumbledore's hand looked like it belonged to a dead corpse. "What's happened?" Lyrisadora asked slowly, looking between the two professors suspiciously.<p>

Dumbledore flexed his blackened hand and gave her a grim smile. "A backlash from my own foolishness," he replied. "Meaning certain plans must be adapted."

Lyrisadora glanced at Snape, before she frowned at Dumbledore. "Are the others aware of these _adaptations_?" she questioned evenly.

"No," Snape answered curtly, before casting a dark look at Dumbledore. "Even I'm not entirely sure."

"Patience, Severus," Dumbledore chided calmly. "Lyra, your contact with the others will be limited. We will try to assist as much as we can at the start, but by the year's end, it will be too risky to keep in contact regularly," he told her.

Lyrisadora's mouth felt dry as she swallowed. "I understand. Now if I may, what is exactly wrong with your hand?" she inquired, her brow creasing as she examined the dead skin.

Dumbledore glanced at his hand. "An unforeseen curse, which could have caused more damage if Severus had not intervened," he replied.

So near fatale then. "….Are you going to die?" she questioned, her voice coming out quieter than intended. The great and powerful Dumbledore dying…..she couldn't really imagine it.

There was a long pause, which only served to prove her suspicions. Dumbledore's grimace of a smile stayed in place. "I should be able to hold out for a year," he responded, his tone slightly strained.

"It isn't your main concern," Snape told her tonelessly. "Your mission is your priority, no matter what happens, complete it," he instructed firmly.

Lyrisadora nodded in resolution. "I will, don't you worry about that," she promised.

Dumbledore pulled out a map. "Severus has informed me on where the raid will take place, according to Yaxley, you'll be paired with Dolohov, and will be attacking the county hall in Nottingham west Bridgford ," he informed, placing the map on the table. "After you engage with Kingsley in battle and dump the body, you can exit through the back," Dumbledore said, pointing to the circled point, before he then handed her a small piece of paper. "Memorise this address, it will be where you'll need to apparate to afterwards."

Lyrisadora scanned the address_, 44 Park Lane, Northampton_, she repeated the address over in her head, before passing the paper back to Dumbledore, before also taking out her false travel papers. "I think these will be safer with you, just in case," she said, the old Professor accepted the documents.

Snape gave Dumbledore a pointed look, his eyes flickering back to Lyrisadora. "Headmaster, if you would give us a moment," he said evenly.

Dumbledore's lip quirked upwards as he gave them both an understanding look. "Of course," he agreed, stepping out of the room.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at her former head of house, wondering in amusement if he was going to go all sentimental on her.

Snape cleared his throat. "Dr Penma's memory has been altered, and the accounts have been tampered with," he stated clinically, confirming her assumption. "The money-"

"I've already created an account in another name, I should have enough money to live on for…..ten years," she interrupted leisurely, smirking when she saw a flash of irritation litter his features.

"Hmm, also your cousin gives her regards, she was most upset when I turned her away for the meeting," Snape said.

Lyrisadora's smirk dimmed, her gut clenching. "Tell her I'll miss her," she said, looking at her godfather pointedly. "I probably won't see her again for….a while," she added, shifting uncomfortably.

"No, you won't," Snape agreed. "I'm sure she'll miss you every day, despite you always worrying her to no end," he continued, before he cleared his throat.

Lyrisadora smiled warmly. "I tend to do that. I'll miss her too…and Merlin knows how _you'll _cope without me," she sighed dramatically, her smile growing when she saw him roll his eyes. "Who will test your potions? Or spend hours upon hours listening to your tirade on Potter," she remarked.

"I think I'll cope," he retorted dryly, fixing her pointed look. "….Be careful, I expect only success and nothing less than so," he told her stiffly.

"A student is only as good as their teacher," she reasoned amusingly, her smile twitching, her chest tightening.

Snape scoffed. "You always have an answer for everything, even if it's wrong," he sighed curtly, his eyes narrowed inquisitively, before he sighed in frustration. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, more to himself than her, she arched an eyebrow. "I'm proud of you….and I'm going to miss you," he bit out, as if it was a struggle to say it aloud, shooting her a frustrated look, as if she had forced him to say the words.

He was worse at expressing his emotions than her father, but that was expected, besides she already knew he'd miss her, but it was amusingly gratifying hearing him say it aloud. "I already knew," she told him, her smile turning crooked when he glared at her. "Though it's a little sad that the most smartest, bravest and all around brilliant man I ever knew, can't even express himself properly," she sighed in exasperation. "I mean come on sir, you're not _that_ emotionally challenged," she remarked.

Snape's lip quirked upwards as his glare softened, there was a comfortable pause. "You'll need your duplicate wand of course," he said, reaching into his robes to hand over the smooth wood. "You may want to dent it a bit," he advised, handing it over.

"Thank you sir," she said, slipping the wand into her robes. "And if that's everything….?"

He nodded. "Then I believe this is goodbye," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

Lyrisadora swallowed a painful lump down her throat, forcing a smile, as she gave his hand a firm shake. "Goodbye, sir."

* * *

><p><em>He didn't need Lyrisadora<em>

He felt his body temperature rising, the lights of the hotel room turned off, the bed creakin back and fourth.

_He didn't need her_

Adrian thrust deeper into Crista, his hands tightly entwined in her hair as she moaned in pleasure, he bit down on his tongue.

_He didn't need her._

He wondered what Lyrisadora was doing right now, back in England, scheming away…..she was probably too busy to spare him a second thought. His hand gripped Crista's messy hair harder, his other hand pinned her left arm down against the pillow as he picked up speed.

_He didn't need her_

She probably wasn't even sad….he bet she was doing fantastic, better than ever, so happy to have him out of her life. He bit down on his tongue, imagining she'd quickly move on, find someone else she deemed worthy of her attention, he felt his anger mounting.

His eyes glazed over as he thought deeper into it. It repulsed him, imagining someone else touching Lyrisadora, kissing her, whispering sweet promises in her ear-

"…Ow…"

-She probably hated him, who would blame her? He'd almost killed her. He remembered all the hateful things she had said, how he'd hit her, bruised her smooth skin, leaving ugly blemishes-

"Ow! S-slow down-"

-His hands felt clammy as his gut twisted. How could he let her slip through his fingers so easily?He had tried so hard, he didn't understand how things had turned so ugly so fast-

Something struggled beneath him, but he wasn't paying attention. "_Please_, stop!"

-He didn't really know why he couldn't control himself, he had always had a violent streak, even as a child, but he's always had control over it….he hadn't felt anything when he first killed, which was….wrong? Normal people didn't kill so easily, normal people didn't-

"Stop! Get off! Get off! Ah!"

Crista's scream jerked him back to reality, he froze, blinking a few times when he looked at her.

Tears were streaming down her face, he was gripping her hair in a painful hold, his nails digging into her skulls. His other hand pinned her left arm down in a vice grip.

It took him a second to realise what he was doing.

He pulled out of her, backing away off the bed, his hands shaking. Crista pulled the covers over her body, looking like a frightened deer.

His mouth felt dry, as he curled inwards on himself, feeling over exposed. "Leave," he said in a strained voice, scrunching his eyes up.

There was a long tense silence, and then the sound of cautioned movement. "I-I'm not allowed to leave until morning, my boss wouldn't like it…." she murmured.

He jumped when he felt her hand on his shoulder, he looked at her in alarm. "I practically just rape…..just go, I'm not in the mood anymore," he said coldly, shoving her hand away, getting up to grab his underwear.

"I'm sorry," Crista said suddenly, making him frown, he looked back at her. "I'm sorry I said anything, I'm still new to this, if you want it rough, t-then that's fine," she hastily apologised, removing the covers, her voice shaking, his eyes narrowed warily, she hastily averted her gaze. "Please don't complain, don't make me leave," she begged.

Adrian looked at her silently, as he started to put the pieces together, and for some strange reason, he felt a little sorry for the girl. "….Calm down," he sighed, feeling tired, he shoved his boxers on, feeling annoyed by the frightened look in her eye when he wondered over to her. "You can stay," he relented.

Her face melted in relief, before she moved to touch him. "I can make you hard again, just give me-"

"Stop," he interjected, grabbing her hand half-way, she looked up at him in confusion. "Just…. I don't want sex, understand?"

She frowned, lowering her hand when he let go. "Oh, okay," she replied hesitantly. "Well, what do you want me to do?"

He felt a tightening in his chest, remembering how warm her body was, he felt a rush of humiliation. "…Just….cuddle with me," he answered, his cheeks burning in shame.

She was silent, which only served to make him feel more humiliated than he already was, but then she nodded and pulled the covers back over, holding her arms out.

He apprehensively moved closer, getting underneath the covers to embrace her, her body feeling warm but also tense. She stroked his hair soothingly, as he closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>9th July 1996<em>

Draco frowned when his sister hugged him after their Occlumency lesson. "Uh…are you okay?" he questioned uncomfortably, squirming a bit when she continued to hug him. He'd assumed they'd grown out of hugging, maybe she was finally feeling the weight of father's imprisonment? Or maybe she'd finally gone off the deep end.

"Don't be so uptight," she chided, finally un-embracing him, giving him a soft smile. "I'm trying to show sisterly affection."

He gave her a jarred look. "Well it's weird, please stop," he replied evenly, making her smile widen as she ruffled his hair, he scowled at her. "Oi!" he exclaimed, shoving her away, trying to smooth back his hair. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Her irritating smile stayed in place. "Oh, lighten up, little brother," she teased. "I'm just trying to enjoy the little things," she told him.

He rolled his eyes. "Then go eat some cake or something," he mumbled, starting to make his way back into the house.

Her smile twitched, he frowned when he glanced at her, sensing something was off. "Oh, little brother, you know I love you," she cooed, her tone teasing as she smiled crookedly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he groaned, she no doubt was planning something, he'd have to make sure to check his bed at night, just in case she slipped a snake under his covers, she was acting way too cheerful.

* * *

><p><em>10th July 1996<em>

Lyrisadora took a deep breath, she and Dolohov hit the city hall, The Carrow twins had already overflowed the river bank, Yaxley and Bellatrix were currently setting fires and terrorising, as well as murdering a few of the unsuspecting muggles.

Dolohov and herself were meant to trash the place, crumbling it to the ground, before they hit the next building and then packed it in for the night. "_Bombarda,"_ Lyrisadora uttered, blowing a hole in the wall, while tore apart furniture.

"Can't believe we got the shit end of the raid," Dolohov sneered, no doubt wishing he could join the others in murdering muggles.

Lyrisadora hoped Kingsley would hurry up and arrive already so they could get this all over with. "Let's just do our job," she replied tonelessly, making large gashes in the stone wall.

"I'm just stating a point," he argued, drawing nearer to her, a smirk curling onto his face. "Besides, a little torturing would help let off some steam," he reasoned.

Lyrisadora eyed him warily, taking a cautious step back. "If that's what you're into," she retorted disdainfully, her eyes narrowing at him warningly when he took another step forward.

Dolohov looked at her intently. "Don't you want to let off some steam, Malfoy?" he questioned lightly. "I mean, I heard what happened with your boyfriend, messy business," he remarked. Her jaw tightened as her gut twisted. "Pretty stupid of him to let such a pretty thing slip through his fingers," he said coyly.

Lyrisadora felt a rise of disgust when she realised Dolohov was trying to flirt with her. Merlin have mercy on her-

Aurors Shacklebolt and Dawlish apparated into the hall, Lyrisadora dived out of the way when a blast of stunners were aimed their way.

Lyrisadora gripped her wand tightly, Kingsley ran to go after her, but Dawlish overtook. "I can handle this one," Dawlish exclaimed, brandishing his wand, Lyrisadora slipped down the hallway to avoid his attack, biting back her annoyance

"_Conjunctivitus,"_ she hissed, whipping around mid run to shoot the curse, the curse hit Dawlish, making the Auror yell in pain and clutch his eyes. "_Decendo_." The spell caused a powerful gush of wind knocking Dawlish off his feet and sending him reeling back to the bottom of the hallway. Lyrisadora reached into her inside robe pocket, taking out the darkness powder stone, as she slipped into another room. "_Bombarda_," she cast, making a hole in the wall, allowing immediate passage into the next room. She ran through the hole, cutting though the room to go back to the main room where Dolohov and Kingsley were.

She heard thrashing and loud explosions. Lyrisadora hid behind the doorway, Dolohov shooting curses like a trained swordsman, Kingsley was pretty light on his feet as he impressively dodged and counter cursed each blow. She stiffened when she heard Dawlish approach from down the hall, she hastily grabbed the decoy detonator from her pocket, diving swiftly to the other side of the hall, setting the detonator off in a different location, diverting Dawlish's attention. Dolohov was advancing on Kingsley, blowing a hole through the wall, carrying on their fight in the next room. The ceiling above was starting to crack, she gripped the darkness powder in her hand. She needed to time this right, the smoke would only last a solid minute at best.

She placed a charm on her eyes so she'd be able to see in the dark, making her eyes sting and water when the charm hit them. She dropped the powder on the floor, a huge powder of thick black spread, like a forest fire. Dolohov stumbled back, as did Kingsley, Lyrisadora saw her opportunity and shot a non-verbal 'stupefy' at Dolohov, knocking the man out cold.

She heard Dawlish stumble from behind her, finally having caught up, as he stumbled around blindly, she another non-verbal 'stupefy' at the man, knocking him to the ground. The smoke cleared, she removed the charm from her eyes, blinking in relief, Kingsley looked at her incredulously as she appeared in front of him. "Impressed?" she questioned, unable to stop herself from grinning.

Kingsley arched an eyebrow. "They'll soon wake," he reminded.

"I know." Lyrisadora's grin quickly faded, as she reached into her robes, pulling out a wallet sized bag, she used her wand to levitate the body out, the mouth of the bag stretching as the material expanded. She placed the clone of herself on the floor a few meters away, twiddling her wand to mess ups its hair, remove the anti-decaying charm, and placed some cuts on the flesh.

The last prop to set the scene was the wand, she placed the identical wand in the dead body's cold hand. Nothing else needed to be done, the stage was set, and there was no going back now.

Lyrisadora gave Kingsley one last nod of acknowledgement before she briskly walked away, casting the disillusionment charm on herself as she stepped outside and apparated away.

* * *

><p>Narcissa thought she handle anything, pain was a familiar friend, losing a loved one or relative was something she'd grown used to.<p>

She'd felt unprecedented pain when Lucius had been locked away.

But there was something about losing your child that killed you inside.

Her knees gave way beneath her as her son held her tightly, Bellatrix having come back from a 'successful' raid and clinically told her that Lyrisadora was dead.

Dead.

Her daughter, her little baby girl….was dead.

Killed by Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt.

She had tried to hide her sobs when her husband had been taken away, but now she couldn't hold back, she couldn't move as she wailed, tears stinging her eyes as she sobbed.

She couldn't decide whose cries were worse, her own or her son's.

* * *

><p><strong>Urk, I've been so busy! <strong>

**Especially with comic-con, which was awesome! I cosplayed as a Hufflepuff this year, tie and all, met a few Gryffindores, took some pics with a Ravenclaw and Slytherin; the fandom still survives. **

**Also reviewer Katie, I checked out the song, it was pretty good. The song I think describes Adrian/Lyra's relationship, would be SNUFF by Slipnot and Love the way you lie by Eminem** **ft Rhianna.**

**And Mrs Pucey, such a considerate mother. **


	98. My Condolences

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: Dumbledore,_Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure"<strong>

**Chapter: My Condolences **

* * *

><p><em>11th July 1996<em>

Elizabeth felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.

Her mother shifted uneasily, sitting at the end of the bed. "…I heard it through passing, a group of Aurors were discussing the latest Death Eater raid," she informed.

Elizabeth tasted bile in her mouth, imagining Lyrisadora's bloody body, a Death Eater killed by an Auror, it felt….tragic. "Thank you for telling me," Elizabeth replied quietly, her stomach feeling hollow, her hands shaking.

Her mother smiled at her warmly. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

"No, I'd just like to be alone right now," Elizabeth replied flatly, feeling a bit restless.

Mrs Orion nodded, hesitantly placing a gentle kiss on her daughter's forehead, as she got up and left the room.

Elizabeth sat in silence for a while, her breathing coming out shakier, she felt strange, like she couldn't focus, feeling restless. "You idiot," she hissed, closing her eyes, wishing Lyrisadora had come to her help, been less guarded.

And now she was dead, And for what? An insane war led by a madman? It felt so pointless. Just another pointless death to add to the statistics.

Elizabeth choked back a sob, covering her mouth as tears blinded her vision.

* * *

><p><em>12th July 1996<em>

"What did you say?" George questioned at the dinner table, looking at Mad-Eye in shock, his insides churning.

The burrow was packed, a number of Order members were present, having just finished up their meeting.

Tonks, Remus and Mad-Eye were present, Kingsley was noticeably not, joining the Weasleys for dinner, the table had gone silent. "That Malfoy girl, she's dead," Mad-Eye repeated gruffly.

Everything around him seemed to stop, George felt like he couldn't breathe, he looked over at Fred, whose expression was ashen. Molly Weasley and Ron looked uncomfortable, Molly's lips set in a thin disapproving line. Arthur had a grimace on his face, while Bill and Ginny shifted uneasily.

"Excuse me," George murmured, feeling like he was in a nightmare.

Fred followed him upstairs, ignoring their mother's concerned inquiries.

When George entered his old bedroom, the lamp was the first thing to hit the wall. "Fucking hell!" he screamed.

Fred shut the door behind them. "Calm down," he hissed, probably afraid the rest of the family would barge in.

For the first time ever George felt like physically hurting his twin, but the urge vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by further hurt and shame. Instead he punched at the pillow on the bed, while Fred clutched the sideboard of the dresser too tightly, as if trying to control himself.

"Fuck," George swore. "Fuck, fuck,_ fuck_," he hissed, spit flying from his mouth, unable to communicate properly.

Fred paced around the room as he flexed his hands. "She should have told us," he spat, looking lost and confused.

George almost laughed. "It was obvious," he stated, looking at his brother incredulously, feeling a rush of anger. "What? Did you think she needed the decoy detonator for a fucking tea party?" he snarled.

Fred's eyes flashed in rage. "I'm not stupid, I just didn't want to ask," he snapped, his hands clenching tightly. "Fat lot of good that did…."

He remembered the products she had bought, could they have somehow contributed to her death? Malfunctioned and blow her cover. George felt like throwing up, feeling a rush of emotions, no, the products were fool proof, they had to have been…..but what if they hadn't?

He buried his fists into the pillow and sunk down onto the bed.

He tensed when he felt Fred wrap an arm around his shoulder, he gave him a hard shove. "Piss off," George spat.

A hurt look flashed across Fred's face. "She was my friend too," Fred replied quietly, sitting down on the bed, placing a firm hand on George's shoulder, as if to steady him..

_But I loved her more_, George wanted to say, or more like scream. He remembered warm hugs and sweet smiles, all the things that might have been… he'd carried that torch for as long as he could remember, you never forgot your first love and sometimes you never properly let go.

* * *

><p>Narcissa grew worried when her son didn't come to dinner, her worry only increased when he wasn't in his room.<p>

Her heart clenched when she considered the next place he'd be, she slowly walked to Lyrisadora's room, the place feeling like a heavy weight on her shoulders.

Her heart nearly broke when she saw Draco sat on Lyrisadora's bed, holding his late sister's wand in his hand. "Draco," Narcissa said quietly, gently sitting down next to him. "Still not hungry?" she questioned lightly.

He shrugged, his expression unreadable. "I'll probably have a snack later," he mumbled. "…Do you think…do you think Lyra was disappointed in me?" he questioned cautiously, looking at his mother anxiously.

Narcissa tenderly stroked his hair back as she smiled warmly. "Your sister loved you, she only wanted you to make the right decisions in life," she placated.

His brow creased, the grip on the wand tightening. "I don't think she was proud of me though," he said, eyes flickering back to his sister's wand.

Narcissa sighed quietly, wishing she could hold her baby boy in her arms and make all the pain go away, tell him everything would be alright and nothing like this would ever happen again. But he wouldn't believe her lies, and quite frankly, she was tired of lying to herself, trying to justify every bad decision and incident.

She kissed her son on the forehead, thinking back to the days when he was a tiny babe in her arms. "We have to stay strong," she told him firmly, cupping his cheek in her hand. "We will endure, and we will survive," she said sternly.

Draco apprehensively nodded, before he averted his gaze. "How will we tell father?" he asked quietly.

She closed her eyes as she felt a sting of pain, Lucius….he was already suffering in Azkaban, and this would break him. "When he is with us again, then we'll tell him," she told her son, if her husband was with his family, he might handle it better, or at least Narcissa could at least be there to make sure he didn't do anything rash in his grief.

"She was his favourite," Draco muttered, moving his head out of her grasp. "It'll kill him," he whispered fearfully.

Narcissa embraced him tightly. "He'll have us to support him through it," she reassured, kissing the top of his head when he sunk into her hold, like a small child seeking comfort. "Our family will survive this," she repeated, a strong determination in her eyes.

She was not going to lose another child in this war, she'd do whatever it took to protect her son, even if it did mean betraying Voldemort, she'd compromise everything for her child.

Her thoughts turned to her daughter's killer, that spineless Auror, Kingsley Shacklebolt, her eyes darkened, she'd make him pay, she'd have to be sly about it, but she'd get her revenge one way or another.

* * *

><p><em>13th July 1996<em>

"….And we still need to sort out the napkin arrangement," Cassondria moaned, collapsing on the living room sofa, Miles looked up from his musing, folding away the newspaper, he supposed he should be paying more attention; they were planning their wedding after all.

But with the news of Lyrisadora's death….he was a little distracted. He'd never really liked Lyrisadora per say, but he'd known her since childhood, heck he'd even had decent conversations with her, sometimes he had found her funny, so he did feel a little sad she was dead.

Cassondria seemed to be handling it fine though. "Are you paying attention?" she sighed, shooting him an irritated look, flinging her silky blonde hair over her shoulder in frustration. "I can't make all the decisions for you."

"Sorry," Miles apologised sheepishly, wrapping an arm around her, he should be appreciating the rare alone time he was getting with her, Mr and Mrs Pottencrest had barely left the newly engaged couple alone, until now….though technically they were just in another room down the hall, no doubt listening intently. But at least Miles could sit close to Cassondria and touch her without having Mr Pottencrest's eyes burning into his skull. "…Just still wrapping my head around Malfoy's murder."

Cassondria shifted uncomfortably. "Well she shouldn't have gone and joined a suicidal cause then," she muttered gruffly. "She always was reckless…."

"Yeah, but it's still sad," Miles argued, half shrugging. "….I wonder if Adrian's heard about it."

She grimaced. "He's probably screwing some prostitute," she commented disdainfully.

Miles shook his head at her bitchiness, he did wonder where Adrian was, his friend had more or less cut him off after graduation, the last Miles heard was that Adrian was doing business in America, and that for some reason Lyrisadora and him had broken up.

Miles wasn't privy to the details on how the two had broken up, but he assumed it hadn't been pretty. "I'm just worried about him," he sighed.

An annoyed sigh escaped Cassondria's lips, as she looked at Miles pointedly. "If Adrian has got himself in a mess, it's his own fault. It's not your job to watch out for him," she chided endearingly.

He supposed she was right, miles couldn't go around fixing Adrian's problems, he had his own life to lead.

"Yeah, I guess," he mused.

Still though, he hoped Adrian was doing okay, because sometimes Miles worried his friend wasn't all that right in the head.

* * *

><p>Adrian stared at his mother blankly when she told him the news. "…Apparently she was killed on a Death Eater raid," his mother elaborated clinically, before she looked at him curiously.<p>

Adrian felt his insides twist, he felt a strange impulse to smash something….but Lyrisadora wasn't dead, so there was no need to get so emotional.

She wasn't dead.

Because something was off.

He knew she had been assigned on a mission, a mission where she would take down a secret organisation, he didn't know the full extent of the plans, but he did know that Dumbledore would have needed to make sure that whatever Lyrisadora did, didn't get traced back to her family, less Voldemort took his anger out on them.

The fake travel papers, money transfers…she had been planning this for months.

Adrian blinked as all the pieces seemed to finally fit together. Lyrisadora had faked her death and was now doing undercover work, and she had planned to let him think she was dead…..what a fucking bitch.

He buried a rise of anger, it seemed it was not enough to just manipulate him, but she had also planned to put him through grief, what the hell was wrong with her?

He noticed his mother was looking at him in concern, most likely because he wasn't a sobbing mess. "I need to be alone," he said tonelessly, standing to his feet.

When he entered his room, his mind wondered back to the keepsake she had made him, a sudden realisation occurring to him, maybe she had subconsciously been trying to show him her true nature when she made that specific chess piece.

He fingered the chess piece in his hand, so Lyrisadora was alive out there, taking down a secret organisation, while everyone else around her was stricken with grief.

If he was honest, he hadn't thought she'd go through with something like this, he didn't think she had the nerve.

She never ceased to surprise him, always planning something…..he was still angry, but for the first time since the break up, he didn't feel so numb anymore, he wasn't quite sure why….thinking about her and realising how ruthless she could be, it comforted him a little to know she could probably take care of herself.

His gut twisted, his grip on the small keepsake tightening, he sort of wished he had been able to go with her on her little mission.

He tucked the small chess piece back in the draw, before shutting it, it was best not to fantasise on what could have been, it hurt too much.

* * *

><p>14th July 1996<p>

Kingsley ran through the halls of St Mungos, his wife Jamilah had been involved in an accident at work, from little he knew, she had been acting as a stand in coach for the Puddlemere United Quidditch practice, when a rogue bludger had knocked her off her broom, sending her hurling to the ground.

The equipment manager said the bludger must have been on the fritz.

An unfortunate accident they all said.

Jamilah was stable, but her skull was fractured in six different places, bones twisted, organs shifted out of place, she was lucky to be alive.

Kingsley stayed by her bedside all night, snarling at anyone who tried to tell him to leave.

He rested his eyes for second, only to open them to discover he had slept the whole night.

He jerked awake when he saw a fresh orange lily by his wife's bedside, shining in the yellow sunlight.

Next to the flower was a bereavement card, when Kingsley drew closer to it, on the front of the card, in black printed letters it read;

_May this flower express what words cannot._

_So dearly loved, so greatly missed,_

_Gone but never forgotten_

Gentle pink roses entwined around the lettering.

The orange lily glowed in the light.

His insides felt like they had been turned to ice.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah Narcissa, lovely woman, she breaks people with false kindness. <strong>

**The next chapter will be an interlude, to mark the next arc, which I've actually written up this time, got the plot outlined and everything. **


	99. Interlude II

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: Macbeth  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>"Something Wicked This Way Comes."<strong>

**Interlude II**

* * *

><p>She sort of missed her blonde her, she had only dyed it brown for a few days, but the lack of familiar platinum blonde left an ache in her stomach.<p>

Maybe she was just homesick.

Lyrisadora sighed as she walked through the more jaded streets of Wizarding Paris, the magical and muggle streets tended to intertwine every now and then. The only thing that indicated the street was magical was the enchanted gold painted road, invisible to muggles and a little bit on the theatrical side, but quite helpful in distinguishing the muggle high street from the wizarding one.

Of course the more run down magical quarters was, the duller the golden road, the dirt from the grimy streets dimming the golden glow.

She followed the chipped road up until she reached a tall pub, music radiating through the walls, when she stepped inside she was greeted by a bright glow of the lights.

Lyrisadora ignored the drunkards around her and made her way over to the smuggler, plastering on her most charming smile.

Hugh Dayne's eyes widened when he recognised her. "It was _you_? W-what the hell are you doing here?" he hissed in alarm.

Her smile stayed fixed as she scooted down in a seat opposite him. "It's nice to see you too Hugh," she remarked. "Now, let's get down to business…"

* * *

><p>…<p>

_The other night__ I had a dream  
>There was a world full of kings and queens<br>But it was cold  
>Dark as the night<br>We were the fire on the moonlit skies_

_We were divided, we were the same_  
><em>And we were free, but we all wore chains<em>  
><em>We couldn't see it but we created<em>  
><em>A place between truth and overrated<em>

_We had a plan to build a wall__, a __great divide __that would never fall__  
>To separate us from all the pain<br>And keep the skeletons locked away_

_And brick by brick_  
><em>We built it so thick<em>  
><em>That it blacked out the sky and all the sunlight<em>  
><em>And one by one we all became numb<em>  
><em>We were making the bullets to a broken gun.<em>

_…_


	100. Chipped Gold

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: One Ring, JRR Tolkien  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>"One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."<strong>

**Chapter: Chipped Gold**

* * *

><p>It had been a bit difficult to track down Hugh Dayne, but the man had a fondness for pubs, plus he was pretty well known, no matter how much he tried to stay under the radar. She took an envelope from her robe pocket, making his fists tighten. "You understand this was all a precaution, just to make sure you'd meet me," Lyrisadora spoke placidly, hovering the envelope in the air.<p>

"With blackmail like this, I don't have a choice," Hugh hissed, reaching out for the envelop.

Lyrisadora jerked it away. "Information first, if you would," she instructed lowly, gazing at him firmly.

He gritted his teeth, before he appeared to reel in his temper and relaxed his shoulders. "…The last thing I heard about that American and Vampire's whereabouts, they were heading south west, near the border of Portugal," he whispered. "Apparently they were spotted with some of the Sanbestia Vampire clan members," he revealed., his eyes cautiously flickering around the noisy bar. "But that was a solid couple of weeks ago…and last I heard the place was abandoned when the assassins went to investigate."

"Have you heard anything else?" Lyrisadora questioned lightly, eyeing him intently.

"No, I've been trying to keep a low profile," he hissed, giving her a disgruntled look.

She sighed quietly, fixing him a withering look, before handing over the envelope, Hugh snapped it up, taking a quick peek at the contents, before he shoved it in his robe pocket. "Thank you for your assistance," she said pleasantly.

He cast her a suspicious look. "Is this all the evidence you have?"

"Yes," she lied smoothly. "And a lucky thing to, imagine if someone else found out, I imagine the Raulf family, would not be pleased," she remarked mildly, earning a cold look from Hugh, standing to her feet she gave him one last smile.

"Your name isn't even Elsa, is it?" he commented disdainfully, she just gave him a crooked smile on her way out.

The streets were a little more quieter as the sun started to set, Lyrisadora tucked her hands in her pockets as she made her way back to the small inn she was staying at. She kept her hand tightened around her wand in her pocket as she walked passed a few alleyways, catching a few men jeer at her.

She sighed lowly, it looked like Ada and Aluka were still in the country, but they could be miles away by now, they didn't look to have destination in mind, more like trying to disappear. Nevertheless she needed more eyes and ears on the street and Hugh was too much of an unwilling accomplice.

'Get off!" A high voice spoke, catching her attention, her eyes flickered down an alleyway.

Two men were manhandling a young boy, as the boy tried to kick them, Lyrisadora looked mildly curious, perhaps the young boy was a pickpocket…..her eyes lit up as a smile crept back onto her lips, he might do nicely.

She turned into the alleyway, withdrawing her wand, the boy caught sight of her, she slashed a quick stupefy spell at the two men when they glanced up. Lyrisadora morphed her face into motherly concern as she hurried over to the dumbfounded street urchin. 'Are you alright?" she questioned in French, she doubted the child knew English.

The boy looked at her in surprise, stepping away from her, he had dirt on his nose and his clothes were nothing more than a thick jumper and grimy old jeans. He looked scrawny, his skin was pale but there was a tanned glow to his skin, which contrasted heavily with his thick black hair, his eyes a dark brown, with a long nose.

'Urrr, yeah….thanks….miss,' he replied warily, looking at the unconscious men.

Lyrisadora bent down to his level, peaking into his mind, making sure to not go too deep so he wouldn't detect her. From what snippets she gathered, he had been on the streets for six months now, his parents were not in the picture anymore….or never really had been….but they weren't dead as far as the kid knew. "Why were they attacking you?" she questioned.

'I….don't know,' the boy replied, backing away from her, his eyes widened a fraction, he wasn't lying…but he seemed to have some suspicions as to why, but that was buried a little too far deep in his head.

'Hey, it's okay, I won't harm you,' she reassured warmly. 'I just want to make sure you're alright,' she told him, a faint frown creased her features. 'How old are you?'

He didn't look convinced, but his posture did relax. '….Ten,' he answered.

'Have you been attacked like this before?' she questioned, using the same stern tone her mother had often used when they were children.

'No,' he said hurriedly, trying to move away from her, she backed off. 'Listen lady, thanks for helping me, but bye,' he said quickly.

So much for the nice approach. 'Hang on a sec,' she said, standing to full height, blocking his path. 'I'm only asking, because I'm looking for someone,' she told him, making the boy frown. 'And as you've probably guessed, I'm not a local,' she commented flippantly.

The boy's eyes narrowed at her. 'Who are you trying to find?'

'My cousin,' she said smoothly, she gave the alleyway a quick look over, noticing the thugs start to stir. 'We need to get out of here,' she said sharply, grabbing his hand, pulling him out of the alleyway, the boy jolted in surprise as he was more or less pulled along, but at ,east he had enough sense to understand they needed to get a good distance from those thugs.

'Where are we going?' he asked nervously.

'Somewhere secure…unless you want to stay and wait for them to wake up?' Lyrisadora suggested evenly, raising an eyebrow at him.

'Uh….I think I'll stick with you,' he muttered, looking over his shoulder nearly tripping up in the process.

'Smart boy,' she complimented, walking towards a dingy looking restaurant. 'Come on.'

The waiter smiled at her when she entered his smile quickly disappeared when he saw the boy she was with. Lyrisadora didn't think the waiter was one to be throwing stones at glass houses, this place wasn't exactly high end, the wallpaper was practically peeling off, and there were a couple of pixies hiding in a mouse hole in the far corner.

'Good evening, a table for two please,' she said politely, smiling disarmingly.

The waiter forced a smile. 'This way Mamzelle,' he said, casting a dirty look at the boy as he led them to a table , the street urchin in turn glared back defiantly. 'Drinks?'

Lyrisadora took her seat, along with the boy, who looked at her with slight confusion. 'Thank you,' she said, picking up her menu. 'I'll have the Elf wine, and he'll just have some water,' she told the waiter pleasantly, not missing the disgruntled look the boy threw her way.

'Right away, Mamzelle,' the waiter said curtly, casting another wary look at the boy, before he left them. 'Well this is a nicer atmosphere,' she remarked, glancing at him from her menu, noting his incredulous look. 'What's your name anyway, 'boy' isn't exactly welcoming,' she said.

He hesitated, biting down on his lip. 'My name's Marcus.'

She smiled gently. 'It suits you,' Lyrisadora commented, before she glanced back at the menu. ' So, what are you going to get?'

Marcus glanced back and forth between Lyrisadora and the menu. 'Uh, what do you want, with me I mean?'

He seemed quite bright for his age. 'Well, right now I just want to eat,' she sighed.

He frowned. 'Are you grooming me?' he questioned warily.

She arched an eyebrow. 'No,' she answered flatly. 'I just need your help,' she reasoned.

'Why me?' Marcus questioned his brow creasing.

She shrugged. 'You look like a kid who know his way around these parts,' she answered evenly.

He scowled. 'In other words, I look like a street bum,' he retorted dryly, making her smile in amusement.

'I was going for street wise….' She corrected, she lifted her gaze when the waiter returned to their table, filling her wine glass full, before using his wand to silently fill Marcus' glass with plain water. 'No starter please, I'll just have the Coq Au Vin,' Lyrisadora said, passing the menu to the waiter.

Marcus hurriedly scanned the menu when the waiter gave an impatient sigh. 'I'll have….the quick cassoulet ,' he ordered hastily, passing the menu over, Marcus turned back to her when the waiter left. 'I can't stay here long….my parents…'

Lyrisadora sighed quietly as she took a sip of her wine. 'Don't try to lie, you're not that good,' she chided, she looked at him pointedly, making him clam up. 'I need your help, and it's okay if you don't trust me, I understand. Alls I'm asking is that you help me out a little, gather some information off the streets, I'll even pay you,' she offered.

Marcus bit down on his bottom lip anxiously. 'Is that _all_ you want….?' He asked suspiciously, eyeing her guardedly.

She arched an eyebrow. 'I'm afraid you're a little too young for me, sweetie,' she commented nonchalantly, making him wrinkle his nose.

'…Just making sure,' he muttered. 'How much would I get paid?' Marcus questioned, a hint of excitement in his tone.

Lyrisadora paused, how much could she afford? She wondered if the child was much of a haggler. 'Two Galleons at the end of the day,' she answered.

He looked at her incredulously. 'That's slave labour!' he protested, making her roll her eyes.

'One galleon?' she offered amusingly, making his eyes widen in horror.

'Two gelleons is fine,' he said quickly, before averting his gaze, probably afraid she'd decide to pay him a sickle.

She smirked as she leaned in more. 'The juicier the information, the more I'll pay you, does that sound fair?' she inquired lightly.

He nodded hurriedly. 'Yes Miss….what's your name anyway?' he questioned.

Lyrisadora leisurely drank her wine. 'Just call me Amata, the Miss isn't necessary,' she said.

Marcus looked at her curiously. 'Amata,' he repeated, trying the name out. 'That sound familiar…' she heard him mumble.

She smiled fondly, sitting up straighter when their food arrived, she felt a warm feeling in her chest when she saw his face light up, before he quickly devoured the piping hot food in front of him, as if someone would snatch it away from him.

* * *

><p><em>15th July 1996<em>

It was approaching two in the morning, a small tent stood in the middle of a forest, protective wards surrounding it. Aluka warmed his hands by a fire just outside of the patched up tent."We're running out of places to hide," Ada exclaimed, as she came out of the tent.

"I'm aware," Aluka replied evenly, his face the picture of calmness. It wouldn't have irked her much if they hadn't just spent the last two months constantly running for their lives, a little worry would be well received.

Ada wondered over to the fire and looked at him pointedly. "And those lunatics are going to catch up with us, like always," she said irritably.

From what cryptic explanation Aluka had given her, it turned that the reason of the connection was because the Twins were using a tracking spell, using an object of sentimental value to track Aluka down. She had asked what the object was, but then the vampire went and clammed up, Aluka was like a closed book with a titanium steel lock fastened in place.

Aluka shot her a frustrated look. "The only way I can break the connection is to get the object back….remember how well last time it went when I got close to them?" he questioned dryly.

Ada grimaced. "Sadly yes," she sighed, taking a seat on the leaf ridden grass. "Not that your vampire buds were much help," she said.

"They sheltered us, didn't they?" Aluka argued, his eyes narrowing.

_Albeit reluctantly_, Ada wanted to add, she had appreciated the vampires assistance, but she didn't appreciated the number of times they had tried to drain her blood. Aluka had claimed that they wouldn't have drained her dry, seeing how she was a_ guest_, which she found hard to believe with the amount of times a number of those blood suckers had eyed her hungrily.

It was safe to say she didn't miss the vampire clan, or the gloomy atmosphere in general. "…You think they'll end up joining You-Know-Who?" she questioned.

Aluka was silent for a while. "It wouldn't surprise me," he sighed, closing his eyes, looking almost regretful. "My kind flock to darkness like roaches," he said, opening his eyes to gaze into the flames. "We're drawn to it….also with the anti-feeding laws the Queen has instilled, we don't have much choice," he murmured.

True, those anti-feeding laws would turn any vampire to the dark side, but Ada couldn't help but agree with the new measures, these were blood sucking predators they were talking about, and not all of the vampires had good self-control like Aluka, especially the young ones.

"So how do you control yourself?" she questioned curiously, she had never really dug deep into the how and why, Aluka was defensive about…well everything really, he had been reluctant to give her his name from start.

"….Years of discipline," Aluka replied tightly.

She raised her eyebrow. "How old are you, anyway, I nabbed you at two hundred, am I close?"

Aluka rolled his eyes. "280 years," he answered.

"Where are you originally from?"

He grew silent, she held back a sigh. "I'm 38, by the way, since you never asked," she sighed, leaning back on the grass, staring up at the sky, the clouds covered the stars, the moon glowing like a muffled light.

Aluka raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Yet no children or husband?" he said mildly.

Her eyes narrowed, what exactly was he implying? "Too career driven, never found Mr Right," she replied. "Just me and my dog….or was, he died a year ago, so…just me," she muttered, a frown creasing her face when she saw him look at her blankly. Was he judging her? "What?" she asked warily.

His eyebrows raised higher. "Nothing," he replied mildly, before glancing up at the sky. "You should get some more sleep, we need to start moving in another two hours," he spoke smoothly.

She shrugged, gathering herself to her feet, she assumed he was going to stand guard all night like he always did. "Night," she chimed, stretching her arms as she wondered back into the tent.

* * *

><p>The suit he was wearing was from his cousin's wedding…that pretty much summed up Hermes Fillets life at this moment, not that he was complaining, he was grateful to have a well paying job, extremely grateful.<p>

Hermes adjusted his tie as he made his way over to the office entrance, he was to be the new assistant to Mr Adrian Pucey, who was three years his junior….a little humiliating seeing how Hermes was twenty one, but he was grateful for the job.

The teenager was from a rich Pureblood family, who owned a number of lands and properties back in England, this would be their first business venture in America, and it looked like they were here to stay, a smart choice with the state of England right now.

Hermes wondered into the building, the place was still being renovated, the walls being painted this very moment, as far as he knew, or had been told by Mr Pucey's mother, the main office would be in the main casino and this office would be taken over by the administration section.

A plump woman dressed in maroon robes with an overflowing bust, sat at the front desk, Hermes plastered on a convincing smile as he approached the desk. "Hello, I'm Hermes Fillet, Mr Pucey should be expecting me," he greeted brightly, the receptionist raised an eyebrow, Hermes felt his heartbeat quicken.

Had he got the right day? Today was Monday, right?..._right_!

He was finding it hard to breathe, was this even the right building!

"His office is the first door on your right," the woman said evenly, barely sparing him a glance as she returned to her work.

"Oh, thank you," Hermes replied pleasantly, keeping his smile fixed in place as he continued on his way.

He was worrying over nothing…..maybe he should take another calming potion….no, no he didn't want anyone thinking he had a substance abuse problem, he'd be fired before the day was done. Why was he so scared anyway? This was a _teenager_, a no doubt spoilt English teen who was as harmless as a kitten.

Hermes let out a deep sigh before he knocked on the door. He was worrying over nothing.

"Come in," a smooth voice from the other end called.

Hermes gripped the door knob a little too tightly as he stepped into the office, the first thing that caught his eye was the young man casually leaning against the wooden desk, shifting through a pile of papers. He looked around nineteen or twenty, decent muscled build, quite tall, with brown hair and blue eyes, a pointed face with high cheeks.

Hermes closed the door behind him. "Sir, I'm Hermes Fillet-"

Mr Pucey glanced up at him, his eyebrow quirking up. "My new assistant, I know," he interrupted, picking up a brown folder from his desk. "I already have a few things I want to go over with you," he said curtly, his voice having a certain drawl to it, did all English people drawl? It was the genuine stereotype, Hermes absently wondered if his boss had bad teeth….. "Are you paying attention?" Mr Pucey's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife, his gaze turning colder.

Hermes felt a rush of panic. "Yes sir, sorry this is just all overwhelming, first day and all," he said quickly.

Mr Pucey's eyes narrowed at him warily, Hermes swallowed a painful lump down his throat, Christ, now his boss probably though he was an idiot. "Right," he said flatly, and also slowly, like he was dragging out the word….."I understand, let me show you your office," Mr Pucey said evenly, placing the pile of papers on the desk as he wondered over to him, file tucked under his arm.

Hermes absently squashed against the wall to let him pass, earning another raised eyebrow…..did his boss find him funny, or did British people raise their eyebrows a lot?….he should have done research! What if he unknowingly offended his boss because of culture differences-?

Mr Pucey cleared his throat, Hermes realised he was still pushed against the wall, Merlin, Mr Pucey probably thought he was an idiot! "Coming," Hermes said, following his boss to the office….or more like _his_ office, Hermes bit back a smile, he'd never had his own office before.

When they arrived at his new office the room was pretty small, but it looked cosy, the walls were tinted cream, which was a nice change from grey, and the lights didn't flicker or drain the colour from your skin. "It's only temporary," Mr Pucey said. "The new offices will be on the top floor of the casino, but they won't be ready for another six months," he drawled, leisurely passing him the file.

Hermes stepped further into the-_his_ office as he looked at the file, there were a number of budget plans, as well as calculation of costs, he flicked through it, there were also floor designs, it looked like two floors would be underground, while three floors would be on top.

"They've already started building, we just have to make sure we work out costs," Mr Pucey continued to explain, absently examining a potted plant by the desk. "There's also some health and safety meetings I'll need you to schedule, if you have any questions, ask me or Constantine," he said.

Hermes assumed Constantine was the receptionist; he looked up from the file and smiled. "I'll try my best, Mr Pucey," he said brightly.

Mr Pucey stiffened a little, Hermes smile faltered, he wondered what he had said wrong….. "Hm, well isn't that good to hear," his boss replied evenly, there was an uncomfortable pause for a second or so. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the files you'll need to go through," Mr Pucey added, walking out the office.

Hermes swallowed, making sure he didn't trip over his own feet as he followed the young man. Did Mr Pucey like tea? Hermes had never made a proper tea before….he predicted he'd be fired by the end of the week.

* * *

><p>When Lyrisadora investigated the Sanbestia clan's home, or cave, the place had been cleared out, a few odd bits of furniture remained, and the protective wards had shrivelled away. She sighed quietly as she examined the darker depths of cave, there were many passageways and rooms, the place had an overall damp feel to it, as well as the lingering smell of blood and rotting flesh.<p>

She kept the light of her wand as pure sunlight, just in case, besides the sun light was brighter than a regular 'lumos' spell.

She stopped when her foot hit something small and metal, the clinking noise echoing around the cave. She shined the light on the ground, it was a small golden ring that flickered in the yellow light, she picked it up, the ring size was for a child, it looked like it would barely fit Lyrisadora's pinkie finger.

Lyrisadora squinted to read the encryption on the ring, the engraving was rubbed away a bit, as were the edges, which meant it was probably quite old, the writing was in french, so that made translating it more harder. "Belov…dau..hter….Solhia," she whispered, a frown creasing her features, she eyed the ring curiously, this could just be another ring from one of the vampires victims, but it wasn't stained with blood, no dust or dirt and there were no teeth marks, there were also no bodies nearby.

She looked at the ground, before she waved her wand, footprints appeared on the ground, a great number, she redid the spell, trying to filter out the newest trail from the old, she repeated the process until the brightest glow of footprints remained, hers, and another couple.

She examined the newer footprints carefully, bending down to get a closer look at the feet size, the feet seemed to orbit around each other, and the person with the larger shoe size was always on the left, while the one with smaller feet size was on the right.

When Ada and Aluka had left the Sanbestia clan, the clan of vampires were the next to leave, and the last ones sighted to visit the cave were Syndicate assassins, and Tonks had said there were two assassins known as the Twins in the Syndicate.

Lyrisadora stood up, appraising the ring, if the twins were tracking down Ada and Aluka, then all she had to do was stalk the two assassins….and not get killed in the process. According to Tonks, the Twins, Ada and Aluka always ended up crossing paths eventually.

She took in a deep breath before she tapped the ring with her wand. "_Reperio,"_ she uttered, the ring glowed magenta, a star like trail of dust floated in the air, leading out of the cave.

* * *

><p>Ada sighed as she sat outside of the tent, the sun was still up, which meant Aluka was useless right now, having to take shelter in the tent so he wouldn't turn into coal dust.<p>

She bit into a tough piece of bread, chewing the rubbery texture, she glanced at the village at the bottom of the hill, she'd have to scavenge for food when night dawned, she couldn't risk being seen, especially after last time…she suppressed a shiver when she remembered those dead muggles lying in the street.

She squeezed the bread tighter as she forced the food down her throat, at least the Twins liked to avoid collateral damage, Reynard had often gotten carried away at times.

Ada looked back up at the sky, it was a pretty nice day with all things considered, she glanced at her right arm, with the sleeves rolled up you could see the bite marks still faintly visible, she sighed, hopefully Aluka would find a rogue jogger tonight, she was still recovering from his last emergency feeding.

She closed her eyes and leant back, placing the bread on her stomach, well hopefully they'd break the tracking spell soon…._hopefully._

Her hands fiddled with the stone around her necklace, she watched it glow in the sunlight, all this trouble over _this_, all because some idiot in England didn't do a proper clean up job, but that was the ministry for you.

Good intentions, but weak foundations.

* * *

><p>Their vision was starting to blur, energy levels depleting, so they decided to steal some cans of Surge energy drinks.<p>

It tasted too fizzy, but at least it made them more awake, besides they had to keep moving, even if they were exhausted.

Constancia had the most bags under her eyes, she looked like she had aged a lot in the last two months, but they could take it, they were strong, they could endure anything.

It was the American and Vampire that would break first.

'Come on,' Constancia grunted, rubbing her eyes as she soldiered on, following the trail of enchanted blue dust.

Constancio hadn't realized he had been zoning out, he hastily caught up with her, taking hold of her hand so they'd be in sync, it didn't feel right not being in sync, it was unnatural, like a broken clock that chimed a few minutes before the hour.

'Stop thinking so much, you're giving me a headache,' she hissed, shooting him a glare, her green eyes turning vicious.

She was a real bitch when she didn't get her beauty sleep….or proper food….overall she had been unpleasant company for these last two months.

He remained silent, he knew better than to goad her, he tried to quieten his thoughts as he felt the burning of her irritation, it always made his skin crawl…..well both of their skin crawl if they were going into specifics.

He shook his head as they apparated to the hills, landing in a forest, the trail was drawing close now, Constancio faintly smiled as he felt his excitement grow, his hand twitching to his wand.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora stepped on an empty can of Surge, the aluminium crunching beneath her boot, her eyes narrowed as the train of dust led towards the hills, the Twins magic sparking as the trail drew nearer.<p>

* * *

><p>Ada jumped out of the way when she heard a ringing in her ears, jumping to her feet and whipping out her wand, the curse hit the ground, causing dirt to fly up in the air.<p>

_Here we go again,_ Ada thought bitterly as she fired a curse at the male assassin. "Aluka!" she screamed, gritting down on her teeth as she duelled the boy twin who she dubbed Connie boy.

The female Twin snarled. "_Incendio_," Connie girl growled, the spell flailing like a whip, setting the tent on fire.

_Damn it!_

Ada's eyes darted between both of the twins who were now cornering her, she upped her shield charm as she tried to fight of their attacks, and over ten years of reporting had most definitely not prepared her for this cluster of Dragon dung.

* * *

><p>Aluka could smell burning, and for once it wasn't the sunlight, he rushed out of the tent as it began to collapse beneath him.<p>

The cool air hit his skin as he escaped the burning tent, he felt the stinging of the faint sunlight that remained, but the trees helped shelter him at least.

Constancia and Constancio had Ada cornered, the Twins looked worse for wear, but that didn't mean they still weren't deadly. Aluka went to rugby tackle Constancio, but the young man's reflexes were still up to par, as the young assassin whipped around to blast Aluka back with a thundering air.

Aluka dug his feet and fingers into the ground to regain balance, morphing into a bat to get closer to them , manoeuvring around their hexes and curses.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora could see the barrage of magic from the distance in-between the trees, she stuffed the ring in her pocket, as her hold on her wand became tighter.<p>

Well, it looked like it was time to make a good first impression._…_

* * *

><p><strong>You know originally I had this fic pinned at 50 chapters...oh how naive of me. <strong>

**Ten points to whoever guesses why Lyrisadora choice the alias Amata.**


	101. Pandora's box

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin:Sanoba Khan  
><strong>

**'...' French**

* * *

><p><strong>"Violent storms and beautiful smiles. Both have electricity, both are equally destructive in nature."<strong>

**Chapter: Pandora's box**

* * *

><p>The stunner Lyrisadora shot at the Twins nearly knocked them down the hill, the vampire transformed back into his human form and lunged for both the Twins, the girl dived out of the way, but the boy barely avoided the powerful punch, getting hit in the ribs.<p>

Constancia shot a hex at Lyrisadora, who ran behind a tree, the tree ripping open from the force of the blast. "Who the hell are you!" Constancia snarled.

Ada bent down as she aimed a curse at the assassin, eyes flicker to Lyrisadora. "I'm wondering the same thing!"

Constancia blocked the curse and set a more gruesome one back, pivoting between Ada and Lyrisadora. "I'm a friend," Lyrisadora answered, bringing up a quick shield charm as she advanced forward.

Aluka ducked and dived Constancio's blows, moving like a blur as the younger man sliced into him, making a nasty large gash on the vampire's chest, cutting through his robes.

Constancia created a whiplash fire, the heat burning the air as Ada and Lyrisadora were forced back. "_Orbis!"_ Ada shot the spell at the ground, turning it to sinking sand, Constancia thrashed her wand at her feet, freezing the mud back in place.

"_Lacero_," Lyrisadora hissed, whipping her wand across in a cutting motion, trying to remove Constancia's wand arm.

Unfortunately, Constancio blocked it, uplifting the earth to send Lyrisadora back reeling. The young assasin panted for breath, faltering when Aluka bit down on his arm, simultaneously Constancia let out a faint hiss of pain.

Lyrisadora stumbled back to her feet withdrawing her knife, noticing the female twin was faltering, she transfigured her wand into a whip, the wand stretching out to wrap around Constancia's throat, Lyrisadora pulled the woman to her knees, violently tugging her neck, making the assassin choke. "_Carpe Retractum_," she uttered, the whip morphing into ropes around the woman's torso and arms, squeezing tightly.

She grabbed Constancia's wand and grasped it with her own, bringing the knife to the woman's slim neck.

Constancio had Aluka pinned, wand transfigured into a blade, ready to stab him in the heart.

Constancia froze, the cold metal pressed against her skin.

"Stop!" Lyrisadora ordered coldly, causing Constancio to look up and freeze. "Get off him," she instructed evenly, her eyes narrowing, making Constancia grit her teeth when the knife drew blood.

Ada looked between the two anxiously, gripping her wand tightly, Aluka kept his glare trained on Constancio.

Constancio hesitated, but his eyes widened when he saw the blood trickle down, he hastily jumped off Aluka, wand still drawn, hand shaking. "Connie," he breathed.

A look of anger flashed across Constancia's face, but it was gone in seconds, as her eyes flickered to Lyrisadora. "You're going to pay for this bitch-"

Lyrisadora tightened her hold. "Shush dear, I'm talking," she rebuked, careful not to sink the knife in too deep, she could already see the curse starting to spread. "Drop your wand," she commanded lowly, eyes refocused on Constancio, bending back one of Constancia's fingers, making the woman instinctively squirm.

Constancio gritted his teeth, dropping his wand to the ground, Aluka swiped it up, Lyrisadora could hear Constancia's breathing start to become more rasped, the veins around her throat turning black. "If you kill her," Constancio said, his voice hard and gaze livid. "I will make it my mission, to destroy you, " he said lowly, grounding the words out.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed, Ada stepped forward, wand raised. "Give us the object you've been using to track us," Ada snapped.

Constancio looked back at his twin, before then at Ada, reaching into his robes to pull out a small ring with a blue stone in the middle, a flash of hurt flickered across Aluka's eyes, before he snarled and swiped the ring out of Constancio's fingers, an unpleasant smile crept onto Constancio's features. "So sentimental," he leered.

Lyrisadora scoffed. "Like you're one to talk," she sneered, noticing Constancia was turning paler. "Here," she said, shoving the woman towards Constancio, who hurriedly caught her. "And hurry up to save, she hasn't got long left," Lyrisadora remarked, walking towards Ada.

Ada looked at her questionably. "Thanks for the help, but who are you?" she questioned bluntly.

Lyrisadora looked back at the frail looking assassin and the terror on Constancio's face. "Not here," she said, pocketing her knife, she dropped Constancia's wand on the ground, a good safe distance away from the injured twins. "They already have their hands full," she commented.

Ada shot her a wary look, as Aluka joined them, tossing Constancio his wand, earning a hateful glare from the young man. "Next time we won't have mercy," the vampire warned, grabbing Ada's hand, as Lyrisadora grabbed her arm.

* * *

><p>The hill soon disappeared from sight, the side long apparition bringing them to a field, the grass growing high, Aluka winced a little, a small thread of sunlight peaking out as the sun set.<p>

Ada turned to her abruptly. "Start talking kid, who are you and why did you help us?" she ordered sharply.

Lyrisadora took a deep breath. "You can call me Amata, I'm one of the good guys Tonks talked about, you remember Tonks, metamorphosis, very clumsy," she said evenly.

Ada and Aluka exchanged a look. "Keep talking," Ada pushed, folding her arms.

Well at least they weren't gullible. "I'm a a spy for the good guys, I know Tonks couldn't say much, but we're a secret Order led by Dumbledore," Lyrisadora explained. "I was sent to take down the Syndicate, and also find you, in hopes you'd help me," she told them.

"And they only sent you?" Aluka questioned tonelessly.

She smiled thinly. "There weren't many people to spare," Lyrisadora replied evenly.

"….And how exactly are you going to take down Jenik?" Ada questioned sceptically. "You'd have to dismantle the entire crime web he's got, across the whole of France," she argued.

Well she did have a valid point, besides Lyrisadora was pretty sure Voldemort's connections stretched further than France, but his key allies were here so, this would have to be the starting point. "Hence why I need help," Lyrisadora replied, looking at them both pointedly.

The two were silent for a while, both looking at each other knowingly. "This extends a lot bigger than You-Know-Who," Ada told her, she hesitated before she reached for a thin gold chain around her neck, pulling off a necklace with a medium sized red stone.

Lyrisadora frowned, taking a step closer, the stone was jagged in some place, badly cut, and about the size of her forefinger, even in the dim light it glowed….her eyes widened. "Is that…how do you have that?" she stumbled over her words, looking at Ada alarm, a philosophers stone….they had a philosophers stone.

"It's a long story," Aluka sighed, his jaw tightening. "It is Flamel's stone," he confirmed.

Lyrisadora's mouth went dry. "This stone isn't meant to exist anymore, it was destroyed years ago," she protested. "So start explaining."

Aluka took a deep breath, before he eyed their bare surrounding. "I gather you know who Jenik is?" he queried, Lyrisadora nodded impatiently. "For the last thirty years he has managed to unite and control the five crime families in France…I played my part in it….but his interests do not lie in controlling France, he's obsessed with Alchemy…." Aluka began to explain.

Lyrisadora eyes widened. "Hence why he wants the stone," she muttered, she imagined a great number of alchemists would kill for just a piece of Flamel's legendary stone.

The vampire nodded grimly. "He's been obsessed with it for years, he's tried making one himself….but his magic could never match up to Flamels….he tended to experiment..." a disturbed look flickered in his eyes, which made Lyrisadora shift uneasily; because if a vampire found something disturbing, you didn't take it lightly. Before his face became passive. "Jenik heard rumours of remnants of Flamel's stone surviving, seeing how your ministry didn't do a thorough job," he remarked.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "Things get overlooked, paperwork and all," she retorted dryly, earning an odd look from Aluka, she absently wondered if the vampire had a grasp of sarcasm?

"The only way to destroy a Philosophers stone is an immense amount of power to weaken its protective charms, your Ministry decided to use lightening, a reasonable choice, they took it to a high cliff that overlooked the sea, and it worked, the stone was shattered….the scraps collected up to be melted in lava," Aluka continued, looking at her pointedly.

Lyrisadora swore under her breath. "Who found the fragment that got overlooked?" she questioned.

"A muggle fisherman," the vampire replied testily. "Who made the stone into a necklace for his wife," he recounted flatly.

She swallowed a lump down her throat. "When did Jenik kill them?"

"Five months ago," he replied clinically. "An unnecessary kill but….Jenik thought it an insult that muggles possessed such a stone in the first place, an insult to alchemy in general," Aluka said.

"What did he want the stone for?" Lyrisadora questioned.

"For those who know how, the stone can reveal the secrets of Alchemy," Aluka answered, before his posture became more stiff. "He didn't tell me much, he was always secretive with alchemy…but he said he was wanted to 'rip this world open'….which didn't bode well with me," the vampire said tightly. "The stone can't fall into his hands, no matter what, he's insane," he said firmly.

Lyrisadora eyed the stone with interest, this little thing may still powerful, but it was cracked away from its full form, its magic weakened, it couldn't 'rip the world open', but the knowledge…..she couldn't help but wonder. She glanced back at them. "You can't run forever, the world's closing in and they'll find you," she said, Ada and Aluka looked at her cautiously. "We want the same thing, I'm not going to run from them, I have a job to do," she told them plainly. "So you can keep running and eventually get killed, or you can help me."

Ada shifted uneasily, gripping the stone tightly in her palm, throwing a side glance at Aluka. "The kid has a point," she muttered. "We can't just keep running for the rest of our lives."

Lyrisadora kept her expression open and sincere, adding a touch of anxiousness as she eyed them expectantly. Aluka's eyes narrowed questionably at her for a moment, as if he couldn't quite suss her out, before his face relaxed. "Alright, we'll help you," he relented.

She gave them both a small pleased smile. "Then let's start by sending a message."

* * *

><p>Marcus absently fingered the large coin in his hand, the coin was basically a galleon, but it was coloured silver so the difference was more noticeable (and to probably make sure he didn't try to buy something with it.) It was an easy way to contact her if he had any information to give, alls he had to do was think of the address in his head and rub his thumb over the coin two times, then the address would appear on her coin, so she'd know where to find him.<p>

He didn't quite understand how it worked and he didn't want to ask too many questions, just in case she snapped at him.

Marcus coughed, rubbing away some sweat from his neck, the summer nights were a good and bad, on the plus side you didn't freeze to death, but it also meant you sweated more and as a result ended up stinking like a pair of old socks.

He tried to sneak a quick path by the river at the Arcole bridge, hopefully the muggle police or Hit-wizards wouldn't notice him in the dark. He dumped his clothes on the steps, making sure the little money he had was safely tucked away in his jeans pocket, as he stepped into the cold water.

He bit down on his tongue, crouching down on the step so that the water reached his shoulders. He still needed to find information for Amata, he was secretly hoping she'd treat him to another meal, it had been nice eating something piping how for a change.

He tried to wash as much dirt off his skin with his hands, scratching the dead skin away, before he dunked his head under the water, before coming up for air. He'd need to get more information soon, he didn't want to displease her….she may seem nice, but the worst ones normally were.

He absently shivered, before he hastily stood, shaking his head like a dog, before he stepped out of the water, he scrunched up his thick jumper to dry off his backside and chest, before he flung on his vest and jumper. He could try investigating the docks, loads of dodgy stuff happened there, he finished pulling his jeans on and then sock, he frowned when he saw a hole in the front of his right shoe, he might have to steal a new pair soon.

He ducked his head as he walked up the steps, trying to look as insignificant as possible, he took a shortcut through the muggle streets, passing a few restaurants, a couple of cars zooming by, and there was even a painter by the riverside. Marcus absently smiled when the lights of the city started to turn on, reflecting off the river.

It was times like this that reminded him how beautiful this city could be-

Marcus stopped when he saw the two thugs who had tried to nab him yesterday.

The two men stopped talking when they noticed him.

Marcus legged it for his life, high tailing it down a muggle street to provide better cover; at least the thugs wouldn't be able to start firing spells left right and centre. He pushed through passersby, he tried to lose them down an alleyway, running through narrower paths.

This turned out to be a bad move on his part, one of the men; the one that looked like his face had been hit with a bat repeatedly. Apparated in front of him, grabbing him roughly by the arm. 'Not getting away this time you little shit,' the bigger man snapped.

Marcus growled and tried to kick the man's shins, but the other thug came round and held back, Marcus froze when he felt a wand dig into his back. '_Stupefy_.'

His body went rigid, his eyes widening fearfully, before his vision blurred, why the hell were these lunatics after him anyway!

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora looked around the charcoaled gloomy house Aluka had brought them to, when the three of them arrived back in Paris. "So how did you find this place?" she asked lightly.<p>

Aluka sat down on a dusty armchair. "It belonged to some muggles, then a fire hit, so I decided to acquire it as a safe house, just in case I needed to disappear," he divulged. "But with the tracking charm, I couldn't exactly risk leading them here," he muttered.

Ada paced around the room, glancing over at Lyrisadora. "I'll sneak out to get some food," she said, clutching her stomach when it rumbled.

Lyrisadora nodded, before she reached into her pocket. "Take this," she said, handing over three Galleons.

Ada's eyebrows rose at the sight of the money, but chose not to comment, pocketing the cash, before she whipped out her wand to place a glamour on her face, morphing her features to look more round, shortening her nose and changing her lips and eye shape. "You two play nice," Ada chimed, shooting Aluka a look before she left.

Aluka rolled his eyes and sank deeper into the chair. "I hope you realise what you've got yourself into," he said curtly, as the front door slammed shut.

Lyrisadora wondered around the room, tracing the burnt wallpaper with her finger. "I told you, I have a job to do, I know the risks," she replied lightly.

The vampire was silent for a while, before he glanced back at her curiously. "How did you find the twins?" he questioned.

She paused, she had almost forgotten about the ring, she pulled it out of her pocket. "One of them left this behind," she answered, stepping closer to him.

Aluka eyed the small ring intently, reaching out to grasp it. "Let me see," he murmured, she dropped the ring in his palm.

"…Do you know who it belongs to?" she questioned, she had her theory that it likely belonged to the female assassin, Lyrisadora analysed Aluka's reaction as he examined the ring, but the vampire's expression was blank.

"I've never seen it before," he said plainly, handing the ring back to her.

Lyrisadora looked at him curiously. "I was told the twins weren't related….so how exactly-"

Aluka shot her a sharp look. "The past is the past, whatever they were doesn't matter," he interrupted, earning a surprised look from her, Aluka rose from his seat, towering above her, Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed. "If you're smart, you'll throw that thing away," he said coldly, brushing past her.

Lyrisadora watched him retreat from the corner of her eyes. "So are you going to throw away yours?" she inquired lightly, catching tense, she raised an inquiring eyebrow, smiling pleasantly.

The vampire's back was turned to her, his fists clenched, she wondered if he was debating decapitating her. But instead he held his head a little higher and walked away, Lyrisadora eyed his retreating form curiously, as he ventured down the hallway.

She let out a small sigh and looked back around the room, he'd be a difficult one to work with, but he might relax somewhat. She'd have to talk with Ada, the woman seemed more open than the blood sucker.

* * *

><p>If you were going to hide a magical palace from the muggles, where would you put it? Zurie had always been fascinated by history, even if she didn't sometimes understand it. The muggle French Monarchy had long been….disbanded, yet the magical royal family had endured and only grown stronger. Zurie had always marvelled at how the muggle royal family's counterparts had flourished, while the muggles withered.<p>

Zurie could understand the muggles unrest back then, times had been hard and a lot of the country had been starving among other unpleasentries…..but had they really had to act so rash?….she sighed as she leant back on the couch, maybe it wasn't her place to comment, what business did she have commenting on muggle affairs?

She absently looked around the grand room, ignoring the other ladies in waiting who were chatting amongst themselves. The palace-oh yes she had been talking about the palace! She suddenly remembered, appraising the beautiful room.

She had always thought it awful clever of hiding the palace in plain sight, it was much more liberating than hiding away underground. The palace was under the allusion charm of a block of grand houses, which was occasionally updated every hundred years.

The palace was located in _lle saint-louise_, two stories high with another two floors below underground….which she supposed was a necessary compromise. The inside of the palace was breathtak-

'Zurie are you still with us?' Clarice asked lightly, drawing in Zurie's attention.

All five ladies in waiting were staring at Zurie questionably, she blushed, averting her gaze. 'I was just daydreaming, I think I'll need to retire home soon,' she said sheepishly.

Clarice smiled placidly, her blue eyes glinting with something strange. 'Motherhood must be a strain, I can't imagine how you cope,' she sighed, smoothing down her silver dress robes, adjusting a pearl back in place, a little too much cleavage showing. 'I expect you're quite withered.'

Zurie's smile became a little more strained as she eyed the dark haired young woman, for some reason, Zurie got the impression Clarice didn't like her very much…

The two blonde haired girls Clove and Delaney exchanged a meaningful look, which Zurie couldn't decipher, she bit down on her lip, because Merlin knew those two were the biggest gossips in the whole of France! Clove smiled playfully at Zurie, as if Clarice was only teasing.

But to Zurie's relief, Elodie stepped in, arching an elegant eyebrow challengingly. She was a dark skinned woman, her brown hair braided in a seri es of complicated looking plaits that fell loosely over her shoulder. As the eldest in the group, she always seemed to be keeping the peace. 'Zurie flourishes Clarice….unlike some,' Elodie interjected nonchalantly, offering Zurie a small smile. 'Her grace said so herself,' she added coyly, shooting Clarice a sharp look.

Clarice's jaw tightened, it was Geraldine's turn to intervene, taking a seat next to Zurie, ever bright smile in place. 'I'm so envious, little Rosie is a blessing, I love it when you bring little Rosie to visit,' Geraldine said, sweeping back her dark strawberry blonde hair, hazel eyes alight with amusement. 'She's so precious,' she added.

Zurie looked between them all, their smiles should be reassuring, they were clearly only trying to make her feel like 'one of girls,' Clarice was probably just teasing. She forced a polite smile. 'I do love bringing her,' she said. 'And it's heart-warming when Damien dotes on her.'

There was a collected hum of agreement, before a silvery light burst into the room, a familiar patronus of a fox darted into the room, Zurie stiffened when she recognised the Queen's patronus. 'Zurie dear, come to my study,' a smooth gentle voice instructed, before the light vanished.

Zurie felt a light blush touch her cheeks, when she saw the others were staring at her. 'Well, I must be going,' she said, standing to her feet.

Elodie smiled pleasantly and nodded in understanding. 'Of course, you can't leave her majesty waiting. I assume we'll see you at tomorrow's meeting?' she asked mildly.

Zurie smiled dazzlingly. 'Of course,' she consented pleasantly, nodding curtly, keeping her smile fixed in place as she hurried out of the room.

Her posture relaxed when she closed the door, her smile slipping off as she made her way to the study.

She felt like she was with the Malfoys all over again…but at least Clarice was nicer than Basilia Malfoy….Zurie sighed quietly. She was trying her best to be a good wife, and Damien always reassured her that she was performing beautifully, she had even read a few books to help her understand what was expected from her….but for some reason she was always missing something.

But Damien was always loving and patient with her…..but she didn't miss the tight looks he gave when she said something childish or she said she didn't understand something…she often felt like an idiot around him. She knew it was only because he was so clever, always trying to explain the works of politics to her when she was confused, she wouldn't have survived this long without him.

Her parents-in-law were polite enough, but there was an underlining coldness about them, however Damien had reassured her that his parents were quite fond of her….

…._Fond of her_….

She couldn't help but grimace, it was like they treated her like she was a child, which was ridiculous because she was a grown woman! And a mother, a good one as well, she always paid attention to Rosalie, always tried to take an active role in her learning and was always patient with her temper tantrums.

She was trying her best, after all it wasn't like her own mother had made the same effort…..

Her train of thought halted when she reached the door of the Queen's study, Zurie shook her head, before she knocked on the door, quickly dusting off her shoulders and dress, absently pushing a hair grip back in place. 'Come in,' a voice chimed.

Zurie entered immediately, smiling warmly, trying to be as graceful as possible, and letting her Veela charm show. 'Your grace,' she greeted, curtsying.

The room felt warm, a large glass globe stood next to the desk, the carpet was a rich purple, books aligning the right wall near the door, while a number of maps were stacked on the free space on the left wall.

The Queen sat in an armchair next to the large window that overlooked the city, her posture was more relaxed than usual, legs crossed, wrapped up in slim finely cut robes of white and blue with gold trimmings. She had a heart shaped face with a long nose that framed it perfectly, and pale ivy skin, her curly light golden hair pinned up, bright brown eyes shining.

'Zurie dear,' the Queen said smoothly, leisurely gesturing her to come forward. 'Forgive me for summoning you so late,' she sighed, as Zurie came to sit comfortably on the floor by her side.

Zurie smiled. 'It's fine your grace,' she reassured sheepishly, making the older woman's smile widen.

'Good. I have some pressing news I wanted to discuss,' the Queen said mildly, her smile dimming as her face became more serious, Zurie made sure she paid attention. 'I've heard rumours of some unrest among the Veela,' she said gravely.

Zurie's eyes widened worriedly. 'Has the liaison spoken with them?' she questioned hastily. 'This might just be a misunderstanding….'

The Queen let out a low sigh, Zurie's chest tightened. 'The rebellion in Bulgaria has roused some of the more outspoken Veela,' she divulged, looking away. 'Not to mention I've heard troubling news that some of the vampires have joined Voldemort.'

Zurie winced at the name, but tried to hide it. 'The people will remain strong, the Veela and Vampires are simply misguided, as many would agree,' she reassured hurriedly, trying to placate the Queen, she couldn't help but feel guilty, even if this wasn't her fault.

The older woman sighed, before she stroked Zurie's glossy hair back. Zurie felt a warm feeling grow in her chest, at the paternal gesture. 'Such faith you have,' she remarked, gazing down at her, using a slim finger to lift her chin up. 'It fills me with joy, I know I can trust you, which is why I need your help in placating the Veela,' the Queen spoke smoothly.

Zurie nodded reverently. 'What do you want me to do, your grace?'

The older woman smiled gently, Zurie couldn't help but smile back. 'You know where the Veela reside….your mother is the high priestess,' the Queen said softly.

Zurie's smile dropped, she felt her insides twist, her eyes widening, she was silent for a while, the Queen gazing down at her expectantly. 'I-I um…the Veela are very protective of their culture,' Zurie muttered, lowering her gaze, her heartbeat quickening. 'My mother made me swear not to reveal-'

'Was it magically bound?'

Zurie swallowed thickly, her chin was tilted up higher, forcing her to look back at the Queen. 'I don't think so…' her voice shaking slightly.

'Zurie,' the Queen said tenderly, smiling warmly, her brown eyes transfixed on Zurie's own ones. 'I only wish to meet with them, your mother won't even tell my liaison where they reside…I just wish to understand them, to know their troubles and you are the key to that,' she reasoned.

Zurie swallowed nervously, remembering her mother's ever stern face and hard exterior, her mother had made her promise…..but that had been ten years ago, the last time…..her mother had bothered to even acknowledge her….Zurie noted how pleading and concerned the Queen's gaze was, the amount of stress she must be under.

There was a war going on, a war that might reach France…..Zurie couldn't be selfish in times like this….her mother would understand, the rest of the Veela would as well...

Zurie swallowed a lump down her throat, before she opened her mouth, the secrets pouring out one by one….

* * *

><p><strong>Oh sweet Zurie. I think it's safe to say this is the quickest chapter I've written so far. <strong>

**Well let me know what you guys think, I'm off to go make a well deserved milkshake. **


	102. Lambs and Wolves

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Quote origin: house of cards  
><strong>

**'...' French**

* * *

><p><strong>That's how you devour a whale. One bite at a time<strong>

**Chapter: Lambs and Wolves **

* * *

><p>Marcus gradually came to, he scrunched his eyes, before he popped them open, jumping in surprise when he saw the two men from before in front of him. A sinking feeling formed in his stomach when he realised he was tied down to a chair.<p>

He was in what looked like to be a living room of an apartment, the walls and carpet a similar shade of grey and blue, the faded furniture blending in to its surroundings. His fear soon turned to anger when he looked up at the amused men. 'What the hell do you want with me!' he snapped.

The one with a battered looking face just shrugged and shot Marcus a droll smile. 'Just following orders, brat,' he said.

Marcus growled, struggling against his binds. 'I didn't even do anything, why does someone want me kidnapped?' he questioned, his heart beating faster.

The two men exchanged a look, before glancing back down at him, the least ugly one (which wasn't saying much in his opinion, seeing how Marcus thoroughly didn't like these two.) 'No idea,' the second man said. 'But you must have pissed off someone big.'

Marcus frowned, but decided to not comment, who the hell could he have angered? He didn't go looking for trouble….well mostly, stealing was just a means to an end and it wasn't like he stole from anyone important…..he at least hoped he hadn't.

The first man glanced back at the second. 'I got a reply from him, he'll be here in an hour,' he informed, as the second man sat down on a sofa, rips in the material, the sofa squeaked when it dipped.

Marcus glared at the first man when the man brought out two beers from an ice box on the table, but his glare lessoned when he caught sight of his things on the table, there wasn't much so it was easy to distinguish.

There was a tiny wooden spinning top, along with a galleon and five sickles, his eyes brightened when he saw the enchanted silver coin. He flexed his fingers, he hadn't attempted wandless magic much since his last outburst, but if he could just get that coin into his hand….he still needed to find out the address though, or Amata would never find him, but how was he supposed to find out?

He bit down on his bottom lip. 'Someone will find me,' he blurted out, a plan forming in his head.

The second man eyed him with disinterest, before he took a swig of his beer. 'I doubt it kid,' he said lightly.

'Someone would have seen you carrying me,' Marcus protested, hoping he'd be able to weasel the answer out. 'I mean, I doubt you have the brains to perform the disillusion charm,' he sneered, a smirk sliding onto his face.

Anger flashed in the first man's eyes. 'Hold your tongue boy, less you want me to make you-'

'I mean,' Marcus interrupted casually. ' Come on, I bet you two were dumb enough to keep me on the same street.'

The ugly looking man's face grew more twisted as his temper flared, but the second man shot him a stern look. 'Leave it Pier, just ignore him,' the second man advised, taking out a deck of playing cards from his robe pocket.

The man called Pier, deflated a tad, but still glared at Marcus in dislike, picking up a handful of cards.

Marcus was starting to become more anxious, he tried to think of a way to get them to blurt the address out, he looked around the room for any clues, however he couldn't find anything of use. 'I'll scream the place down,' he threatened, scowling at them. 'Someone will come, they'll hear-'

'No one cares,' Pier snapped, slamming his beer down on the armrest, making Marcus flinch. 'This place is filled with nothing but dealers and whores, and none of them are going to help you, so shut up!' he snarled.

Marcus quickly looked down at his feet, he peered up to see a satisfied smile creep onto Pier's face, before the man returned to drinking his beer, reengaging in conversation with the other man.

So he was in a brothel, or something equally as dodgy, Marcus listened out for sounds, hearing a faint muffled high pitched scream, followed by a roar of laughter. He glanced at the window, the curtains half drawn, he could make out some sounds, the street outside still sounded busy and there were the odd distant noises of cars as well.

He tried to work out where he was, the busy streets at this hour indicated that he was probably still in France….he tried to remember the brothels he knew, an idea sprang into his head. 'Hey,' Marcus muttered weakly, keeping his eyes downcast.

The second man shot him an irritated look, pausing from their poker game. 'What?" he asked coldly.

Marcus tried to make himself look more weak and helpless, lowering his shoulder and chewing down on his lip. '….Can you at least tell me who sent you….I-I just wanna know who I upset,' he said shakily, looking at them pleadingly.

Pier raised an eyebrow, before he rolled his eyes and scoffed. 'Finally given up that big man act have you?' he remarked, Marcus lowered his eyes submissively, hoping Pier would take pity on him. 'Pfft, I don't know who you pissed off, but you made one of the Gauther family unhappy, so now we're here stuck playing babysitter,' Pier replied.

Marcus stopped himself from reacting as he started to put the pieces together. He knew of five well known wizarding brothels, three were underground, one was a townhouse, and two were apartments. The Gauther family owned three of the brothels, the two underground ones and one apartment block.

He raced to think of the address, if it was a shady brothel it would be on the more dodgy magical streets…._Crosstwist Turns Street_ sparked to mind, remembering the crowded streets and smell of urine.

When Marcus looked back at the men they had already turned away from him, his eyes flickered to the enchanted coin, and he flexed his fingers as he tried to concentrate.

The coin nudged ever so slightly, Marcus inhaled a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves, his brow gathering sweat. He tried to keep his mind and feelings controlled, he may only know the bare minimum of spell casting, but hopefully (and he was more or less begging at this point) that he could channel his magic correctly.

The coin nudged more, slowly moving along the table, Marcus tried to think of how to do a hover charm, at the orphanage they had given some education in teaching the younger children how to control their magic; which was necessary with the amount of accidents that transpired. Marcus had learned best by visualisation, by closing his eyes and imagining the scenario.

Marcus closed his eyes, the magic burning his fingers painfully, nudging the coin off the table, trying to stop it from clinking on the floor.

When he opened his eyes the coin was hovering an inch from the ground, he fought back a grin and cast a worried look at his captures, they hadn't seemed to notice a thing, too busy joking and drinking amongst themselves.

Marcus took a deep breath, his heart beating fast, before he scrunched his eyes up hard, imagining the coin shooting into his grip, his face coated with sweat.

His hand opened as the enchanted galleon landed in his palm with a soft ping.

* * *

><p>In a grand townhouse, near the city centre of Paris, Zurie apparated back home, jolting slightly as she clutched her head, she swallowed a lump down her throat.<p>

Things seemed wrong, especially after what she had just seen…..but maybe she was worrying over nothing, maybe it was all a big misunderstanding….the _maybe_ was pretty big though.

She bit down on her little finger worriedly, as she made her way upstairs, she envisioned the scene in her head over and over, along with her conversation with the Queen.

She hadn't meant to spy on Prince Adalard, it was all by accident. She had left the Queen's study and was wondering over to the gates, so she could apparate home once out of the protective wards. Then she had seen the Prince, looking quite suspicious mind you, wearing a dark cloak, hood drawn up, sneaking around the halls.

Zurie fidgeted with her hands as she ended up making her way to her daughter's nursery, a tight feeling in her chest. She felt so uneasy….she needed to check on Rosalie; just to make sure she was alright….

When she opened the door to the nursery, her little girl was peacefully sleeping in her crib, pink blankets wrapped around her waist, the room looking gloomy with the lack of light, sun yellow painted walls looking dull in colour.

Zurie smiled warmly, coming to the edge of the crib, she stroked back a blonde hair from Rosalie's face, the moonlight shining down on her baby's peach kissed skin, her little girl was growing so fast, it wouldn't be long until she grew out of her crib all together….

Zurie froze when she heard footsteps, but relaxed a little when she recognised the familiar crisp walk, that belonged to her husband.

The footsteps came to a halt. 'Zurie,' Damien spoke from behind. Zurie turned around, seeing him leaning against the doorframe of the nursery, still dressed in his trousers and a shirt, his petticoat slightly wrinkled and his brown tie hung loosely around his neck. 'I was beginning to get anxious,' he said evenly, walking towards her.

Zurie forced a smile and clasped her hands tightly in front of her, to stop them from jittering. 'I was talking with the Queen and I lost track of time,' she answered. 'I'm sorry if I worried you.'

Her husband looked at her searchingly, pushing a loose copper red hair out of her face. 'What did you and the Queen discuss?' he questioned.

Zurie swallowed a lump down her throat, Damien frowned at her, her smile dimmed, she could never pretend with Damien, he could always tell when something was wrong. 'The Veela are agitated and they're becoming more outspoken,' she told him anxiously, he drew in closer and placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her. 'So the Queen asked me for information and….I told her everything,' she confessed, her gut clenching.

'You did the right thing,' he reassured warmly, smiling at her gently. 'You serve the Queen, not your mother, remember?'

She sighed quietly and nodded, her first loyalty would always be to her majesty, her mother just had to accept that. The Queen trusted her, and favoured her, Zurie was lucky because many would kill to be in her shoes. Her mind jolted back to Prince Adalard, she looked back at her husband uneasily. '…There's also something else that's been troubling me,' she told him.

He drew her in closer and smiled warmly. 'What is it?"

'When I left her grace's study, I saw Prince Adalard bribe a guard to sneak out of the palace,' she revealed lowly.

Damien's smile slipped off his face, his grip on her shoulders tightened. 'Did he see you?' he asked sternly, his eyes darkening, Zurie looked at her husband in confusion, as she hastily shook her head.

'No, I was hiding, no one saw me,' she tried to placate.

His gaze didn't soften. 'But are you _sure_?' he persisted.

He was starting to frighten her. 'Yes!' she exclaimed, making Rosalie squirm in her crib, Zurie cast a apprehensive glance at her sleeping daughter, before looking back at Damien and lowering her voice. 'Damien you're behaving strange,' she murmured, looking at him meekly.

His grip loosened, his expression becoming contrite, he gave her a reassuring smile. 'I'm sorry,' he apologised tenderly, stroking her cheek lovingly, she felt the tension leave her body. 'It's just….the Prince is a very private man, if he saw you, he might think the Queen was having you spy on him,' he explained.

Zurie's eyes widened, the Queen's relationship with her cousin was already strained, if she had been spotted, she would have just made things worse. 'Should I tell the Queen?" she proposed unsurely, twisting her fingers nervously. 'His behaviour was awfully suspicious and he did bribe a palace guard,' she argued.

Damien was quiet for a moment, no doubt trying to think of the best solution for their problem. '….I think it best, if you forget what you saw,' he said slowly, taking hold of her hands.

Her brow creased. 'But my loya-'

'_Zurie_,' her husband interrupted endearingly, looking at her firmly. 'You'll only cause more tension between the Queen and her cousin, and you might even be accused of lying,' he said smoothly, her eyes widened, Damien's features softened. 'Besides, Princes are often known to search for…._entertainmen_t, during dark hours,' he said coyly.

'….Entertainment?' Zurie repeated, her frown deepening, before she realised what he meant. 'Is the prince a _gambler_?' she whispered, looking at Damien worriedly, if the papers got wind of that, it'd be a scandal!

Her husband was silent for a moment as he stared at her blankly, before an amused smile slid onto Damien's face, as he nodded. 'Yes, Zurie….a gambler,' he said lightly. 'Which would only cause unnecessary worry for the Queen,' he reasoned.

She sighed quietly, her husband was right as usual; she was prying into affairs that weren't her concern. 'I understand,' she murmured.

Her husband sighed quietly, looking at her fondly; she felt a smidge of embarrassment. She knew he must find it frustrating having to explain everything to her, it often seemed like everyone knew the answers except her. 'I know you're close to the Queen, but she wouldn't like it if you meddled in her family affairs,' he told her sternly. 'You may be favoured, but you're not her friend,' he reminded her.

She lowered her gaze thoughtfully, she supposed sometimes she forgot that, especially when the Queen behaved so open and paternal. Zurie nodded. 'Sometimes I forget. This is all still new to me….I don't know how you do it….' she murmured, lowering her gaze, the Malfoys always seemed to have an answer for everything, and even with the scandal with Lucius in England, Damien still managed to command a degree of respect from others.

Damien kissed her forehead tenderly. 'Years of practice,' he answered quietly, offering her a kind smile. 'Now don't look so glum,' he said gently, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze, she forced a smile. 'You'll be out of that snake pit soon enough,' he reassured light-heartedly.

Her smile became less forced and more endearing, things weren't that bad, sure there were a couple of stuffy old snobs, but nearly everyone was always polite…..she supposed it was all about their ambition in gaining the Queens favour, but their malice was only born from envy and nothing too serious. 'It's not too bad,' she reassured. 'Elodie has been nothing but kind to me,' she added, hoping it would please Damien to know she was making friends.

But her husband grew strangely silent after that, it made her frown a little, sometimes it was so difficult to decipher what he was thinking, before he smiled at her and kissed her cheek. 'That's wonderful. Now, you must be exhausted, we should go to bed,' he said soothingly.

Zurie was a little confused by his abruptness…but then again it was pretty late. 'Of course,' she agreed, smiling disarmingly.

Zurie glanced back at her sleeping daughter, before following him out of the nursery, she faintly frowned.

Something didn't feel right….but she wasn't sure what….it was probably just the situation with the Veela, she reasoned to herself, feeling a pinch of guilt.

She really did hope she had made the right decision.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora rubbed her eyes, it was getting pretty late and they should probably all head off to bed, but Aluka was adamant that she know as much information as possible, which was great, except he acted like she could absorb it all in one night.<p>

Ada was curled up on the couch, a blanket covering her as she skimmed through a half burnt book. Lyrisadora slouched in the armchair, the scribbled names of all the five French major crime families on a list on her lap, they were arranged by hierarchy:

The Gauther family; they mainly operated in loan sharking, gambling rings, and a few brothels, they also held the most political power.

The Odilon family; also delved into gambling, but owned more casinos than the Geuthers, they mainly worked in the west region of France, they also had a number of drug opperations. And they had control over a magority of the local street gangs in Paris

The Raulf family, she found them quite interesting;because they seemed to be the heads of trade, prostitituation, underground slavery, illegal goods as well as immigration if you paid the right price. They owned a number of properties in the magical community of Le Havre.

The Filibert family; mainly owned hotels, bars and clubs, and were probably the cleanest of the five, with the lowest number of prison records.

And finally the Arluin family; they had their hands dipped in drugs, alcohol and mainly got their income from their front restaurant business.

Three of the families were Half-bloods, two were Purebloods, which created an interesting power dynamic.

"….The Raulf family was lowered in rank after a robbery went wrong, and Jenik's name got leaked," Aluka's voice cut through her thoughts. "Which hightened the Odilon's rank, they've been in rivalry with the Raulf family ever since," he continued.

Lyrisadora hummed in aknowlegdment, she supposed a pureblood family like the Raulfs wouldn't appreciate a Half-blood family rising above them. Her attention was diverted when she felt a soft burn in her pocket, she frowned, reaching into her pocket to take out the coin.

A new address was engraved on the silver galleon; '_Apartment-crosstwist turn street,'_ it didn't say the name of the apartment, her frown deepened, if Marcus didn't put the full address than he might not know where he was exactly. Her mind flashed to the two men who had tried to grab him yesterday.

She rubbed the coin three times, a line of pink dust trailed out, she'd placed a tracking charm on his coin, just in case he failed to uphold his end of the deal or he disappeared. Besides what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

She grimaced, she supposed she should have protected him more, but she had been busy and she had assumed that his trife with those thugs had been something minor like pickpocketing. She sighed qietly, she'd have to get to the bottom of this.

"You're not even paying attention," Aluka snapped irritably, his eyes narrowing.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at him, standing to her feet. "A friend of mine's in trouble," she stated,

Ada glanced up. "Psychic inttuition?" she questioned dryly, looking at her curiosuly.

Lyrisadora stuffed the coin back in her pocket, picking up her travelling cloak on top of the armchair. "More like a communication enchantment-I'll explain later," she said curtly. "If I'm not back in an a hour, look for me at Crosstwist turn street," she told them on her way out.

Ada's brow creased."Crossttwist…" Ada's eyes widened. "Hey, wait a secound!"

But Lyrisadora was already out of the front door.

* * *

><p>Subconciously Lyrisadora pulled her hood down more to shield her face, trying to keep her disillusion charm up as she snook through the alleyways, she kept her wand hidden inside her claok, squeezing past two men having sex in against a wall.<p>

The dust trailed to a four story apartment building, the stonework looking grimy, some patches in the protective wards. She kept to the shadows when she caught a few drunken men stumble in, a few scantidly clad girls giggling as they welcomed them in. She arched an eyebrow at the apparent brothel, she noticed the other girls were struggling to get the intoxicated man back to his feet.

Lyrisadora advanced towards the pleasure house, using the distraction to her advantage. The man looked a bit on the porky side and was swearing in french, one of the prostitutes gave an irritated sigh as she let him go, muttering something about the man being 'barely able to function,' the other girlspushing him back out of the doors, before briskly shutting them closed.

Lyrisadora took off her hood, the place feeling hot and stuffy, she kept her disillusion charm up as she moved along the wall, following the dust up the stairs. Thankfully the corridor was clear, loud abscure noises coming from behind the series of doors, as well as the sound of a out of tune saxophone.

She followed the dust up another flight of stairs. She'd have to stay on her guard, she had considered starting a fire, but that would only lead to chaos and would make it harder to find Marcus.

So the trick now was to find a way to get them to let her in, when their guard was down…she heard a few more screams of pleasure…well she wa sin a brothel….she sighed, removing her cloak, the things she did.

She hastily stripped off her long skirt and jumper, until she was down to her bra and knickers, she tapped her pleain underwear, morphing the material into something red and lacy. She placed her wand in the strap of her knickers, before gathering up her clothes and walking to the door where the pink dust stopped.

She hid her clothes next to the door, placing a quick concealing charm, before she ran her hands through her hair to make it more messy, placing a quick glamour on her left arm.

She knocked on the door, there was the sound of muffled voices, before it was opened.

A very unpleasent looking man opened the door, Lyrisadora smiled, keeping her hands behind her back as she pushed her breast out more. 'Fun time?' she asked, making sure her accent seeped through.

The man gave her a quick look over, before he scowled. 'We told your boss we weren't to be disturbed, go away,' he said roughly.

She feigned confusion. 'What?I….French….no?' she spoke in broken french, looking at him imploringly.

'For fuck sake,' the man swore, looking behind him, Lyrisadora stole a glance inside, her eyes falling on Marcus, she winked at him, making the young boy's eyes widen more. 'Marius! This bitch doesn't know french,'the man swore.

Lyrisadora smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around the man's waiste, kicking the door closed, making him jump back in surprise. 'Want…feel good?' she said sweetly, grinning wickedly as she placed her hand between his legs, rubbing slowly.

The secound man shook his head in frustration.'Christ sake,' Marius swore, standing to his feet.

Lyrisadora noticed the man she was touching was now flushed, she grinned. He wasn't pushing her away anymore,a lopsided smirk on his face, he'd even placed his hands on her but, his pupils dilated.

'Pier! Get her off,' Marius snapped, moving towards them.

Lyrisadora hastily kissed Pier, before she whipped out her wand, pushing the tip to his stomach and uttered a silent stupefy.

The spell made Pier jerk, as he fell back, Lyrisadora shot a secound stupefy at Marius before the man could react.

Both men were now knocked out cold on the floor, Lyrisadora grimaced when she wiped spit from her lips, Pier's breath had stunk of beer, the taste lingering in her mouth.

She smiled at Marcus, who looked dumbstruck. 'Y-you came,' he said, a hint of disbelief in his tone.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. 'Obviously,' she retorted, moving around the chair to untie him. 'And I digress, I'm a little disapointed you got yourself kidnapped already, you've barely been my informate for 24 hours,' she chided, freeing him from the chair.

Marcus scowled at her, as he rubbed his sore wrists. 'It isn't my fault, apparantly I upset some big powerful wizard, or whatever,' he snapped.

Lyrisadora looked at him curiously, this boy grew more interesting by the secound, she shook her head and tried to focus. 'Come on, we need to get out of here,'she instructed, wondering over to the door to grab her clothes.

When she opene dthe door and peered around, her eyes widened when she saw a large group of men coming up the stairs.

_Ah not good,_ she thoght urgently, hurriedly grabbing her clothes and shutting the door behind her. 'Someone's coming,' she stated firmly, levitating the sofa to block the door.

Marcus looked at her fearfully, hastily stuffing some money and a wooden spinning top into his pocket. 'Shit, that'll be the Gauthers!' he hissed.

Lyrisadora shoved her skirt and jumper into his hands, fastening her cloak around her neck. 'Hold on,' she ordered sternly, grabbing him by the collar. The doorknob rattled, muffled voices radiating form the other side.

She flicked the window open,Marcus looked at her like she'd gone crazy. 'What the hell are you doing!' he exclaimed.

His words went unheard as she pulled him to the window. 'I said hold on,' she snapped, pulling him close, he wrapped his hands around her waist, she looked down at the concrete gold lined street below.

There was the sound of a blast behind them, Lyrisadora closed her eyes and jumped out of the window, making Marcus scream.

Her arm whipped out as she cast the cushioning charm.

It was like landing on a mattress, her body jerking back up. And at least Marcus had stopped screaming, his eyes frozen in shock, she heard yelling from above, and a lot of people were looking at them.

Snape would have had her head.

Marcus was still clinging to her when she apparated them both away.

* * *

><p>"….Amata, what are you wearing? Where are your clothes!" Ada questioned in alarm when Lyrisadora entered the living room, still dressed in her underwear.<p>

Aluka shielded his eyes. "Cover yourself you wench!" he snarled, making Lyrisadora laugh softly. She hadn't exactly had time to change when escaping, besides it wasn't like she was naked, she was even wearing a cloak….the vampire was such a prude .

Marcus walked in, looked extremely confused and also quite terrified, holding Lyrisadora's scrunched up clothes tighter, like cuddling a teddy bear.

Ada jumped to her feet when she noticed Marcus. "Why do you have a child with you?"

Lyrisadora sighed, glancing back at Marcus who seemed to be using her as a human shield. She pulled her cloak more over her body to cover her chest, before bending down to his eye level. 'Sorry for the scare, Marcus, you'll be safe here,' she reassured him.

'Uh….thanks,' Marcus replied uneasily, glancing cautiously at the other two occupants. 'Who are they?'

Lyrisadora smiled, straightening up more to face the others. "Everyone, this is Marcus, the friend I mentioned, he'll be staying with us," she announced, before glancing back at Marcus. 'Marcus these are my friends,Ada and Aluka,' she introduced, before glancing back at Ada and Aluka. "You both speak french right? " Ada and Aluka nodded slowly, eyeing the boy questionably, Lyrisadora turned back to the puzzled looking boy. 'They speak french,' she told him.

Aluka interrupted. "Why have you bought the boy here?" he snapped, his eyes narrowing at Marcus, making the small boy flinch back.

Lyrisadora frowned, there was no need to be cruel. "There's no need to frighten him,Aluka," she said evenly, fixing the vampire with a reprimanding look. "He's a street urchin I found, I planned to use him as a undeground spy so I could gather more infomration, which at the time, was locating your whereabouts. But for some reason the Gauther's had him kidnapped, and he doesn't know why. So my plans have changed," she explained curtly.

They were all silent for a moment, before their eyes slid from Lyrisadora to Marcus, who shifted uncomfortably. "…Okay, that is a little peculiar," Ada said slowly, looking back at Aluka.

Aluka eyed the boy intently. "Extremely," he concurred. 'Tell me….Marcus,' he began, speaking in perfect French, drawing in the boy's attention. 'How long have you been in Paris?'

Lyrisadora glanced down at Marcus; she noticed he avoided everyone's gaze, staring down at the floor. 'Well….I was raised in the _goodwill for unfortunate souls_ orphanage….the one on the way to the palace,' he murmured, before he cleared his throat, forcing his voice to come out firmer. 'Then I got adopted a year and a half ago….but um….well I left…because I didn't really like it,' he stumbled over his words. Lyrisadora looked at him curiously. '….I wanted to find my parents and I knew I was born in the city, because the matron told me….well not really told me..uh…'

She placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Hey, it's okay, just take a deep breath,' she said kindly, noting Ada's concerned look, while Aluka's remained wary.

Marcus swallowed. 'I couldn't go back to the orphanage, because they'd just send me back to my adopted parents….so I've been on the streets, trying to find my birth parents and well…. I haven't really got that far in finding them,' he divulged, shrugging dismissively.

Lyrisadora took a seat on the armchair, much to Aluka's despair. "Aren't you going to change!" he snapped.

She rolled her eyes, half tempted to remove the cloak from around her neck, that'd give him something so protest about. But instead she focused her attention on Marcus who was standing in the middle of the room, shifting awkwardly. 'Marcus, do you know anything about the Syndicate?" Lyrisadora questioned.

Ada shot Lyrisadora a warning look, one she promptly ignored. Marcus looked a little confused, but nodded hesitantly. 'Only rumours….some prostitutes mentioned it once or twice…but no one likes speaking about them,' he answered apprehensively, looking between them all. 'Why…are you lot a part of it?"

Lyrisadora shook her head. 'No.'

Ada folded her arms, casting Lyrisadora a disapproving look. "Please tell me you're not thinking, what I know you're thinking?" she groaned.

Lyrisadora quirked an eyebrow. '"They want him for a reason, he could be important," she reasoned, switching to English.

"Or he could bring more unwanted attention," Aluka argued.

"A little too late," Lyrisadora remarked, shooting the vampire a withering look. "With the stone in our possession, we might as well paint a target on our backs," she pointed out, her eyes narrowing. "Which means we have to gain the upper hand, or we'll be crushed before we can even hope to begin," she challenged, she could handle them questioning her judgement, they'd only just met, and they obviously needed time to trust her. Best let them challenge her now when her leadership was still unconfirmed. "Also, the Gauther family is high on the list, and Marcus is indirectly involved with them, so this could open up the weakness we need to cripple them," she argued.

Aluka's lips thinned, but he glanced at the Marcus questionably, as if he was considering her point. "….We could look into finding his parents, they might be the cause of all this," he reasoned.

"Aluka," Ada snapped in annoyance, making the vampire's eyes narrow at her. "We're talking about endangering a child," she protested.

"We're at war," Lyrisadora said, looking at Ada pointedly. "Certain compromises have to be made, besides Marcus is already in danger, if anything, we're protecting him," she retorted, Marcus narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously when he heard his name mentioned, no doubt annoyed that they were talking about him.

The American grew silent after that, a displeased grimace on her face, but otherwise she didn't object further, Lyrisadora glanced at Aluka, before back at Marcus.

Well it looked like the little urchin was a part of their group now.

'Marcus,' Lyrisadora said gently, Marcus looked at her warily. 'We're going to find your parents,' she told him.

His eyes grew wide. 'R-really?' he spluttered, looking at them all in surprise.

Lyrisadora chuckled softly. 'Yes. We think they might be the reason the Gauther family had you kidnapped,' she told him.

His smile flickered a bit. 'I guess that would explain a lot of things,' he replied, before he raised an inquiring eyebrow at them. 'So….are you lot a gang?' he questioned carefully.

Aluka scoffed and shook his head, leaning against an old bookcase, Ada smiled in amusement, glancing over at Lyrisadora. 'We're not really sure about that ourselves kid,' Ada commented.

'We just call ourselves the good guys,' Lyrisadora input.

Aluka arched an eyebrow. 'You may, but I certainly don't,' he shot back.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes, deliberately crossing her legs, leisurely lounging on the armchair. Aluka glared at her. "Stop that! Go put some clothes on," the vampire demanded.

Ada laughed.

Marcus didn't quite understand, but smiled faintly in amusement nonetheless, seemingly getting the gist.

Aluka tried not to look at her.

Lyrisadora smirked, she was going to have fun with this lot.


	103. Skeletons in the Closet

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Qoute: Secret, The Pierces **

**'...' French**

* * *

><p><strong>Got a secret, Can you keep it?<strong>

**Swear this one you'll save**  
><strong>Better lock it, in your pocket<strong>  
><strong>Taking this one to the grave<strong>

**Chapter: Skeletons in the Closet**

* * *

><p><em>17th July 1996<em>

Not being able to fire someone was becoming increasingly frustrating. Adrian held back a sigh as he slouched in his chair, Hermes was getting on his nerves, he was so unbelievingly….spineless, and not in a fun way.

He seemed to flinch every time Adrian raised his voice ever so slightly, it was ridiculous, the man was three years older than him, yet he cowered like a child! Adrian glanced at his finished paperwork, his office looking unusually tidier than normal….Adrian's eyes narrowed.

That was another thing, Hermes was a kiss up, acting worse than an house-elf, always asking if Adrian wanted a coffee, or something else equally as meaningless.

But…..Hermes was good at his job, surprisingly good, he was a fast worker and an excellent problem solver. He waved through paperwork like it was a pie eating competition, every task Adrian had assigned him had been done in record time and up to the highest standard, Adrian would be an idiot to fire him.

His head jerked up when he heard a knock at his door, he sighed quietly. "Yes?" he inquired evenly, the door opened, revealing a very nervous looking Hermes, Adrian frowned, he looked more nervous than usual.

"Uh sir, I just received word from the builders," Hermes began, Adrian's eyes narrowed, Hermes looked around the room uncomfortably. "…They accidentally struck a pipe while building underground….which flooded the area. They've dried most of it up, but we'll have to cover damage repairs…" Hermes revealed, before letting out a strained laugh. "But the lava lamps didn't get damaged," he added.

Adrian's jaw stiffened, as he directed his glare at Hermes. "The lava lamps are okay?" he repeated lightly, already feeling his temper mounting.

"….Uh, yes, perfectly undamaged," Hermes replied, forcing a smile. "But one of the lamps is the wrong size, so we'll have t-"

"I don't care about stupid lamps!" Adrian snapped, standing to his feet, Hermes flinched back. Adrian let out a long suffering sigh, he closed his eyes and tried to calm down , the last thing he needed was an assault lawsuit "Tell Constantine to notify my accountant of the situation," he ordered briskly, stepping from behind his desk. "We need to assess the damage costs and get back on schedule," he informed tightly.

"Of course, sir," Hermes agreed hastily. "Do you want me to head to the site? Also, I can scout out for cheaper repair companies, just so we don't get ripped off," he offered eagerly.

Adrian eyed him passively. "I'd rather go myself," he said coolly, making Hermes tense a little. "…But you raise a good point, so I want you to scout out some cheaper repair companies." Hermes looked surprised at the scarce praise. "But keep in mind, quality over quantity…the last thing I want is health and safety on my back," Adrian added evenly.

"Of course, sir, I'll get on that right away," Hermes said brightly, his voice irritating Adrian's ears. "Would you like a coffee before you go?" he offered cheerily.

Merlin the man was such a Hufflepuff, Adrian could barely stand it, how could anyone be that helpful and cheerful all the time? "No," Adrian answered flatly, turning away to grab his coat that hung on the back of his chair.

Hermes smile faltered, his brow creasing, he looked almost…worried? Adrian nearly rolled his eyes, was this moron really that insecure? "Tea then?" Hermes asked quickly. "Or lunch? It's no trouble at all, sir-"

Adrian felt his temper building, he shot his assistant a withering look. "_Hermes_," he interrupted coldly, making the man's lips smack shut. "I'm a little highly strung right now, and not in the most sociable of moods, so please, just get back to work," Adrian snapped.

Hermes deflated like a tonne of bricks had been dropped on him. "I'm sorry, Mr Pucey….I was just trying to be helpful," he replied uncomfortably, backing a bit towards the door. "….You just seem a little stressed."

Adrian groaned and ran a hand through his hair, Hermes was not helping, if anything he was making Adrian feel more stressed. "Do I?" he commented testily, giving his assistant another withering look. "I can't imagine why," Adrian added dryly.

Hermes stared at the floor for a moment, before looking back at Adrian, a sudden brightness in his gaze, which Adrian had gathered to mean the man had a sudden _brilliant_ idea he wanted to voice. "Have you tried jogging, sir? It could do wonders for your health," Hermes voiced evenly.

It took all of Adrian's self-restraint not to throw a hex at Hermes.

* * *

><p>The <em>goodwill for unfortunate souls orphanage<em> looked friendly enough, the building was in good condition, the yellow brickwork well cared for. Which was slightly expected seeing how this orphanage had been founded by the first Prince Adalard back in the eighteenth century, so there must be some pressure on the royals to keep it spick and span.

Lyrisadora broke into the main office of the orphanage, around six in the evening when they were all having dinner in the main hall, one of the younger children had neglected to close the back door in the garden, allowing herself and a scruffy looking grey cat to wonder into the building.

There was an echo of laughter from down the hall, Lyrisadora closed the office door behind her, the office looked tidy, with starch cream walls and a soft brown carpet, a warm light shining through the thin blue curtains, giving the room a summer glow. There was a desk in the corner of the room, a small safe sat next to the desk, Lyrisadora looked around the room, there was a row of file cabinets opposite the desk.

She flicked her wand to open them up, the draws slid open revealing a neat row of yellow files. The files were arranged by last name, since some of the children had been abandoned, no last name given, so it was up to the matron who ran the orphanage to give them last names. Marcus had said his first name had been told to the matron when he had been abandoned at the orphanage, and with no last name the Matron had dubbed him Marcus Corbin.

Lyrisadora searched the C section, frantically flicking through the files with her fingers, she stopped when she saw the file labelled; Corbin, Marcus.

She absently glanced at the door before she opened up the file. On the first page was a small black and white picture of a younger Marcus, maybe around seven or eight years old. A large red stamp of writing saying 'ADOPTED' was next to his name.

She scanned through the contents;

_'Name: Marcus Corbin_

_Ethnicity: Half Romanian and Half Caucasian._

_Nationality: French_

_DOB: 16th December 1985'_

Lyrisadora flicked through the file, the matron commented on Marcus being reckless, adventurous, vulgar and excitable, but also anti-social.

There were comments on incidents of accidental magic, his magic level was marked as average, his imagination being his biggest potential, apparently he showed promise in flying.

But Lyrisadora couldn't find any details on his parents, the file didn't even document who had handed him over to the orphanage, the fact his birthday and his parents ethnicity had been told, indicated that the Matron might have at least spoken with the person.

Lyrisadora closed the file and placed it back in the cabinet, her eyes wondered back to the safe next to the desk, there must be something of interest in there. She tried picking it up, but it was stuck firmly to the ground, she let her magic roam over it, there were strong protective wards surrounding the small safe, her eyes narrowed.

She bent down to get a closer look, trying to break the safe open would probably set off an alarm. She froze when she heard a roar of footsteps run past the door, it appeared dinner was over, Lyrisadora paused, well she supposed she could always go for plan B.

She walked over to the door, before she pressed herself against the wall and waited, wand drawn at the ready, she sighed quietly. If there was nothing of use in the safe then she could always question the matron, from what Marcus had told her, the woman had been working at the orphanage for sixteen years now, so there were bound to be some secrets hidden in her mind.

The doorknob turned with a click, before the door was pushed open, concealing Lyrisadora from view. "_Imperio_," Lyrisadora whispered lowly, the spell hit the hunched woman from behind, making her shoulders tense.

Lyrisadora closed the door, clicking the lock in place. 'Hand over your wand,' she ordered evenly, the old matron turned to her, a series of wrinkles littered the woman's face, dim green eyes now cloudy and glazed over, her silver hair tied up in a loose bun. The woman handed over her stubby looking wand. 'Open the safe,' Lyrisadora ordered sternly.

The woman's face twitched, Lyrisadora narrowed her eyes and deepened the curse, the woman's will was strong.

When Lucius had taught Lyrisadora the imperius, he had told her it wasn't just about having a strong nerve and a firm resolve, you had to understand people, expose their desires and exploit it. If you didn't get a good grasp on this then your imperius wouldn't be as effective.

The casters emotions also influenced the strength of the curse, so as long as you remained calm and soothing, the curse had more of an effect.

Lyrisadora took a step closer to the woman. 'I'm not here to harm you, I'm trying to help Marcus,' she said softly, the matron's eyes widened a fraction. 'Please, open the safe, then I'll be on your way. Don't you want to help protect Marcus?' Lyrisadora said soothingly, reinforcing the curse.

The matron blinked, her jaw tight, before she walked toward the safe, entered the combination, the door lightly opening .

Lyrisadora told her to sit down and not to move, before she bent down to search the safe. It was filled with a mixture of things, old jewellery , receipts, a sack of galleons and a letter with a red seal.

Lyrisadora examined the cream tinted envelope, she tried to open it, but the seal wouldn't budge. She looked at the back, it was addressed to Marcus.

* * *

><p>The silence was unbearable, like the emptiness you got when slitting a screaming woman's throat; grim and still.<p>

Reynard watched as the Twins stumbled into the main hall, looking like they'd crawled through hell and back. Constancia's normally prim burgundy hair was limp and greasy, there was also a blood stained bandage wrapped around her neck, robes caked with dirt. Constancio was fairing no better, his fair hair was dirty, his hands flaked with blood, mud patched on his skin.

He assumed the dream team had been served a royal battering, quite disappointed. Reynard held back a small crooked smile, at least this would take those two down a peg, it was about time they had a bitter taste of humble pie.

Reynard glanced over at Bayard, noting how the broad thirty year olds gold eyes were glinting with something of amusement. The beast looked noticeably more well kept than usual, dark hair combed back, his skin more of a healthy tan than its usual grim state; the full moon must still be a while off.

Jenik eyed the Twins clinically as they neared him, around six henchmen were positioned near the exits, Reynard absently touched his mismatched arm, he wondered how that sickly looking man was without his arm?

'Unsuccessful I take it?' Jenik spoke, effectively cutting Reynard's thoughts short.

The Twins looked like kicked puppies, avoiding their patron's gaze, Constancio was the one to hesitantly strain his gaze to Jenik's. '….A girl interfered when we were near capturing the vampire and American….we ended up….losing….' Constancio divulged.

Jenik looked at them curiously, before his eyes flickered to Reynard. 'Was it the same girl Reynard spoke of?' he asked evenly, turning back to the two tired looking assassins.

'No….it was a different girl,' Constancio replied apprehensively.

Jenik looked mildly annoyed, before he let out a low sigh. 'So I gather the stone is still in their possession?' he asked lightly.

Reynard felt a little bit more on edge, he sensed Bayard shift beside him, the Twins kept their gaze trained on the floor.

'I expected better,' Jenik sighed, Constancia twitched, her knuckles clenching, Jenik looked at her curiously. 'You seem agitated, my little dove?'

The Twins tensed, but Constancia drew her gaze upwards. 'We spent two months tracking them,' she whispered, her voice sounded raspy, Reynard wondered how deep that cut had been. 'We weren't exactly at our physical peak, sir,' she argued weakly, diverting her gaze to her twin.

She still had nerve, Reynard would give her that, but still so impulsive….maybe her poor state had impacted her common sense.

Jenik was silent for a moment, his gaze turning colder. 'Are you saying it's my fault you failed to take care of yourself?' he asked mildly, his voice painfully conversational.

Constancia grew paler, her fingers clenched painfully tight. 'No,' she answered hurriedly, keeping her gaze lowered. 'I was just-' Her eyes widened when she realized her mistake.

Constancio had turned a sickly pale green colour. '_We_ are entirely to blame, sir,' he said hastily interjected, probably hoping that slip of the tongue would be forgotten. 'Forgive us, we're sorry,' he apologised reverently, a hint of pleading in his tone.

Reynard and Bayard eyed the boss intently. Reynard wondered when Jenik's temper would flare, the boss had been eerily calm since Aluka's betrayal.

But Jenik just stared at the Twins unnervingly, making Reynard's stomach churn in dread, but then Jenik looked to Bayard. 'I trust you'll be more successful than the others?' Jenik questioned his son.

Bayard nodded curtly. 'Yes, father,' he replied tonelessly.

Reynard resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Jenik smiled coldly, sweeping them all with a knowing gaze. 'Good, I've already suffered two disappointments,' he informed them briskly, before nodding to his men to follow him. 'I will not tolerate a third,' he added stonily, glancing at them over his shoulder as he left the room, the doors snapping shut behind him.

Reynard and the Twins turned their gazes to Bayard. 'Don't fuck up,' Reynard said darkly.

Bayard rolled his eyes, glancing over at the Twins in distaste. 'I won't underestimate them,' the werewolf retorted.

Constancia's eyes flashed with anger. 'We didn't underestimate them!' she hissed, before letting out a strangled cough, rubbing her throat soothingly , as Constancio patter her back.

Reynard took a step closer to them and eyed the bandage with interest. 'Who tried to slit your throat?' he asked flippantly.

Constancio's blue eyes became colder. 'This English girl appeared out of nowhere…..held Connie at knife point,' he divulged.

Constancia gritted her teeth. 'I'll murder that bitch if I ever see her again,' she hissed.

'Not if she gets to you first,' Bayard argued amusingly, giving her a droll smile. 'And to think I thought we trained you two well….losing your touch are we?'

Constancio had to grip Constancia's shoulder to stop her from lunging at Bayard. 'I wouldn't be so smug, _wolf_,' she sneered, making Bayard's eyes narrow. 'We may have failed, but I doubt you'll do better, your magic's barely subpar,' she spat.

Bayard growled, his right hand was out in a flash, grabbing Constancia's knotted hair in a vice grip, twisting her head. 'Watch your tongue mudblood, at least I'm not some experiment gone wrong!' he snarled.

Constancio whipped his wand out, stabbing it into Bayard's throat. 'Get your filthy claws off her, dog,' he growled.

Bayard's left hand tightened around his own wand.

'Enough, idiots,' Reynard barked, grabbing the bratty twin by the collar, shoving him away from Bayard. 'Are you trying to piss Jenik off even more?' he spat, shoving Bayard off Constancia, setting the young woman free.

Reynard felt a rise of frustration, since when was he now appointed peacekeeper? He mentally cursed Aluka. The vampire was an arrogant pretentious ass, but he had been good at keeping the peace between them all, now it was a daily struggle not to tear each other's throats out.

Reynard sneered at the Twins. 'Are you twelve? No? Then stop messing around and fuck off,' he dismissed.

The Twin's looked like they'd very much like to gouge his eyes out, the feeling was mutual, though he'd rather impale them than blind them. But at least they did as they were told, casting one last pointed look at Bayard before trudging out of the room.

Reynard shook his head, they could be so unprofessional at times, it repeatedly irked him, couldn't Jenik have trained them better? They had a blatant attitude problem.

He shot Bayard a sharp look, the message clear, if he failed then they were all going to pay for it.

Three strikes and then you're out.

* * *

><p>This house smelt like burnt toast and crispy bacon, Marcus looked up at the burnt ceiling of the living room, the former white paint now a sticky toffee colour. It didn't seem the most secure of places, the vampire had grumpily informed him that it had a strong array of enchantments to keep it held together.<p>

But Marcus wasn't convinced, he glanced at Ada and Aluka who were pouring over a few document laid out on a small wooden table. 'Is this the only place we can hide?' Marcus asked.

Aluka's jaw tightened, Marcus tensed a bit more. 'We don't have many connections, boy, this is as good as it'll get,' he replied tightly.

Ada gave Aluka an annoyed look. 'He was only asking, Aluka,' she rebuked, before offering Marcus a polite smile. 'This is the last place the Syndicate will look….even though it isn't ideal.'

Marcus frowned, before his eyes lit up. '…..But, I know a place we can hide,' he said, they looked at him questionably. 'It's a secret place that only gypsies know about,' he said, jumping to his feet and making his way over to them.

Aluka looked at him warily. 'Go on,' he said slowly, turning to him fully, Marcus stepped a back a little when the vampire towered over him.

He forced himself to be braver. 'Well….I used to hang out a lot where the gypsies lived, the magical ones,' he said, a little too fast, trying not to stumble over his words. 'Well, they're really traditional and the elder ones used to tell stories , and this one man was ancient, like over 150 at least. He told me about this underground place where the gypsies used to hide, back in the middle ages,' Marcus explained, Aluka shot him an impatient look. 'There's loads of enchantments around it and everything, and hardly anyone knows about it.'

'Are you sure?' Ada questioned sceptically.

Marcus nodded. 'Muggles tried to enter it one time…..bad things happened-but anyway, I've been there,' he told them, a grin creeping on his face when he saw how surprised they looked. 'I followed the metro line-I nearly died, but it was worth it-but it's massive and dark and creepy as well,' he said, looking at Aluka, making the vampire scowl in irritation, Marcus hastily looked back at Ada. 'I can show you, if you want?'

Ada and Aluka exchanged a look. 'It seems a little too good to be true,' Ada muttered.

'Well, there might be a few dark curses still in place,' Marcus inputted.

Aluka arched an eyebrow. 'Curses?'

Marcus waved a dismissive hand, he hadn't gone too far into the hide out, but the dark magic hadn't felt that bad. 'Nothing too Dark, we can get rid of them.'

'I see,' Ada commented warily. 'Well…we should at least give it a look,' she reasoned, surveying the decrepit room.

Marcus beamed, feeling a pang of relief at having further proved his usefulness.

* * *

><p>Ruling was both riveting and exhausting.<p>

Queen Berenice sighed.

Berenice; bringer of victory…..her father had always been a sort of poetic man, insistent that it was important to give someone a name they could live up to.

A warm breeze caressed the meeting room, six high back chairs formed a circle, the room held little furniture, bar a large red rug that covered a square of the floor, underneath the chairs.

Zurie sat at the Queen's right hand side, while Elodie sat on her left. Berenice eyed her ladies in waiting appraisingly; so far they had all completed the tasks she had assigned them. Clarice had finished organising appropriate suitors for Prince Adalard's two daughters, Henrietta and Juliet, who were fast approaching thirteen mind you.

Elodie had gathered sufficient information on what the press had been up to, as well as some goings on in the black market. Clove had finalised the plans for the upcoming end of summer ball, picking yellow as the dominant colour. And Delany had organised a new charity drive to help fund the building development of a new tuition free school, as well as some new investments for the art and culture projects.

'Excellent work ladies,' Berenice praised, smiling politely. 'I think that'll be all for today,' she dismissed them.

She received five perfectly pleasant smiles in response, she believed Zurie's was the only one that was genuine. 'Your highness,' they all said in unison, before standing to their feet.

Berenice looked over at Zurie. 'Zurie, Would you stay for a moment?' she asked.

Clarice struggled to hold back a look of disdain, Berenice almost laughed, these woman could be so petty at times. Zurie quickly glanced at the other ladies, no doubt feeling their envy, but smiled brightly nonetheless. 'Of course your grace,' Zurie replied.

Berenice tapped the girl's seat, when the other ladies left. 'Is everything alright?' she questioned, looking at her curiously.

Zurie took a seat and shook her head. 'It's nothing…..I'm just apprehensive about the Veela,' she answered nervously.

Ah yes the Veela, Berenice was reminded to talk to the Veela liaison Cloudette, she'd need to make sure everything was organised correctly. One false move and it could all go wrong. 'The Veela are my subjects, I will treat them as such,' Berenice reassured, smiling warmly, patting Zurie's hand soothingly. 'I mean them no harm, I swear,' she told her gently.

This seemed to ease Zurie's worries, a small smile twitching onto her lips. 'I know….forgive me, I haven't really been myself lately….' She sighed.

The Queen frowned, noting the girl's downcast gaze. 'What's troubling you, my dear?'

Zurie clenched her hands tightly on her lap. 'I….' Berenice gave her an encouraging smile. 'I don't think I fit in here,' she confessed.

The Queen eyed her with also a stab of pity, she supposed she was partly to blame for Zurie fish out of water complex. Merlin knew that Zurie was a little lamb compared to the others, but her presence had been essential in keeping the Veela placated, making them feel like they were being represented.

But that hadn't worked out so well, which meant plan B was now in the making.

Zurie was more or less useless now….but Berenice couldn't part with her, she was quite fond of her little half Veela, so sweet and innocent, a rare soul untouched by the world's horrors. Besides, Zurie could still have her uses, still a valuable pawn.

Berenice gave her a sad smile. 'I'm sorry you feel this way…..have the others made you feel welcome?'

Zurie shifted a little, which was all the confirmation Berenice needed. 'Well, Elodie has been kind to me, the others have been a little….distant,' Zurie answered truthfully.

The Queen chuckled softly. 'They can be a jealous bunch,' she sighed, squeezing Zurie's hand reassuringly. 'But besides that, how are things? I hear Rosalie will be three soon,' Berenice said evenly.

The half Veela's face instantly brightened. 'In November, Damien's fretting that she'll be all grown up soon,' she said cheerfully.

Berenice smiled politely. 'He sounds like such a doting father,' she commented.

Zurie nodded enthusiastically. 'He adores her,' she remarked tenderly, smiling softly, like a woman in love.

It was a bit nauseating.

'How is Damien these days? He seems so much more reserved than before,' Berenice said, looking at Zurie curiously. 'I hope he's alright….especially with the trouble with his cousin back in England.'

Zurie's smile became a little more fixed, perhaps she knew more than she was letting on, Zurie was a horrible liar, and was by nature honest….but she adored her husband and hung off his every word. Which was useful at times, seeing how Damien Malfoy was a lot smarter than his wife, and had a good understanding on how politics worked. But at the end of the day he was still a snake in the grass, and Berenice didn't trust him, poor Zurie simply hadn't realised what type of family she had married into.

'He is coping well,' Zurie answered meekly, avoiding the Queen's stare.

Berenice moved her hand to Zurie's chin, tilting her head upwards. 'Is he treating you well?….he has a unsavoury reputation after all,' she reasoned, looking at Zurie sternly.

A flash of hurt appeared in the girl's face, before she hastily shook her head. 'He's changed, we love each other, he's a good husband,' she said firmly, moving out of the Queen's hold, Berenice feared she had gone too far, the last thing she wanted was Zurie not trusting her. 'He rarely stays out late, and he never gambles anymore….he's a good man,' Zurie protested urgently, before she cowed. 'Forgive me if I spoke out of turn, you-'

'Oh Zurie,' Berenice interrupted, smiling gently, smoothing back Zurie's glossy hair. 'You have nothing to fear, I appreciate your honesty, it's refreshing,' she reassured.

Zurie gave her a sheepish smile, before she sifted uncomfortably. 'He really has changed though….we love each other,' she murmured.

Berenice just smiled placidly, Damien may love his wife, but his character on whole was devious , he couldn't be trusted. 'I just worry…..are you sure everything's alright?' the Queen asked, looking at Zurie intently.

Zurie clenched her hands tighter, her gaze downcast. 'I….I,' she stumbled over her word, closing her eyes.

Berenice placed a gentle hand on Zurie's shoulder. 'It's alright, I just worry for you….I just hate to see you upset,' she sighed, looking at Zurie sadly.

The half Veela tensed, she scrunched up her eyes. 'I….I saw Prince Adalard bribe a palace guard to sneak out of the palace,' Zurie blurted out, flinching away, as if expecting a blow.

Berenice stilled, her eyes narrowing, what was her cousin up to this time? 'When did you see this?' she asked quietly.

Zurie bit down on her lip, her brown eyes flickering to the Queen. 'On the night you asked me about the Veela…I saw him when I was leaving your study,' she whispered. 'I didn't know how to tell you! I was so worried you'd think I-I was lying or-or I worsened things be-'

'Sshh,' Berenice hushed softly, smiling kindly. 'Calm down, I understand, it must have been quite a fright for you. But thank you for telling me in the end,' she praised.

Zurie looked relieved. 'I didn't know how to tell you, forgive me,' she apologised anxiously.

Berenice smiled at how flustered Zurie was getting, but then another thought occurred to her. 'Did anyone see you?' Her voice coming out more sterner.

'No, your highness,' Zurie answered earnestly.

Berenice looked at her critically. 'And have you told anyone what you saw?'

There was a short pause, before Zurie shook her head. 'No one, your grace,' Zurie answered.

Well that didn't sound convincing.

The Queen hid a grim smile, it appeared little Zurie was capable of lying, she just wasn't very good. She was most likely protecting her husband….hmm…..Damien had never shown public or private support for blood supremacy, a stark contrast to the others in her court. From what she had gathered, he appeared less extreme than his cousin, but you know what they say….a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Damien was a Malfoy, and his unsavoury actions had shown that he wasn't a saint. It was common knowledge that the Malfoys sniffed out power like greyhounds, they shifted loyalties quite easily if the price was right.

And poor Zurie was caught in the middle, it could be possible to shift Zurie's loyalties away from her husband, seeing how it had worked for her mother….but Zurie's relationship with Damien was far stronger than that with her mother.

However, the fact Zurie had told the Queen what she saw, indicated that her loyalty was leaning more to the Queen than to Damien.

The Queen smiled. 'I think it best we keep it that way,' Berenice replied evenly, squeezing Zurie's shoulder reassuringly. 'It'll be our little secret.'

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora briskly walked into the living room, Marcus more or less jumped out of his seat. 'Did you find anything?' he questioned.<p>

Aluka and Ada peered around the doorway, Ada was wearing a grubby looking apron, while Aluka was holding a skinned lumpy looking chicken in his hands.

Lyrisadora smiled down at Marcus, reaching into her pocket. 'I found this,' she replied, presenting the envelope. 'But it won't budge, so I figured you could give it a try,' she told him, she had tried to see if she could track the sender, but the anti-tracking charms on it had put a stop to that.

The matron had been pretty useless with information, just that the letter was to be given to Marcus on his seventeenth birthday, her memories seemed to have been altered, the only things that stayed prominent was the information on when Marcus was born, his first name, blood status and parents ethnicity.

So Lyrisadora had been forced to call it quits and obliviate the woman, alter her memories ever so slightly, and leave.

Marcus hesitantly accepted the envelope; Aluka and Ada entered the room, eyeing Marcus with intrigue.

Marcus broke the seal on the envelope, a spark of magic emitting, before he flicked it open.

An aqua blue and black wooden bead bracelet, with a white pearl at the end, fell out.

Lyrisadora moved around Marcus to read the letter, her brow furrowing.

_'To my beloved son,_

_ I am sorry for abandoning you and so much more. Things are not simple, what we want cannot always be possible and sometimes we have to make harsh choices. And sometimes we try to do good and end up hurting more people in the process, my choice to give you up, is with good intentions. _

_Please understand that I loved your father, I want you to know that he is a good man, but we came from two very different worlds. _

_I don't know if I'll be alive by the time you get this, or if you'll even be alive, maybe you'll never even see this letter, life can be cruel like that. But I am going to give you a choice, because if you search for me, your life may be in danger and the responsibilities you must undertake may break you. _

_So if you are happy, then forget me and understand that I love you, always, and that you were wanted. _

_But if you are unhappy and you wish to find me, then I will not turn you away. But it will be too risky to contact me directly, so I ask that you contact Alain Tronc, show her the bracelet I made you, she will explain everything. _

_Love _

_Your mother.'_


	104. Ashes to Ashes

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Qoute: Darnell Lamont Walker**

**'...' French**

* * *

><p><strong>"Some guys live in worlds where pawns stay pawns. I'm one move from king."<br>**

**Chapter: Ashes to Ashes **

* * *

><p>Marcus was very still as he stared at the letter, Lyrisadora frowned, glancing over at Aluka. "Have you ever heard of a woman called Alain Tronc?" she questioned.<p>

Ada's eyes brightened, while Aluka frowned. "No."

"Yes." Ada said at the same time.

Aluka turned to Ada. "How did you hear about her?" he questioned.

Ada gave him an impatient look. "By reading the newspaper," she answered. "Unlike some," she added nonchalantly.

The vampire scowled. "I don't read that drivel," he sneered.

Marcus looked between them all in confusion. 'What are you guys talking about?'

Lyrisadora shot him an apologetic smile; she had almost forgotten he didn't know English. 'Sorry. Ada was saying that she knew who Alain Tronc is,' she explained.

'Well actually….I know who she _was,_' Ada corrected uncomfortably, a grimace slipping onto her lips, she surveyed them all grimly. 'She was murdered two months ago by her husband….'

Lyrisadora held back a groan, Marcus deflated, his hands scrunching up the letter. 'But…what are we going to do?….' Marcus spluttered, looking lost.

'Don't worry,' Lyrisadora interjected, patting him on the shoulder, making him shift slightly. 'We can still find answers by retracing her history,' she reassured, before looking back at Ada. 'What was her occupation?'

'She was a healer,' Ada replied.

Well at least they had the connection between the woman and Marcus' mother, Lyrisadora thought. 'Did the article go into details as to why her husband killed her?'

Ada's brow creased as she paused thoughtfully. 'From what I remember, he believed she was cheating on him, but it was never proven if she was cheating on him,' she informed.

Aluka's eyes narrowed. 'Did her husband have any history of violence?'

'No, I don't think so,' Ada replied, glancing over at Lyrisadora. 'He could have been imperioused and had his memories altered,' Ada reasoned.

'Most likely,' Lyrisadora murmured, gripping her chin thoughtfully. 'We might be able to uncover some of the blocked memories,' she muttered.

Ada clicked her fingers. 'I could sneak in as a reporter, arrange an interview with the husband,' she suggested.

Marcus looked at her questionably. 'Are you sure they'll let you? What if they do a background check.'

'I still have a fake ID,' Ada replied dismissively. 'If I say I'm a freelancer they might not come down as hard, I just need their permission. The investigation wasn't made that big of a deal in the papers…'

The Syndicate could still be monitoring him though, Lyrisadora considered, which meant worst case scenario that they'd get followed or the prison guards realised they were lying and pulled them in for questioning. But that was all if they were given permission to enter the prison in the first place, there was a slim possibility they could be denied.

Lyrisadora considered sneaking into the prison, perhaps through the kitchens, but then she'd need to get a layout of the building and that could take a lot of weeks of planning. Or she could sneak in as a member of the public, she shook her head and turned back to Ada. 'I'll come with you, I'll need to peer into his mind, also you wouldn't want to be alone if it all went pear shaped,' Lyrisadora told her.

Ada shrugged. 'Alright then. We'll need an escape plan though, just in case,' she pointed out.

'The prison is located in the Pyrenees mountains,' Aluka said, taking a seat in the armchair. 'The prison itself is built into the mountain, so the fall is treacherous,' he told them flatly. 'The wards are strong, so flying is out of the question,' he went on, his brow furrowing. 'Our best option is to escape from underground, through the pipes.'

Lyrisadora held back a grin, it sounded like the vampire knew the prison well. 'Can you draw out a rough layout of the place? Then we can start planning out the exit route,' she requested.

Marcus shot them both a worried look. 'What if you get caught?' he muttered, lowering his gaze when Lyrisadora glanced down at him. 'Y-you don't have to do all this….'

Aluka rolled his eyes. 'We aren't doing it for you,' he leered, Ada shot the vampire a sharp look, Marcus tensed.

'Fuck sake Aluka, stop being an asshole,' Ada snapped.

Aluka bristled, Lyrisadora sighed. 'Calm down Ada,' she chided impatiently, before smiling warmly at Marcus. 'Marcus, we're doing this because we want to, and besides, this is a small piece in a much larger picture,' Lyrisadora said.

Marcus peered up at her. 'I just….don't want you guys getting into trouble, I mean loads of kids never get to see their parents, they get over it after a while,' he argued, shrugging uncomfortably.

Lyrisadora gave him a gentle look. 'You still deserve to meet your mother, and besides, we need to find out why you're in danger. Some risks are necessary,' she soothed, ruffling his hair, he shied away from the touch, making her frown.

Marcus kept his gaze focussed on the floor. 'If you say so,' he said quietly.

Lyrisadora eyed him intently, there was definitely something off with this boy. Aluka was the first to break the uneasy silence. 'Well that's that settled,' the vampire spoke, as Ada conjured up a piece of paper.

Lyrisadora gave another concerned glance at Marcus, before she sighed quietly. She couldn't get too personally involved, these weren't her friends, the only thing she needed to keep an eye on was their work performance.

Marcus shifted towards the grimy window, staring out of it.

Lyrisadora's mind lingered to Alain Tronc's murder. The Syndicate was ruthless and it wouldn't be long until the assassins caught up with them again.

Ada and Aluka were talking amongst themselves, starting to draw a diagram of the prison.

Marcus was quiet, letter still scrunched up in his hand.

Lyrisadora reminded herself not to get too attached.

* * *

><p><em>19th July 1996<em>

Bayard resisted the urge to scratch his hands, it was a habit he had picked up in his earlier transformation, back when he had been an awkward sort of teenager.

He made his way down the hall, his father had requested to see him, apparently there was new information on the undesirables whereabouts. Bayard had spent the last 24 hours retracing Aluka's steps before his betrayal, the vampire had safe houses, they of course had been raided, but it was still highly possible that Aluka had other safe houses, unknown to them.

The twins weren't much help either, especially since Constancia was in more of a foul mood than usual, Bayard had caught her muttering about losing some ring. Pathetic. She was twenty six yet she acted like a bratty child.

Bayard dreamt of the day when he could rip out her throat to silence that irritating voice of hers.

Bayard knocked on the thick wooden door of his father's lab, his shoulders subconsciously tensing. 'Come in,' called Jenik from the other end.

When Bayard opened the door, the sound of bubbling chemicals entered his ears, Jenik was stood at a work bench, a complex series of potions, viles and liquids stretched along the table. A blue fire heated up a cauldron, while Jenik hovered over it.

The floor was concrete, chalk dust layering the grey stone, the walls were blank, there were eight wardrobes lined up on the right hand wall, a wide oak door sat at the end.

Bayard suppressed a shudder and quickly looked away from the door, focusing on his father. 'I gather you have news,' he said coolly.

Jenik tapped the fire with his wand, lowering the flames. His eyes flickered to his son. 'Klaus has been in contact, the kidnapping was unsuccessful, the boy was rescued,' Jenik informed evenly.

Bayard held back a sigh, competence was so hard to come by these days. 'Do they have a description on the rescuer?'

Jenik gave him a dry look, it took a moment for realisation to dawn, Bayard closed his eyes and growled in frustration. 'It's only been a week and this girl is ruining everything,' Bayard hissed in annoyance. 'Do we even know anything about her? Any weaknesses? There must be something,' he reasoned.

Jenik sighed. 'Only that she's from England, and we roughly know her age, apparently she stopped an earlier kidnapping attempt on the boy,' he divulged, a scowl creasing his wrinkled face. 'But this incident does mean it's likely they're hiding out in Paris,' he pointed out.

Well there was that, Bayard thought, this girl was starting to get on his nerves, no wonder Reynard and the twins hated her. 'Of all the people in this city, she had to run into that little brat,' Bayard muttered bitterly.

'Hmm, yes it is unfortunate,' Jenik replied coldly, he grew silent, looking over at the closed door near the shelves, Bayard tensed more. 'I had hoped to keep this quiet, but with everything that's happened, I don't think we can afford to be discreet anymore,' he mused, looking back at his son. 'Go investigate the orphanage, see if anything's been tampered with.'

Bayard frowned, he hadn't expected to go there personally, last time one of their men had been sent, to see if Marcus had returned to the orphanage. A report had come back stating nothing of use had been spotted. 'Very well,' he replied. 'Is that everything?' he questioned tonelessly.

Jenik had already moved back behind his work bench. 'Yes, I expect a full report by tonight,' he told him lightly.

Bayard nodded curtly, his fists clenching when he heard a faint banging from behind the closed door. He swallowed a dry lump down his throat; his father hadn't seemed to notice the noise. 'Goodbye, sir,' he said flatly, he briskly opened the door to walk into the hallway.

The door shut behind him with a click, his breathing calmed, trying to block the images out of his head.

His mother had once said there was no such thing as evil.

But his mother had always been a liar.

* * *

><p><em>19th July 1996<em>

It was raining on the day of the funeral, Draco watched as his sister's ashes were lowered into the ground, standing beside his mother.

Narcissa wept silent tears, as they slid down her face.

Draco glanced around at the silent mourners, the turnout was better than expected, Zurie and Damien Malfoy had Floo in across from France to pay their respects, the littlest Malfoy, Rosalie was squirming on her mother's lap.

Grandfather was absent, expected seeing how he was at death's door, the healers predicted he'd be gone by the end of the month. Grandmother was here though, strangely silent for once, her face sombre, she hadn't even given Narcissa a scathing remark, in fact, she had been unusually docile since she arrived.

Antonella and her two nieces Arabella and Clara were their too, Arabella was heavily pregnant, her husband Terence Higgs stood by her side, Clara had a baby in her arms, her husband Lewis Thorverton next to her.

Elizabeth was in attendance with her parents, still stuck in a wheelchair, Lucretia was there too, finally out of the loony bin; her parents were noticeably absent.

A few other families were there, the Parkinsons, Notts, Crabbe, Goyle,Yaxley even the Greengrass family; a surprise since his mother and Mrs Greengrass loathed each other with a vindictive-

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Draco," his mother spoke, rousing him from his thoughts, he hadn't realised he had been staring into space. "We need to go now," Narcissa informed quietly.

Draco blinked, before looking back at the manor, the refreshments should be ready by now, he held back a sigh, he didn't really want to have to listen to the guests passing condolences.

But duty called.

He was only half paying attention as Pansy simpered her respects, gripping his hand tightly, telling him how she was always there if he needed her. He just managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

He was surprised when Astoria approached him, her puffy eyes rimmed with tears, she looked tired and upset, he frowned. "I'm sorry Draco," she said shakily, Mrs Greengrass faintly scowled from across the room; she still had yet to pay her respects. "Y-you're sister was an amazing person," Astoria told him weakly, her gaze surprising sincere. He hadn't known she had been close to his sister, they had barely hung out together….but it was rare for a Slytherin to expose themselves so out in the open, it was a nice change from the usual facades and plastic smiles.

He found himself tongue tied, his mother smiled warmly at Astoria. "Thank you Astoria," she gave the polite reply.

Astoria looked at him for a moment, opening her mouth to speak, before she closed it, giving them both a curt nod, returning to her uptight mother and uncomfortable looking sister.

His gaze shifted away when Zurie and Damien approached. "Our condolences," Damien said, giving a short respectful bow of his head. "She vos a very bright girl, she will be missed," he said tenderly.

Zurie nodded, touching Draco's arm, he tried not to shove her off. "She vos very kind," she said, sounding like an idiot with her awful accent.

He smiled thinly. "Thank you," he returned evenly, Zurie smiled warmly.

The two wondered off after that, Zurie doted on her baby as she smiled adoringly at her husband, who occasionally whispered in her ears.

He didn't know who's simpering irked him more, there's or Pansy's, she wouldn't leave him alone, trying to latch onto his arm like a leech.

"Pansy," he more or less snarled, trying to make his way across the room, his mother having been whisked away to make small talk with Mrs Crabbe. "Will you stop messing around," he rebuked.

Pansy's smile slipped off her face. "I'm just being supportive, it must be terrible losing a sister, Lyra will be missed," she said mournfully, his eyes narrowed, she hadn't even liked Lyrisadora, so did she really have to try this hard?

"Yeah, you sound really torn up about it," he remarked dryly, brushing her arm off, she scowled.

"Don't shut me out Draco," she reprimanded firmly.

Draco sighed. "Just leave me alone right now, Pansy, I'm really not in the mood,' he muttered, jerking away from her before she could protest further.

He left the drawing room, taking a seat at the top of the stairs, it may look undignified, but Draco decided he was allowed to just this once.

He stared at his polished shoes, he was still trying to make sense of everything, he supposed the funeral would help, acting as a finality to everything, helping him accept what happened.

It didn't feel real though, sometimes it felt like she wasn't really dead, just off on an adventure in some foreign land…..she always did have a knack for getting in trouble, probably because she took the road less travelled, he'd never really understood why.

There was a lot he'd never understood about his sister, especially with the choices she made and the people she surrounded herself with, Lyrisadora had always been a bit strange, even when they'd been children.

Draco's gaze drifted to his left arm, he knew she disapproved him joining the cause….he understood her concerns better now. The truth was he wasn't really sure if he could kill Dumbledore….but what other options did he have? If he failed his mission then his parents would be killed and there had already been enough death in the family.

"Are you moping boy?" a crisp voice snapped from behind him.

Draco stiffened, whipping his head around, to find his grandmother hovering over him, a displeased scowl on her wrinkled face. He bit down on his tongue, avoiding her piercing gaze. "No," he muttered.

She sneered. "A Malfoy doesn't mope," she rebuked.

Draco turned away, trying to hide a frustrated snarl, it was his sister's funeral, he'd mope as much as he damn well liked. "I'm sorry, grandmother," he replied acidly, unable to keep his tone polite. "It is a funeral," he pointed out tonelessly.

Basilia just scoffed, standing next to him, arms folded. "Don't remind me, pfft, that silly girl," she rebuked harshly, making Draco's fists clench. "This would have never happened if your father had listened to me, you know," she pointed out, Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes. "If he had raised her better she'd be happily married and starting a family of her own," she said stiffly.

Draco shifted uncomfortably. "Well….I guess," he agreed unsurely, he supposed his grandmother did had a point, if his sister hadn't become so defiant in the recent years, maybe she would have lived more of a quiet life.

Basilia gave a disappointed sigh. "Of course Narcissa played her part as well," she added Draco held back a groan, he really didn't want to hear another rant about his mother. "Between them both, they raised a very stubborn girl," grandmother muttered bitterly, before glancing down at Draco, as if just noticing he was there. "….But at least you turned out alright enough," she added evenly.

Was that meant to be a compliment? "….Thank you?" Draco replied slowly, giving her a wary glance.

"Even if you've got yourself caught up in all this radical extremist nonsense," she sighed, patting him on the shoulder, shaking her head disapprovingly, before shooting him a stern look. "I won't tolerate losing another grandchild, young man," she told him firmly, acting like she was talking about him getting a detention, not accidentally getting killed in crossfire.

But maybe this was just her way of showing she cared. Draco frowned at her, had old age softened her? Everyone was acting so strange recently. "I understand, grandmother," he replied hesitantly.

Basilia gave him a haughty look, before nodding sharply. "Good," she retorted lightly, before moving away from him, she paused for a second or so, to glance back at him. "Also you might want to rescue your mother from Yaxley's advances, it's atrocious," she leered, tutting to herself, Draco's eyes widened as he looked back at her, but Basilia was already walking down the hall.

* * *

><p><em>21st July 1996<em>

They needed to find a new base of operations, Lyrisadora reinforced the heat charms around her, she sat at a table in the kitchen; seeing how it was the least destroyed section of the house. The book of Alchemy lay open in front of her, a faded drawing of the Philosophers stone.

"Are you planning on sleeping any time soon?" Ada questioned, stepping into the kitchen, while she towel dried her hair, a thick blue dressing gown wrapped around her, the Philosophers stone still hung around her neck.

"Just doing some light research," Lyrisadora replied mildly, briefly glancing back at the text. "We still don't know what exactly Jenik wants the stone for, or if You-Know-Who is aware, or if Jenik is acting independently," she reasoned, as Ada drew nearer, peering over her shoulder to look at the information.

"What language is that?" Ada questioned, confusion entwined in her tone.

"It's a mixture of Latin and runes," Lyrisadora told her. "Alchemists tend to code their research," she added turning to the next page.

"Huh, you know I never really understood Alchemy," Ada commented, leaning on the table. "What's the big secret about it?" she joked.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow at her. "Alchemy is more or less the source of magic, it's the key to understanding how our magic works," she informed lightly. "You could use Alchemy to create life, its uses extend further than mere transmutation," she stated amusingly, a small smile playing on her lips.

Ada looked a bit taken aback. "Oh….right, uh….have you been studying it long?" she questioned awkwardly.

"Only a few years," Lyrisadora answered dismissively, her eyes flickering to the stone. "I can show you, if you want?"

Ada looked quite interested, and looked at her curiously. "Yeah sure."

"May I use the stone?" Lyrisadora asked, Ada faintly frowned, her posture becoming tenser. "I just want to try something," she reasoned, holding out her hand. Ada chewed the inside of her cheek, Lyrisadora raised an eyebrow. "If I was going to misuse the stone, I would have done it already," she pointed out casually.

Ada still looked a bit apprehensive, but her shoulders relaxed more, she removed the necklace from around her neck and passed it to Lyrisadora.

The stone felt warm in Lyrisadora's palm, she glanced back at Ada. "If I wanted to make something, I'd have to use a transmutation circle, but with this." Lyrisadora held the stone up to view, before she hid it in her hands. "I don't need one," she said.

A red glow shone through her clasped hands, Ada's eyes widened, when Lyrisadora created a gold emerald stone hair pin, she passed it the older woman. "It's like conjuring, but you have more possibilities," Lyrisadora went onto explain, passing Ada the hair pin. "Changing the elemental properties of something is one of the larger benefits."

She placed her hand on the wooden table, the red glow emitted again, there was a ripple of magic that spread from the top to the bottom, turning the table into solid metal. It felt a little weird, the power tickling her finger tips.

"You see?" Lyrisadora spoke, wondering if she had impressed the woman.

Ada stared at her for a moment. "How did you….?" She trailed off, Ada touched the now transformed table.

Lyrisadora shrugged, leaning on the table. "I just channelled the power of the stone, as long as you know the fundamentals of Alchemy, it's quite easy," she replied, examining the stone in her hand. "I was meaning to ask you by the way, I was hoping I could have the stone to further my research?" Lyrisadora requested, looking at Ada earnestly.

"Uh…." Ada blinked a few times, looking back at the hairpin and metal table, before then looking at the stone in Lyrisadora's hand. "I guess you're the most qualified," she muttered.

Lyrisadora gave Ada a grateful smile, before she placed the necklace around her neck. "Thank you," she said.

"Just keep it safe," Ada reminded, before she smiled, still looking quite unsure. But it didn't matter, in time Ada would learn to trust her, as long as Lyrisadora kept appearing honest and honourable, then there shouldn't be much of a problem.

"Don't worry, I think I've got this one covered," Lyrisadora reassured, smiling.

This seemed to loosen Ada up a bit. "Right. Oh, also Marcus mentioned a new hideout for us," she said.

Lyrisadora looked intrigued. "Well this place is more or less falling apart, where about did he have in mind?"

"This place underground, he said the gypsies used to hide there during persecution," Ada informed, shrugging it off dismissively. "It sounds a bit shady, but it's worth a look," she reasoned.

Lyrisadora nodded. "We'll check it out after the interview," she told her, looking back down at her book. "You can keep the pin," she added conversationally.

"Thanks," she heard Ada say appealingly, her feet softly tapping on the floor. "And try to get some sleep, Amata," she cautioned light-heartedly.

Lyrisadora flashed her a sheepish smile. "I'm not going to make any promises," she chimed.

Her smile dropped when Ada left the kitchen, she absently touched the stone around her neck, the kitchen was silent. The silence was a bit suffocating, her mind lingered back to her family, before she hastily tried to think of something else.

Ada had been given permission by the prison warden, they were scheduled to go do the interview in a week. Aluka was already preparing a failsafe, Lyrisadora was keeping her nerves under control, she'd have to keep a cool head throughout it all.

She was managing her emotions clinically and the nightmares weren't even that bad, she had been rebuilding her potions collection, which was a comfort. Her hands touched the old yellow pages of the book, she'd been relieved when she found the Alchemy book still in Pucey Manor, she'd be lost without it if Adrian had…..taken it to America.

Lyrisadora paused, her fingers clenching, the silence became more deafening, she wondered if he believed her dead? She hoped he did, then he'd finally move on, find another girl….her stomach twisted, scratch that, she hoped he stayed away from woman, for a long time.

She shook her head, focusing back on the book, trying to distract her thoughts.

* * *

><p><em>27th July 1996<em>

They tried to keep their disguises simple, Lyrisadora had dyed her hair blonde again, changing her eye colour to grey and tying her hair into two pigtails. She shoved on a pair of wide framed glasses, making her eyes bulge, wearing a frumpy faded green jumper over a patterned shirt, pulling on a long knitted skirt, a thick outer robe sheltering her from the harsh cold. A large camera hung around her neck, to add the finishing touch of a newly recruited intern.

Ada had tried to lighten her skin some more, as well as her hair, bloating out her face more to make it look rounder, her clothes were more sleeker, giving the impression of wealth. Her hair fastened in place with the hairpin.

Lyrisadora stuck close to her as they approached the gates of the prison, the air was frosty, even with the sun shining bright. The prison building was tall and looked like it was a parasite that had latched onto the mountain, the stone looked tanned and worn, there were a hundreds of small windows along the walls, the place surrounded by a tall concrete wall that cast an even larger shadow.

They were greeted by a prison guard, he was dressed in a navy blue uniform, his matching trousers neatly pressed, along with his striped tie. Ada did most of the talking, they were soon brought to the reception. Lyrisadora would give France their dues; this place was a huge improvement to Azkaban.

'Your visitor badges,' spoke the broad guard leading them, they tied the badges to their robes. 'Follow me," the guard instructed stiffly, he cast a glance at them both. 'So Ms Picket, you said you're a freelancer from the states?' he asked curiously.

Ada gave him a cat like grin, flamboyant quill perched in her hand. 'You bet, but this is more like a semi-vacation,' she said casually. 'When I heard about the story, I knew the papers didn't do it justice, there was no _spark_,' Ada gushed, earning a raised eyebrow.

'I didn't know that mattered,' the guard commented, using his wand to unlock the door to the next hallway.

Lyrisadora kept a pleasant smile on her face as she took everything in. Aluka had said their best way of escape was through the laundry chute, they'd have to steal one of the guards wands though. The locked doors worked were the guard's wands were registered to the building, so the magic signature was recognised.

Ada continued to talk, letting out a light laugh. 'If there's no spark to the story, then you might as well be reading an office report, there's nothing to make the reader care,' she pointed out.

The guard seemed to consider her point. 'I suppose. I've never really thought of it like that,' he replied.

Ada gave him a crooked smile. 'And that's why not everyone can be a reporter,' she countered.

If the guard looked like he was trying to tune her out. 'Hmm, right, the prisoner should be ready, you are allowed to ask twenty questions,' he told her when they came to a thick metal door, his eyes drifted to Lyrisadora. 'No flash photography,' he added sternly.

Lyrisadora scowled, shifting her gaze to the floor.

The guard unlocked the door. 'You have thirty minutes,' he said evenly, pulling the door open.

Elliot Tronc sat inside the room, dressed in grey prison garbs, handcuffed to a bolted down metal table. Two prison guards stood behind him, standing to attention.

Lyrisadora felt something brush her ankle, she looked around and saw nothing. The door was closed behind them . Brushing it off as nothing, the two woman sat down on the chairs opposite Mr Tronc.

Lyrisadora took out a notepad to make notes, Ada passed her the quill, before she focused her gaze on the docile looking prisoner. 'Mr Elliot Tronc,' Ada greeted professionally, straightening her posture. 'Thank you for agreeing to this interview,' she said.

Mr Tronc shifted, his hands twitching. 'You better not try and twist my words,' he said roughly, his gaze heated as he glared at her. 'You understand?'

Ada's features softened. 'I promise,' she said firmly, all previous eccentricities gone. 'So, let's begin,' she added, shifting her weight in the chair. 'First question, did you murder your wife?"

Lyrisadora eyed him intently, trying to peer into his head. Mr Tronc hesitated, before he nodded. 'Yes, I murdered her, because she was cheating on me with another man,' he recited.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed, the way he said that was…weird.

'How did you kill her?' Ada asked seriously.

Mr Tronc frowned, as if holding back a wince. 'We were duelling and it went too far.'

'Did you love her?'

Mr Tronc's eyes brightened, he answered straight away. 'Yes, I loved her, she was…..amazing,' he murmured, for once sounding truthful, no doubt or confusion.

Lyrisadora smiled at him. 'Was she kind?" she asked, successfully drawing the man's attention to her, she took her chance to sneak into his mind.

'Yes, she loved helping people,' he answered.

Lyrisadora nodded sympathetically, as she latched onto a thought, noticing something was wrong with his memories, like someone had scratched it out and written over it.

Mr Tronc hastily looked away.

Ada continued on with her questions, while Lyrisadora noticed a black rat skim past, with unnaturally large pointed teeth.

Lyrisadora stared at the rat suspiciously; there was something unnerving with its intense stare.

'…Do you regret what you did?' Ada questioned.

Mr Tronc's let out a shallow breath. 'Yes.'

Lyrisadora blinked as she zoned back in, the rat was gone.

Ada focused her gaze on Mr Tronc sternly as she leaned in, lowering her voice. 'Mr Tronc, do you believe you killed your wife?'

Mr Tronc looked confused; Lyrisadora refocused her gaze on him.

'I-I….'

Ada's eyes narrowed. 'Or do you think, maybe, someone else did?' she murmured, looking at him pointedly.

There a brief silence, Mr Tronc's hands were shaking, alarm bells rang when the two prison guards exchanged a look.

But when Mr Tronc was about to reply, a rat sunk its teeth into his bare arm, scurrying into view from under the table.

The two guards shifted, their hands tightening around their wands.

Mr Tronc screamed.

Lyrisadora ducked, dragging Ada down with her, as a streak of light was aimed at their heads.

* * *

><p><strong>Finally got this done. <strong>

**ANyway hoped you guys liked this one!**


	105. The Prince

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Qoute:GOTHAM,Fish Mooney**

**'...' French**

* * *

><p><strong>"I need to siphon his strength so when the time is right, taking over his organization will be like slipping on a glove."<strong>

**Chapter: The Prince**

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora shoved Ada to the floor, Mr Tronc screamed, as he threw the rat across the room knocking it against the wall.<p>

Ada swore under her breathe. "Reynard," she growled.

Lyrisadora shot a hex at the guards, knocking one back, before she dived back down and looked at Ada. "What?"

Ada shot her an impatient look, brandishing her wand, eyes locked onto the rat. "Just cover me!" she snapped, swerving a spell at the rodent, the animal scampered out of the way.

Lyrisadora hand touched the outline of the stone around her neck, her eyes flickered to the two guard, she wondered how much power the stone had in it. "_Protego!_" she uttered when a barrel of curses were aimed her way, the door opened, the guard from earlier appearing.

"Stupefy!" Ada snapped, swerving around to hit the guard, the man fell to the ground with a hard thud.

The rat transformed into a man, who Lyrisadora assumed was Reynard. "You never know when to quit," Reynard snarled, brandishing his wand like a sword as he duelled.

Lyrisadora spared a glance at Mr Tronc who had turned a deathly pale, bitten hand leaking blood, her mind jolted to Auror Orsan.

_Died from a rat bite. _

Damn it.

Ada and Reynard were fighting, it wouldn't be long until more guards came. Lyrisadora stumbled back when a nasty hex hit her shoulder making her feel like a viper had just taken a chunk out of her shoulder. She felt queasy from the pain, her scream coming out choked.

She clutched the philosophers stone, her eyes narrowing at the guards, the magic travelled down her arm to her wand, she aimed a stunner at the two. In a burst of red light it broke through their shields, knocking them against the wall, cracking a few bones in the process.

Lyrisadora took cover behind Mr Tronc as Ada and Reynard's duelling became more heated, spells hitting the walls.

Mr Tronc was looking weaker, his eyelids drooping, Lyrisadora gritted her teeth , they were running out of time, there had to be something in Mr Tronc's memory.

Ada was still fighting Reynard, the two navigating towards the door. Lyrisadora grabbed Mr Tronc by the collar and dragged him to the farthest corner, Ada was stumbling back her shield charm weakening, the blows coming too fast.

Lyrisadora forced Mr Tronc's eyes opened and forced herself into his mind.

_…..Three prisoners had Mr Tronc pinned down in the showers…._

_….A judge marked him guilty…._

_….The Aurors placed him in a holding cell…._

_….He was crying…._

_…..He was crying…._

The memory fuzzed a dark patch appearing, Lyrisadora dug deeper, oblivious to the fight going on around her. The memory was suppressed deep, she could just see the corners of it, she gritted her teeth.

He was a dead man either way.

She ripped the memory out, she cold faintly hear a verbal scream from Mr Tronc, she held his head more tightly, her nails digging into his skull.

_….A woman was screaming…._

_…..He was crying, begging, pleading…or was that the woman?_

_Everything was blurry still, but there were three people in front…_

_'Please! He doesn't know anything!'_

_….Alain Tronc was on the floor begging…._

_A man and a woman were towering above her. _

_'Where is he? Where's the little bastard?'_

_…The sound was becoming more muffled, Mr Tronc was about to pass out….there was blood on the floor….there was blood everywhere. _

_'I don't know, I haven-' Alain tried to reason, herself trembling. _

_The man crushed his boot on her back. 'Who else knows?'_

_'I-I….'_

_The woman turned to Mr Tronc. 'Crucio."_

_Mr Tronc's screams echoed around the room. _

_Alain relented. 'Only the Queen and her advisor know!' she cried, face crushed to the ground. _

"Amata, move!"

Lyrisadora was pulled out of Mr Tronc's memory when Ada pushed her away.

The curse missed her head by an inch.

Mr Tronc's look like he'd had his soul sucked out by a dementor.

Lyrisadora looked up, Ada was bleeding and Reynard was advancing on them, there were cries from down the hall.

Reynard grinned, Lyrisadora channelled the stone's magic, her palms lit up with red sparks of electricity.

The assassin's grin slipped off, he cast a quick shield charm.

Lyrisadora shot the electricity at him, it cut through his magic, she felt an addictive rush of power that made her shiver.

Reynard spasmed on the floor, Ada grabbed Lyrisadora and hurled her up, the American dragged her out of the room. Lyrisadora swiped up the unconscious guard's wand on the way out.

Three guards appeared around the corner, yelling after them, followed by an onslaught of hexes and curses. "Come on!" Ada hissed, her nails digging into Lyrisadora's arm, she used the guard's wand to unlock the first door to another corridor.

Lyrisadora scowled, she was running as fast as she could, she nearly tripped over when they ran through a narrow corridor. She sealed off the hallway behind her, blocking the guards path.

Ada was muttering under her breath the different corridors Aluka had listed off. "Down the stairs," she instructed, leading them both down a spiralling staircase, the lights getting dimmer.

"Guess you were right about the Syndicate watching Troncs," Ada exclaimed, sounding out of breath, her shoulder still bleeding, a large patch of blood staining her suit. "I didn't think Reynard would show up though, too high profile."

"They must be getting bolder," Lyrisadora commented, unlocking the sewer cap.

Ada looked around the dirty room, walls stained with crease. "That's what I'm afraid off," she replied grimly.

The cap screeched when Lyrisadora pulled it off. "Come on," she ordered, she that the Fafnir hadn't taken a shine to France's sewers as they did to England's.

Her shoes hot the slimy bank when she climbed down the ladder, When Ada arrived down as well, Lyrisadora pressed her hand against the wall, the stone rippled, the entrance to the surface covered over with fresh stone.

Ada lit up her wand, and Gave Lyrisadora an incredulous look. "You're a quick learner," she commented warily.

Lyrisadora shrugged, she detected the suspicion, which was an inconvenience, she didn't want Ada distrusting her this early in the relationship. But if she played up her playfulness and honesty, it might buy the older woman's trust a bit more.

Lyrisadora shot her a playful grin. "Obviously, I'm brilliant, in case you didn't notice," she retorted easily, making Ada scoff and roll her eyes.

That seemed to work nicely.

The two of them began to wave through the sewers, Aluka had told them that it was a direct line to the edge of the mountain, the murky water falling down to the chasm below, they'd be able to apparate from there.

"Did you find anything in Mr Tronc's memories?" Ada asked, walking alongside her.

"Yes," Lyrisadora replied, she debated how much to divulge, but right now honesty was the best option, she'd still need their help . "The twins were torturing Alain and her husband," she began. "They were asking for a boy, they wanted to know where he was, but Alain claimed she didn't know," Lyrisadora revealed.

"Did they say Marcus' name?" Ada asked.

"No, but they referred to him as the little bastard," Lyrisadora told her, giving her a pointed look. "And then they asked who else knew about him, and she said only the Queen and her advisor knew," she said.

Ada was silent for a moment. "So either they weren't talking about Marcus and this is completely not what I'm thinking…." She said cautiously, Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow. "Or Marcus is an illegitimate child of the Queen," Ada said slowly.

"We'll have to do more digging," Lyrisadora reasoned. "But it's a strong theory, Marcus was kidnapped by the Geuther family, who have ties to Prince Adalard, if Marcus were to be crowned heir, that would shove the Prince down to third place," she went on.

Ada deflated. "So the Syndicate is friends with the Prince….so we can add treason to the list of consequences."

Lyrisadora was growing more amused by Ada's growing turmoil, it was becoming more apparent the woman was sinking more out of her depth. This could make the Queen more of a stronger ally, since they had something she wanted, but since the Prince was involved, it added more of a political complication. If he wanted Marcus dead, then he was most likely already panning a cue to usurp the throne, it would make Voldemort's takeover of France much easier.

"We shouldn't tell Marcus until we know for sure," Lyrisadora advised, Ada frowned. "I don't want to get his hopes up," she argued uncomfortably.

Ada's frown faded, before she nodded in agreement. "Alright, but if he gets upset, I'm blaming you," she said sternly.

Lyrisadora smiled amusingly. "It's just a bit of tough love," she argued, a dim light could be faintly made out, as the tunnel started to draw to a close. "He'll understand, I just have his best interests at heart," she said evenly, looking back to the light.

* * *

><p>Adrian would never admit it, but Hermes was right about jogging, it was actually pretty therapeutic. He liked to do a couple of runs early in the morning near the park, the muggles could be distracting, so he tended to slip into the more magical neighbourhoods, there was a few scattered, they were away from the city, near the more scenery areas.<p>

It helped clear his head, made him think less about Lyri-_Her_, made him think less about her.

The muggle hoodie and joggers he was wearing, were also practical, so he'd give the degenerates that; they knew how to make comfortable clothing.

The air wasn't that great and it lacked that earth like smell, but it was nice, he it had a nice chemical quality to it. Adrian paused for breath, taking out his water bottle from his pocket, maybe he'd give Hermes some praise….the man had been overly skittish lately.

His head perked up when he heard a loud barking, he frowned, then gasped when a large dog jumped on him, trying to devour his face with his sloppy tongue.

Adrian's eyes flashed, he whipped out his wand to hex the stupid animal-

"Poncho!" A shrill voice yelled, a young woman struggled to push the mutt off him. "Stop it," she hissed, taking hold of the Husky's collar.

Adrian glanced up at her, before he noticed she was looking at his wand, his eyes widened as he rushed to stuff it back in his pocket.

She looked amused. "Relax," she laughed, pulling out her own wand, the tip of the wand transformed into a red leash that fasted to the dog's collar. "There's hardly any muggles around here," she said nervously, she held out her hand to help him to his feet. "Sorry about that, I-I'm still training him," she apologized, reigning the dog in.

Adrian eyed her curiously, he had assumed she was a muggle since she was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, a simple handbag around her shoulder. She was a freckled peach skinned looking woman, who had dark hair and ember eyes, with a round baby face, she looked pretty…and was smiling shyly at him, as if she wasn't quite sure if she should leave. "It's fine," he replied politely. "How'd he run off anyway?" he found himself making conversation, he nearly frowned, why was he even bothering to?

The woman smiled sheepishly. "I didn't cast the leash charm properly, so it snapped," she explained, before she looked at him with interest. "Your accent, are you from Australia?" she asked brightly.

He gave her a dry look. "No, I'm from England," he informed her flatly.

She had the decency to look embarrassed. "Oh, sorry, it's hard to tell apart the two," she apologized quickly, a blush creeping to her cheeks. "Well for me it is, I don't know many English people," she corrected quickly, talking very fast.

He smirked in amusement. "Do you always talk that fast?" he commented lightly.

"No," she exclaimed defensively, her brow creasing. "I'm just having a strange day," she sighed.

"At least you didn't get run over by a dog," he remarked.

"Good point," she agreed, smiling faintly.

He considered her for a moment, he didn't have work for the rest of the day….she could be a nice distraction. He smiled charmingly and held out his hand. "My name's Adrian," he introduced.

She faltered slightly, before she took shook his hand. "I'm Aileen, " she replied, smiling down at her dog. "And this troublemaker is called Poncho," she added.

Adrian kept his smile fixed in place ignoring the dog, he looked at her with interest, noticing her cheeks grow more pink. "So, I'm pretty new to town….would you mind showing me around?" he asked, making his tone sound apprehensive.

He faintly heard her breath hitch.

* * *

><p>The Warden of the prison was starting to feel run down, Mr Tronc was dead, so that would be another load of paperwork to fill out, then there was the cover-up.<p>

He'd already had to obliviate three of his best guards. The whole incident was turning his hair even more grey.

But the cherry to his misfortune came in the evening, when Prince Adalard himself Floo'd into his office, The Warden nearly choked on his cappuccino as he hurriedly stood to attention.

The Prince was dressed in finely cut gold and blue robes, a red belt fastened around his waist. He was a ivory skinned man in his early forties, crisp strawberry blonde hair combed back, and cleanly shaven, with piercing dark eyes .

'Mr Silksmith,' he greeted solemnly, the usual smile he flickered on for the press was absent, his lips set in a thin line. 'I heard there was a disturbance?" he said evenly.

The Warden moved around his desk, trying to appear more confident than he felt. 'Yes, there-'

'I've been informed of the details,' Prince Adalard interrupted, the Warden hid a scowl, if the Arluin family wasn't bad enough, the last thing he needed was more spies invading his prison. 'What I'm most concerned about, is why they were allowed permission in the first place?' the Prince's voice sharpened.

The Warden felt his gut twist, realising his error. 'I couldn't turn away press, especially with how twitchy they're getting,' he argued, sparing the Royal a meaningful look, surely the Prince could understand, he himself had suffered a scandal with the Gauther family.

'And now you've made things worse,' Prince Adalard spoke coldly, making the Warden tense. 'A pity,' he sighed, shaking his head, raising an eyebrow at him. 'I suppose your age is finally showing, disappointing,' Prince Adalard remarked evenly. 'You should take some time off.'

'You highness,' The Warden struggled to explain himself.

Prince Adalard smiled placidly, holding up a hand to silence him. 'I helped fund this prison, Mr Silksmith, I can't have it falling into disrepair because of your failings. How are the public meant to feel secure?' he reasoned smoothly

The Warden stepped back, he swallowed a lump down his throat, maybe early retirement wasn't a bad idea...

* * *

><p>The Veela were proud and they would not be shaken, the seventh High priestess Creusa was restless as she paced in the Queen's study.<p>

Creusa held back a sneer, did the Queen thinks she could smooth this all over with pretty words? By the gods, the Queen would suffer for her arrogance.

Her head snapped up when the door opened, the Queen herself appeared, the High priestess straightened her back, her eyes turning colder. 'Has arrogance finally got the best of you?' Creusa leered.

The Queen smiled evenly. 'You drew my hand Creusa, my liaison have tried to reach terms with you for months now,' she reasoned placidly.

The Veela held back a scoff. 'You talk of restricting our hunting grounds, these are not terms, it is oppression,' she more or less snarled, struggling to keep her temper at bay, she felt a rush of adrenaline. 'We are already low in numbers.'

The Queen's face remained passive. 'The muggles are taking notice, things are changing, Creusa,' she sighed.

Creusa turned away, gritting her teeth. 'I don't hear of any wizard land being cut down?'

'Well, we don't go around with bows and arrows,' the Queen replied lightly.

Creusa felt a blare of anger, she glared at the royal. 'Don't mock me, don't you dare, do you forget who you speak to, _girl_?' she snarled.

The Queen's gaze turned colder. 'Do you? I am your Queen, I will give you the same respect you show me,' she said sternly, taking a step forward.

Creusa grew silent, but her gaze remained piercing, a lump formed in her throat, she hastily swallowed it down. 'Where have you placed them?'

The Queen eyed her blankly. 'They are safe, I do not harm children,' she reassured mildly.

'Only kidnap them, what a _saint,_' Creusa bit back, her eyes narrowing. 'Those girls are barely out of infancy, to separate them from their kind is cruel,' she accused.

The Queen looked at her curiously. 'Perhaps, but it is necessary,' she replied. 'The war with Voldemort is growing worse. I need my country united if I am to fight this monster,' she reasoned.

Creusa calmed slightly, the Queen had a point, they had a common enemy, but Creusa had met enough of the Aristocrats in her court, she knew the same could not be said for them. That was the problem with Wizards and witches, they were such backstabbers, all fighting for what scraps of power there was.

It was pathetic.

Creusa's eyes darkened. 'How can you unite a country, when your own family is divided?' she questioned coldly, steadying the Queen's piercing gaze.

The Queen's face didn't even flicker, but her posture stiffen, Creusa tilted her head, knowing she had struck a nerve. 'I could say the same for you, how could you abandon your daughter?' The Queen shot back mockingly, smiling smoothly.

Creusa let out a shallow breath, the memory of her foolish daughter coming up. 'Where is she?' she asked, trying to brush away the sick twist of her stomach.

'She's never been better,' the Queen replied lightly, smiling pleasantly. 'She's such a wonderful creature, so pure….and you forgot her so easily,' she sighed, giving the Veela a pointed look. 'No wonder she betrayed you so easily,' she added.

Creusa clenched her fists, if they dared harm her child….. 'I want to see her,' she demanded stonily.

'That won't be possible, she's otherwise engaged at the moment,' The Queen explain, Creusa's eyes flashed with rage. 'There's a party going on, and I wouldn't want you to spoil the mood,' she added smoothly.

Creusa held back a scream of anger, she damned the gods for cursing her with a stupid daughter.

The Queen smiled. 'Speaking of which, they're probably gossiping about my absence, I'll have someone escort you out,' she told her.

Creusa prayed to Zeus to strike the Queen where she stood, but nothing came, the Veela narrowed her eyes at the woman. 'You _grace,_ remember this, the Veela do not forget,' she warned dangerously.

The Queen opened the door, a small crooked smile rising onto her face at the challenge. 'And I don't forgive,' she retorted smoothly, closing the door behind her.

* * *

><p>A warm feeling filled Damien's chest when his wife laughed, she spun around the dance floor in modest green dress robes, a serene smile on her beautiful face. He smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her when she span a little too fast.<p>

'Not too fast dear, you'll cause an accident,' he chided warmly, tucking a stray copper hair back behind her ear, her smiled brightened, as she swatted him on the arm.

'Well maybe you should keep up better,' she retorted teasingly, giving him a light kiss on the cheek, he felt a few of his friends' envious gazes, he smirked in amusement.

'Forgive me for interrupting.' A baritone voice cut in.

Damien felt Zurie tense in his arms, his smile tightened as he turned to face Prince Adalard. 'Your highness,' Damien greeted pleasantly, bowing his head.

Zurie looked visibly nervous as she did a half graceful bow. 'Your highness,' she greeted quietly.

Damien tried not to tense, he hid a frown, hopefully Adalard wouldn't delve too deep into her nervousness. He still hadn't told him that his wife saw him, and he wasn't planning on. 'What can we do for you?' he asked evenly, smiling easily at the Prince.

Prince Adalard smiled apologetically, looking over at Zurie, causing Damien to inch a bit closer to her. 'May I borrow your husband for a moment, Mrs Malfoy?' the Prince asked politely.

Zurie strained a smile. 'Of course your highness,' she replied, glancing over at Damien, he saw a hint of apprehension in her eyes, he smiled at her reassuringly and kissed her forehead, before he drew away to follow the Prince.

Prince Adalard shot him an amused look. 'I don't think your wife likes me very much,' he said lowly, arching an eyebrow. 'I can't imagine why,' he added quietly, his smile becoming more slanted.

Damien just smiled back. 'She's just shy, you should see how nervous she gets around the rest of my family,' he placated, the two of them walking to the balcony that overlooked the dance floor.

The Prince levelled Damien with a knowing look. 'Does she suspect anything?' he asked mildly.

'No,' Damien replied without missing a beat, he surveyed the dancers from below. 'I told you, she's harmless.' A hint of irritation seeped into his tone, but his gaze softened when he caught sight of his wife chatting animatedly with his mother and father.

'But stupid, she could indirectly cause trouble from shear foolishness, ' The Prince's voice sharpened, drawing back Damien's attention, Prince Adalard's eyes darkened in amusement. 'Have you had her tested for brain damage?' he taunted softly, a smile twisted onto his lips. 'She is half-Veela after all.'

Damien's fists tightened. 'There's nothing _damaged _about her, she's just innocent….like a child,' he tried to defend his wife, she wasn't mentally challenged, just very naïve, but it was what he loved most about her, someone he could trust to always remain faithful. His parents had critisised her lack of intelligence, but they accepted her anyway since she made him happy...besides he'd choose Zurie over any woman any day, she was loving and honest, unlike the rest of his friend's wives. 'Just leave her out of this,' he said sternly, looking at the Prince warningly, royalty or not, no one was allowed to blatantly insult his wife.

Rather than offended, the Prince looked entertained. 'So protective,huh, love really does blind,' he mused, he looked down at Zurie thoughtfully. 'What was that old English saying? Loose lips, sink ships,' he recited lightly. 'The Queen will use her to try and gather information,' the Prince reasoned.

'I can do the same, Zurie shares everything with me,' Damien argued firmly, tearing his gaze away from his wife.

The Prince raised an eyebrow. 'All wives have secrets, do not be naïve to think your wife is any different,' he rebuked coolly.

Damien bristled, a seed of doubt settling in his stomach….Zurie wasn't like that though, besides he could always tell what she was thinking, legilimency helped in that area, but he hadn't looked inside her mind in so long….

The Prince glanced at him. 'I need you to meet up with the Gauther family, the abduction was a failure,' he informed.

Damien frowned. 'Did the child runaway?'

The Prince grimaced. 'No, a girl interfered, and it appears she's done so again, there was an incident at the prison.'

Well that was a problem, frankly Damien was surprised the girl wasn't dead yet, the Syndicate tended to be thorough in their work, but they had been slipping up more since the Vampire's betrayal. 'Do we know anything about her?'

'Barely anything,' The Prince divulged stiffly. 'Other than she's English.'

'Another member of that Order of the Phoenix?' Damien queried, Lucius had voiced his disdain for the society back in the day.

'Still too early to tell,' The Prince replied, looking back at Damien. 'I'll have Klaus meet you at the casino tomorrow night, you should bring some friends along, make it less suspicious,' he advised.

Damien's brow creased, Zurie wouldn't like it if he stayed out late, and she'd only get upset if she knew he was going to a casino…

'Is there a problem?' the Prince asked mildly, before a smirk crept onto his face as he shot a meaningful glance at Zurie down below. 'Or does your wife still have the key to you balls?' he voiced crudely.

Damien's eyes narrowed, he'd almost forgotten how much of a sarcastic shit the Prince could be. 'I'll be there,' he replied frigidly.

Prince Adalard smiled pleasantly. 'Good,' he retorted, he looked back down at the dance floor. 'Also you might have to remind your wife to tone down her Veela charms, she's drawing in far too much attention,' he drawled, beginning to walk away.

Damien's head snapped towards the dance floor, hastily searching for his wife, he saw Zurie surrounded by a circle of men, an anxious look on her face, he felt his blood boil, and her dress wasn't even vulgar! What did he have to do, wrap her up in a potato sack?

He hurried downstairs to rescue his wife.

* * *

><p><strong>And another one bites the dust. Hope you guys liked Damien and Adalard, they're an interesting pair. <strong>

**Also happy easter!**


	106. Playtime

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors. **

**Qoute:Labyrinth, by Oompth**

**'...' French**

* * *

><p><strong>"No one here can tell you<strong>  
><strong>Who is good or bad<strong>  
><strong>So don't make a mistake,<strong>  
><strong>Child for heaven's sake!"<strong>

**Chapter: Playtime **

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora traced the outline of the charmed gold chain around her neck, the red stone nestled against her chest. She feared she was becoming over paranoid….but she shook this thought, every precaution was necessary, her hand wondered towards her dyed hair, she'd need to change her appearance again…<p>

The house was quiet, Aluka had sneaked off to go hunting, while Ada had trudged to her room to go sleep. The only other occupants who hadn't retired to bed were herself and Marcus, she found him curled up on the window sill, an overstuffed cushion wedged between his back and the wall.

'Not sleepy?' she questioned, walking into the living room.

Marcus spared her a glance and shrugged. 'I've just been thinking….did you gather anything useful from Mr Tronc?' he asked unsurely.

'Not much,' Lyrisadora sighed, taking a seat opposite him. 'But we know your mother might have had links to politics, it would explain why the Syndicate is so adamant to kidnap you,' she told him, sparing him the gory details.

Marcus looked very interested at this point, his eyes wide with wonder. 'Did you find out her name?'

'No,' Lyrisadora answered softly, giving him a sad smile. 'But we'll find out, don't worry,' she reassured.

Marcus paused for a moment, his eagerness dwindled as his eyes lowered. '…What if she's changed?' he murmured. His brow creased, worry filling his features. 'People change their minds…'

Well he did have a point, but Lyrisadora doubted his mother would forget him so easily, whether she'd actually want him though….the letter gave clear indication that she loved him, but things were a lot more complicated now, she might have to reject him to keep him safe.

'Sometimes they do, but I believe she still loves you,' Lyrisadora told him warmly, she placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up, he didn't tense up this time though. 'She's your mother, that has to still mean something, no matter what,' she argued.

He looked like he was mulling her words over. 'I guess….I just hope she likes me….' He muttered, his eyes flickered nervously to Lyrisadora, before he shrugged her hand off his shoulder and turned away. 'Anyway, are we going to investigate that old gypsy hideout?' he hastily changed the subject.

She cast him a curious look. 'You can show me tomorrow, we need to make sure it's safe first,' she advised.

He seemed to brighten up at the prospect. 'It's a cool place…..but it's a bit dangerous,' he divulged, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow, she got the impression the place was a death trap. 'I see, we'll have to be extra careful then,' she commented, plus at least it would give Ada the opportunity to investigate more into the Queen's history, without having Marcus to worry about. 'So are you heading to bed soon?' she asked.

Marcus shifted uncomfortably. 'Maybe in a bit,' he said, before he glanced at her questionably. 'If that's okay?' he was quick to verify.

She held back an inquiring look, one minute the kid was outspoken, the next he was asking her permission to stay up late. She supposed he hadn't always been on the streets, so he had grown up with rules and strict bedtimes.

But who was she to complain? She had been half dreading he's be a cocky little shit who hadn't a lick of manners. Besides it looked like he was actually starting to trust her, she smiled at him warmly. 'It's fine, Marcus,' she said amusingly. 'Just make sure not to stay up too late,' she told him firmly, shooting him a half-stern look.

'I won't,' he replied , glancing back out of the window.

Lyrisadora offered him another smile, before she frowned, she realised he had been wearing the same outfit he wore yesterday, she had bought him a couple of new t-shirts and trousers….but since he'd be sticking around longer, she supposed he'd need more clothes.

What other things did children need? Toys would be too much of a hassle to carry around, besides he was ten, he'd soon grow out of that type of stuff. She'd need to buy him a toothbrush, when was the last time he brushed his teeth? Children needed to stay happy to grow into semi-functional adults.

A sad look was faintly etched on his face.

Damn…what if he became depressed?

This parenting thing was a bit of an inconvenience.

Lyrisadora decided to start with the basics; getting him to trust her more. 'Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?' she questioned.

Marcus looked at her in surprise. '…Er…what?'

'Are you too old for that?' she questioned curiously, he would be entering his teenage years soon after all.

'Uh, no…um...I just didn't expect you to ask,' he said awkwardly, before he gave her a crooked grin. 'Yeah sure, I'd like a story,' Marcus agreed.

Lyrisadora twiddled her wand, pointing it at the air. 'I know this one off by heart,' she told him, elegant puppets formed from dust, controlled by invisible strings. 'The tale of three brothers…' She began the story.

* * *

><p>Later, when had Marcus settled off to sleep after the story, Lyrisadora went to the bathroom.<p>

Her hair was dyed back to brown, she removed the spell from her eyes as she stared into the cracked mirror, she'd change them to ember in the morning.

Her hands touched her long hair, before she let out a reluctant sigh and picked up the scissors.

Large chunks of her hair fell to the floor, she placed the scissors back on the edge of the sink, before she ran a hand through her knew bob haircut, her hair cut short so that it reached her jaw line.

She scowled at her reflection.

* * *

><p><em>28th July 1996<em>

Desperate times called for desperate measures. A full moon was still a couple of weeks away, but Bayard didn't have time to wait, Jenik was becoming impatient.

Bayard held the murky looking potion bottle in his hand, he normally saved this stock for emergency jobs, when his father would personally request he use his wolf form to complete an assassination. The transformation after all, was not a pleasant thing. Even with the Wolfbane potion keeping his senses about him, the cracking of bones and twisting of organs was gruelling, but pain was an old friend he'd grown used to.

The potion had originally been created in France, as a cure to Lycanthropy, however it had resulted in the opposite, instead triggering the transformation upon dosage….the test results had been grim. The potion was kept under tight wraps, but the formula was still documented, as a reminder of how _not _to make a cure for Lycanthropy.

"Going hunting?" the familiar Spanish accent called, Bayard turned around to give Reynard a withering look, the assassin had crept into the bedroom ;probably through a mouse hole no doubt.

"Someone needs to get that girl, seeing how you all failed," Bayard sneered.

A dark look flashed in Reynard's eyes, Bayard kept on his guard. "She's a slippery thing, they all are," Reynard commented, drawing in closer. "And none of us had anticipated she'd know how to use the stone," he reminded.

Bayard hid a grimace, Jenik had not been pleased when Reynard had relayed this information back, if anything he had become even more livid….and the look in his eyes…Bayard remembered seeing his father open the locked door of his lab, before closing it behind him….a series of muffled screams had followed soon after.

"….He still wants her brought in alive though, along with the boy," Reynard continued, breaking Bayard away from his thoughts. "The Prince still wants a DNA test to confirm the boy's parenthood, and as for the girl, he's intrigued by her," Reynard said, rolling his eyes. "If you ask me he should kill her, especially considering how much trouble she's caused."

Bayard shrugged, looking back at the potion. "He might want to use her in one of his experiments," he murmured, recalling all those deformed faces….

Reynard grew strangely silent after that.

Bayard hid a grim smile, he cast the Spaniard a dismissive look. "Now get out, I have work to do," Bayard ordered briskly, clutching the potion a little bit tighter.

Reynard failed to hold back his sneer, shooting Bayard another pointed look, before he opened the door and left.

Bayard took a deep breath, he'd done this nearly a dozen of times….it still didn't settle his nerves. He took a big gulp of the foul tasting potion.

It tasted like rotten milk, mixed with mercury and salt, layered with a fresh coating of sick.

* * *

><p>'So, this is it?' Lyrisadora questioned, looking at the dark entrance.<p>

They stood at the threshold, an unpleasant amount of dark magic radiating from inside. Marcus nodded, smiling brightly. 'Yep, there's some Devil Snare in there, so we have to be careful,' he advised.

Lyrisadora raised an eyebrow, looking at the dark entrance then back at Marcus. 'Something tells me Devil Snare is the least of our worries,' she commented tonelessly, holding her wand more tighter. 'Stay behind me,' she instructed sharply.

Marcus moved behind her as she entered the cave. "_Lumos Maximus_!" she uttered, a flash of bright light lit up the cave, there was a crinkling of Devil Snare withering away from the light.

They wondered further into the den, she kept her eyes peeled, a few bugs scurried by…some of them were the size of cats…she shivered.

The cave structure was large and hollow, it was a massive piece of space, a lot of Devil Snare clung to the stone, but besides that it wasn't too cluttered.

A cockroach the size of a bulldog scuttled towards her.

She more or less screamed the spell. "_Reducto!"_

The cockroach was cut in half, she zapped it with electricity to make sure it was dead, turning it into a slimy mess on the floor.

The giant bugs could be a problem…..

Lyrisadora shook her head, she pointed her wand at some cut off Devil snare branches and some rocks, transmuting up a large heavy metal spade. 'Smash bugs,' she ordered sternly, handing the spade over to him.

A grin spread on his face. 'Okay,' Marcus replied cheerfully, looking at the spade in excitement.

Her skin bristled when she felt a few fiery curses brush past her, she let out a long suffering sigh. Well she better get to work.

She aimed another zap of electricity at an incoming spider the size of a husky, its remains splattered against the wall.

* * *

><p>Ada glanced at her notebook. "So the Queen's barren?" she repeated, looking at Aluka questionably, the two of them in the kitchen.<p>

Aluka nodded, sitting back in his chair. "It was made public knowledge nine years ago, it's part of the reason no one insisted she marry," he told her.

Ada frowned, this did put a wrench in their theory….but the Queen could very well be lying, or complications from Marcus birth could have messed up her body, resulting in her unable to have children. It had happed to Ada's mother. And if there had been complications in the birthing process then all sorts of things could have gone wrong. "Outline to me any significant events with the royal family, dating back a decade or so," she instructed.

Aluka thought for a moment. "Well….going by your theory on the boy's linage….The Queen did go into recluse for a year, after her father's death," he revealed.

Ada sat up a bit straighter. "When did the King die?"

"Eleven years ago, cause of death was an illness, but in reality the Syndicate had him assassinated," Aluka informed her lightly.

"You never told me this," she snapped, she wondered what other events he had neglected to mention.

Aluka shrugged. "It never really came up in conversation," he argued. "Besides why would I tell you everything?"

Mother of God! He was such a-

Asshole

Dick

Secretive, paranoid-

Self-absorbed bloodsucker!

Ada wanted to whack him over the head, but thought better of it, she doubted the Vampire would appreciate the humour. "So why did the Syndicate have him killed?" she questioned sharply, crushing her pen in her grip.

"Apparently he was insistent in getting rid of the Syndicate," Aluka answered. "The first Wizard war rattled a lot of things up, which meant Jenik ended up gaining more control and power. And to the public the Syndicate doesn't even exist….but the King was getting pretty close to exposing it, even uncovering some of its undercover members…."

"So who killed him?" Ada asked, trying to ignore the painful twist in her gut.

There was the briefest of hesitation. "I did," Aluka answered tonelessly.

Ada stopped writing, there was a tense silence.

But the vampire appeared unbothered. "I sunk the poison into his skull, you couldn't see the bite mark under the hair and….well Jenik always had connections, so covering up wasn't too difficult, besides we'd been planning it for months-"

"_We,"_ Ada repeated, giving him a perceptive look, Aluka's eyes narrowed, she shook her head. "Nevermind."

He had been an assassin after all. Had he really ever stopped? He hadn't killed while he'd been with her, but she still knew only the bare minimum about his past, yet she still trusted him, not a smart move…but he had saved her life countless times, whether this was because of the life debt, or that he really did care….she didn't know.

Yet they still chatted like friends, joked, poked fun at each other, were they real friends? Or would he readily leave her to die once he deemed his debt paid.

She didn't like to think about it. He was a killer, no amount of 'friendship' would change that.

And what if one day he snapped?

"Do you like killing?" Ada found herself asking.

Aluka was silent for a long time, but Ada waited patiently for his answer.

His grey eyes landed on her. "Sometimes," he answered flatly.

Sometimes….She supposed it was better than a definite yes. Besides, he was a vampire, even if he had a massive amount of self-control. She knew barley anything about Aluka and Amata's past, but she still followed them into battle….it was sort of funny, in a strange twisted way, how much trust she placed in strangers.

Ada stared at him, the two sat in another stretched silence. Ada clicked her pen. "So did anyone notice anything odd during her reclusiveness?" Ada changed the subject.

* * *

><p>A disillusion charm was cast around his wolf form, as Bayard prowled the rooftops and streets, he sniffed out different scents like weeds in the grass.<p>

His claw like feet hit the cobbled ground, he bit down on his teeth, another habit he'd picked up. His yellow eyes watched as a few civilians walked past him, his claws twitched, fighting the urge to rip them open, allowing blood to stain the streets, organs still pumping in their-

Bayard scowled when he recognised a familiar scent of the rat. "Reynard," he snarled, whipping around, catching the black rat skim by. "Show yourself!"

The rat scurried around the back of a shop, Reynard stepped out in his human form a second or so later, a twisted smile smacked on his face. "I'm just tagging along, Wolf," he leered.

Bayard bristled at the name and gnashed his teeth. "Leave, Jenik gave me this mission, you've already failed once," he sneered, his disillusion charm fading, but it didn't matter too much seeing how the sun was starting to set. But he still felt overexposed, he cast an irritated look at Reynard, drawing into the shadows where they couldn't be seen.

Reynard followed him. "Hence why I'm here, if you fail, we all fail," he reminded testily.

Bayard's eyes narrowed at him. "You're far too eager Reynard, that's your problem," he rebuked. "You'll distract me," he hissed, turning away.

"Do you still have the scars from the last punishment?" Reynard asked coldly.

Bayard tensed, Reynard always had a knack for finding just the right buttons to press.

Reynard drew closer, his voice lowered to a hateful hiss. "I won't go through that again, do you understand?"

Bayard didn't respond, even the wolf inside him had quietened.

Reynard didn't appear to like his silence. "Do you remember-"

That set off a spark, Bayard's eyes flashed with anger. "Do I remember?" he repeated softly, effectively making Reynard drawback, his hold on his wand tensing. Bayard's large jaw morphed into a feral teeth gritting smile. "I was trapped in a room with no air, for three months, I lived in my own filth, I barely slept," he whispered, towering over Reynard. "So yes, I _remember_,"

But Reynard had too much pride in him to back down, or maybe he was just stupid. "Then let's make sure history doesn't repeat itself," he replied calmly.

Bayard snarled, but found himself considering Reynard's point, they could work better together, and it would mean they might have better chance of success…

The last time they had been punished had been seven years ago, none of them forgot, none of them ever really talk about it.

"Fine," Bayard relented, he cast the disillusion charm back on himself.

He ignored Reynard's satisfactory smirk.

* * *

><p>"So…." Aileen began unsurely, twisting the napkin in her hands, her and Adrian sat in a nice looking restaurant; which she most definitely wouldn't be able to usually afford on her salary…hence why she was wearing the nicest dress she could find in her closet; worth 25 galleons mind you.<p>

Adrian looked at her curiously, offering her a small smile, that lit up his face and….oh god he was gorgeous….

She held back a sigh and tried to focus, she needed to keep herself together, she barely knew this guy.

After all it sort of felt like a weird romantic novel, a chance meeting , followed by an in depth discussion, she'd shown him a bit around town, then they had grabbed a coffee, it had been nice. Then he'd asked if he could meet up again….it had been a little fast, but also romantic.

And he was a little uptight, but he was also calm and relaxed and so easy to talk to-

"Aileen….your elbow's in your food," Adrian pointed out dryly, looking at her right elbow which was currently in her mash potatoes.

So that's why is felt slushy.

Her cheeks grew red, she quickly used her napkin to wipe her elbow. "Sorry," she apologized, feeling the off looks from those around her. He probably thought she was some ditz!

But he just looked amused. "You're pretty distracted today," he pointed out.

"Just work," she replied, absently rubbing her neck. "We got a new induction of patients, so the paperwork was hell," she sighed, taking a bite of her steak, the flavour melted in her mouth, she wondered if Adrian ate this good every evening? "But we also got a new stock of coffee, so it wasn't that bad," she went on, hoping she wasn't boring him.

He looked vaguely interested, smiling politely. "My day was pretty boring too." She frowned, but he didn't appear to notice, or maybe that was just British humour? "I had a lot of paperwork to fill out, but it was still a pretty productive afternoon," he said lightly, taking a few bites of his meal.

"It must be hard running a business," she remarked, it was slightly intimidating, he was a whole year younger than her, yet he was building up his own business, while she was still classed as an intern healer at the hospital...

Adrian shrugged. "I find it….self-rewarding," he replied evenly, before smiling at her again. "So, you mentioned you lived with your parents," he changed the subject.

She took a sip of her drink, the alcohol burned her throat, but she forced it down. "Well actually, it's just me and my mom, my sister moved out last year and my dad lives in Canada with his girlfriend," she explained, burying a twinge of nervousness. "What about you?" she asked, he hadn't mentioned his family once.

He shrugged dismissively. "My father died a few months back, so it's just me and my mother," he told her.

She felt a pang of sympathy. "I'm so sorry, we're you two close?"

"No," he answered briskly, catching her by surprise. "We didn't tend to see eye to eye," he added, leisurely eating his food.

"Oh, I see," she commented, twisting her hands on her lap, unsure what to say next. She wondered exactly where this would all lead, she'd only just met him of course, but he was attractive and good company, it'd only been their second meeting though, so maybe she was over thinking things.

"Are you okay?" Adrian asked, looking at her with concern.

She wondered if she should just straight up ask him what his intentions were….no that was too blunt, she might offend him or drive him away. But she still wanted to know what she was getting herself into, did he just want sex? To be friends? Or start dating?

After all, for all she knew he could be a total psychopath...but that seemed unlikely, he was such a sweet guy.

And she hadn't had a boyfriend since she was fifteen….she smiled at him. "It's just, this is all really overwhelming, but in a good way," she replied, her smile turning sheepish, she looked around the restaurant. "I mean, do you eat like this _every day_?" she chuffed.

He gave her another amused smile. "I suppose it is a bit much….we could go somewhere else if you want?" he proposed, giving her a disarming smile.

She grinned. "How about a Chinese restaurant? Maybe…..tomorrow evening?" she asked cautiously, avoiding his eyes.

"Sure why not, just give me the address and I'll be there," he replied easily, looking at her intently, she felt butterflies in her stomach, his smile grew. "You're adorable when you blush by the way," he remarked coyly, making her blush more.

She felt her heartbeat quicken as she squirmed, this guy knew just the right buttons to press. "Hehehe, thanks," she laughed nervously, his smile twitched. "You're not so bad yourself," she flirted back, trying to make it sound natural, but it came off a bit too overly forced.

His smile turned into a smirk, his eyes danced with dark amusement.

Her smile faltered slightly, she felt a nagging voice in the back of her head.

_Was he….laughing at her?_

* * *

><p>Reynard's round pupils bulged when he recognised that specific scent, he scuttled down the dark streets, trailing behind the werewolf.<p>

He squeaked, he recognised that scent….A trace of vanilla, lemon and a third scent….

Mushroom?

His eyes widened, he knew that smell! Reynard rushed ahead, he kept his eyes peeled, the scent grew stronger.

He turned back into his human form, gesturing Bayard to stop. "What?" Bayard hissed.

Reynard frowned, he scrutinised the area, his eyes locked on a very exhausted looking young woman and a ten year old boy, in a large hat and baggy robes coming out of a shop. He felt a rush of joy, it was like they'd been gift wrapped and everything.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora's bones ached, she trudged along with Marcus, who stumbled a little in his new robes, she supposed she might have got them a little too big, but she was sure he'd grow into them.<p>

It had taken a few hours, but they'd managed to drive away a majority of the bugs; she still wouldn't be sleeping there anytime soon though. The Devil Snare was slowly but surely disappearing and she'd removed most of the dark curses, but she'd still need Aluka and Ada to help her clean up the place.

And Marcus had mainly just smashed bugs.

It had been a pretty productive day.

She cast a cautious glance around the street, she held Marcus hand tighter, the street was starting to become emptier, and it was already night.

She stayed away from dark alley and pulled out her wand to apparate out.

Then something brushed her leg, she pulled herself and Marcus out of the way when a curse was shot their way.

She swerved around to hit the attacker, but the next second Marcus had gone limp, and something grabbed her from behind. She felt hot breath against her neck, she recoiled, the last thing she heard was a stupefy spell whispered in her ear.

* * *

><p>Damien accepted the glass of wine from Klaus. The three friends he had brought with him to the casino were probably either drunk or betting their inheritance away, either way he doubted they'd note his absence.<p>

Klaus lounged on the comfortable couch, the two of them in a private lounge, the place looking like the inside of a lava lamp. Expected seeing how Klaus reminded Damien of a retired Quidditch star, the man was just entering his mid thirties, so there wasn't a wrinkle on his tanned skin, his black hair still full of colour. 'Tell the Prince that the boy will be captured,' Klaus reassured.

Damien crossed his legs, taking a light sip of his drink. 'He is growing a little impatient….he did think it would be an easy job,' he reasoned smoothly.

Klaus gave him a tight smile. 'I didn't know the Prince was an expert in that area,' he remarked. 'The boy will be captured, my boss has assured me, and he has his best people on the job.'

Damien wasn't reassured, besides, he didn't even know who the head of the Syndicate was, the only person in the inner circle who knew was Prince Adalard. It was frustrating. 'Then we'll wait and see,' he replied evenly, leaning back in his chair. 'From what we've gathered, the Queen is suspicious, but she still has her hands quite full with the Veela, so her attention is divided,' he went on.

Klaus smirked. 'Does the Prince want to add to the fire? She's already pissed them off all on her own,' he argued. 'Besides, with their young held captive the Veela won't make a move.'

Damien nodded curtly. 'Yes we know, so we believe another element should be added; the Werewolves,' he informed.

Klaus arched an eyebrow. 'They'll be harder to control, and if you're planning on using Wolfsbane, that's hard to come by, even if you have a supplier-'

'We do have a supplier,' Damien interrupted smoothly, enjoying the irritated tick that flashed on Klaus's face. 'In Germany, we've been planning this for a few months now,' he said coldly.

Klaus smirked. 'Clearly, the Prince is an ambitious one-'

They were interrupted when a large bulky looking man entered the private lounge; the man shot his boss a apologetic look. 'I'm sorry sir, but Mr Malfoy's wife is here,' he said, glancing over at Damien.

Damien nearly choked on his drink. "What?"

Klaus raised an eyebrow at Damien, while the henchman looked at him calmly. 'She refuses to leave until she's seen her husband,' he informed them both.

What the hell was she thinking? Damien fumed in his head, a pit of worry settled in his stomach, he scowled when Klaus smirked at him. 'Not in trouble are we Malfoy?' the mob boss inquired mildly, his brown eyes dancing with amusement.

Damien gave him a tight smile, placing his drink down on the coffee table. 'It's probably just something to do with the child,' he protested smoothly, standing to his feet. 'I'll get rid of her,' he assured firmly, making his way out of the room.

Klaus just chuckled, like the whole thing was one big joke.

Damien tried to keep his panic at bay, Zurie didn't realise how much danger she was placing herself in, if Adalard even suspected she knew something she shouldn't….

He saw his wife, wearing a travel cloak over her dress, standing in the balcony like hallway, that overlooked the ground floor. Her eyes locked on him like a hawk, he was a bit unnerved by her unusual sternness. 'Zurie what are you doing here?' Damien questioned in a measured tone.

She twisted her hands, but her stern expression didn't waver, like a child who'd had its toy removed from its cot. 'I've come to bring you home,' she said briskly, raising her head a little higher. 'You promised me you wouldn't gamble anymore,' her voice cracked a little.

He felt a pang of guilt, he didn't like upsetting her, his gaze softened. 'I'm not gambling, just having a little get together with an old friend,' he reassured, reaching out to touch her shoulder. 'Just a little bit of innocent fun, that's all,' he told her warmly.

Zurie's lip wobbled, as she scowled. 'That's not what others will think,' she blurted out, before she tensed.

He frowned, he lightly squeezed her shoulder as he drew in nearer to her. 'Let them think what they want,' he challenged, he had thought Zurie didn't mind the gossip, after all their marriage hadn't exactly been blessed by the majority, a lot of his peers had expected him to marry into better blood. 'We don't need their approval,' he continued softly, kissing her cheek.

But Zurie still wasn't placated, she inched away from him. 'The Queen's approval matters,' she argued, his gaze grew weary, she looked at him anxiously. 'She tried to-I don't think she likes you,' she rushed to explain.

His smile thinned out. 'Tell me what happened?' he instructed gently. His wife's expression became more nervous, he tried to soften his features, because he didn't want to scare her. 'Zurie I'm your husband, please tell me what's wrong?' he requested mildly, smoothing back her hair as he gazed into her eyes, he was half-tempted to peek inside her mind.

Zurie bit down on her lip. 'The Queen made inquiries about our marriage, she wanted to know if you were treating me right, since you have a….complicated history,' she whispered, clenching her hands. 'I told her you've change….but what will she think if she finds out you were gambling again?'

Damien sighed, Queen Berenice was interfering in business that wasn't hers, he had respect for the Queen, but she was becoming irritating. He looked down at Zurie's apprehensive expression, what other seeds of doubt was the Queen planting in his wife's innocent head? 'I understand,' he replied.

She sighed in relief, embracing him. 'Let's go home,' she murmured.

If only things were that simple, he had his orders and the discussion with Klaus was half done, so as much as it pained him….

'No,' Damien said evenly, Zurie tensed in his arms, he held her firmly. 'I've never cared much for others opinions, you know that, if the Queen disapproves, then so be it,' he said coolly.

Zurie's eyes widened. '_Damien_,' she said his name like a reprimand, looking at him in confusion, she tended to always get her way with him.

He'd spoiled her too much.

'Go home, Zurie,' he ordered tonelessly, half aware of the henchmen who were a few feet away. 'I won't come home too late,' he promised, moving away from her.

She grabbed his arm, much to his surprise, she wasn't usually this forceful. 'No, you are coming home with me _now_, away from this horrible place ,' she insisted, trying to pull him.

It was embarrassing.

She was making a fool out of both of them.

He didn't budge from his spot, from the corner of his eye he saw Klaus' men shift in impatience. His gaze became graver, he grabbed her arm, he made sure not to squeeze too tight, because he'd never forgive himself if he hurt her.

'Zurie, you are _my_ wife,' he reminded her coldly. 'Our marriage is built on respect and trust, neither of which you are showing,' he scolded, sometimes the stern approach was the only way to get her to listen. She withered under his gaze, he felt a rush of guilt, he let go of her hand and moved in closer, cupping her cheek in his hand. 'I love you, but do not try to control me,' he told her sternly.

She lowered her gaze, Damien sighed, she could be so fragile at times, he wished he could make her understand. He was just trying to protect them all, but her mindset was too black and white, she wouldn't understand.

She had no idea what type of game she was playing.

'I'm sorry,' she murmured, she looked like she was about to cry.

The guilt in his stomach was becoming painful, he kissed her deeply , her lips felt soft. 'I love you,' he told her, kissing her forehead, trying to make her feel loved, he cupped her face in his hands. 'Now please, go home, I won't stay out too late,' he said gently, she should be home with their daughter, safe and sound.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and started to lead her down the hall towards the stairs. 'You…you promise you won't gamble?' Zurie implored quietly, looking up at him from the corner of her eye.

He kissed the top of her head. 'I promise,' he told her placidly, he gestured to one of the casino's waitresses to come, her name was Evelyn and she was trustworthy enough. 'Evelyn, make sure she gets home safe,' he instructed the server.

Evelyn nodded curtly, moving towards smiled at his wife reassuringly, Zurie cast him one last apprehensive glance as she was led towards the exit.

He kept his smile fixed in place until she was out of sight, his mouth set in a grim line, he turned around and hurried back to the private lounge.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora was reminded of unpleasant memories when she woke up in a gloomy room, tied to a chair; but at least she wasn't naked this time.<p>

Small blessings.

She groaned, her bones aching. "Good evening," a velvety voice interjected into her thoughts.

Her eyes landed on the elder man who walked into the light, he looked around in his sixties, with tanned leather like skin, the thing that caught her attention most, was the visible sleeve of tattoos, the man's shirt sleeves rolled up, revealing a complicated series on runes and transmutation circles.

"Jenik I presume?" Lyrisadora asked calmly, her heart starting to race, she kept her face blank.

He smiled, stepping further into the light, her eyes noticed the large book tucked underneath his arm_….her book_ to be more specific! She gritted her teeth when she saw her Alchemy book in his possession.

"You've been causing quite a bit of trouble, mademoiselle," he chided, his eyes falling to her uncovered left arm. "And so far away from your master..."

Her panic grew, her stomach twisting painfully, the Dark Mark uncovered for all to see.

But he still didn't know who she was, that was something at least.

She looked back at him coldly. "And your allegiances? You don't strike me as a loyal follower," she shot back.

Jenik smiled coldly, his hand went to the stone around her neck. "You assume correctly," he replied lightly, his thumb tracing the stone. "The Dark Lord, is a….means to an end," he informed, his gaze locked on the stone. He tugged at the chain, but it didn't budge. He arched an eyebrow. "Permanent sticking charm?" he asked conversationally.

She smirked. "Sort of, what can I say, I've always been a little paranoid," she commented flippantly.

Jenik chuckled, and removed his hand from the necklace. "Clever girl," he praised smoothly, he looked at her intently. "….Hm, you remind me of my wife," he told her lightly.

She didn't take that as a compliment. "I didn't know you were married," she said flippantly.

"We ended on bad terms," Jenik replied pleasantly, he stepped back and opened up the Alchemy book to a marked page. "Quite a rare book you have in your possession," he said, flicking through the pages. "Who gave it to you?"

"I acquired it, from Egypt," she lied fluidly.

He looked at her curiously. "Quite the traveller I assume?" She shrugged, the air feeling cold. "I wonder what the Dark Lord would make of you?" he mused.

Lyrisadora felt fear wrap around her heart, she narrowed her eyes at him. "And I wonder what he'd make of your exploits, they seem a bit off his agenda," she retorted.

Philosophers stones, Alchemy, Mafia; it didn't quite fit Voldemort's image.

He chuckled, his laugh sounding hollow. "Such an amusing girl you are," he sighed, he closed the book and grabbed her chin, making her eyes widen. "I wonder what your soul looks like," he hummed curiously.

…Well Aluka had mentioned he was insane, Lyrisadora was just starting to see a bit of that.

"You've entertained me, child," he stated, letting go of her jaw. "So I'll ask you nicely, just this once," he continued. "Who are you?"

Lyrisadora gritted her teeth.

"Who sent you?"

Again, she kept her mouth shut, her gaze growing colder.

Jenik sighed. "How much have you figured out?"

Her heart started beating faster, she bit down on her tongue, Jenik looked at her in impatience, he shook his head. "Such stubbornness. Gentlemen," he signalled, looking past her.

Lyrisadora strained her neck to look behind her, two bulky looking men; who looked like they had troll blood in them. They were carrying a large basin of water, some of the water dribbled onto the floor.

She felt dread in her stomach, she looked away, her body tensing, the basin was placed in front of her.

You cut the tension with a knife, the silence was smothering.

"Why not the Crucio?" she asked, her voice shaking a little.

"It addles the mind too much," Jenik answered lightly, giving her a grandfather like smile, it made her skin crawl. "I prefer the more…traditional methods," he added crisply.

A large hand coiled around her hair, his nails digging into her skull, she closed her eyes and bit down on her tongue.

Her head was dunked underwater.

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't lift her head up.

She was drowning, all over again.

* * *

><p><strong>It was bound to happen sooner or later.<strong>

**Also a lot of people want to see Lucius suffer when he finds out about Lyra's death, so I'll try not to disappoint :D**

**Happy Easter everyone. **


	107. Labyrinth

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors.**

**Warning: This chapter is rated M, so if you're not 18, don't read. **

**If you choose to read, then fine, but you have been warned.**

**Quote: Caroline Stevemere.**

* * *

><p><strong>"How dreadful to be caught up in a game and have no idea of the rules."<strong>

**Chapter: Labyrinth**

* * *

><p>Tonks decided to take a breather outside, the Burrow was becoming a bit stifling, especially with Kingsley's presence; poor bloke.<p>

He understood that 'killing' Lyrisadora would have repercussions, but it was clearly taking its toll. Mrs Weasley was nothing but curt towards him, same with Mr Weasley.

But the younger Weasleys were a little more distant, while Fred and George made no effort to hide their disdain and anger.

George had nearly knocked the Auror's head off.

It was unfortunate, but they all knew the risks. Tonks leant against the wall, staring up at the clear sky, she at least hoped Lyrisadora was doing alright, they hadn't heard much from her, only that she had found Ada and Aluka, as well as a tag along kid.

She hoped her cousin was alright, Tonks sighed, it'd only been a few weeks but she was really missing her baby cousin; and Snape had been more rude than usual.

But hopefully Lyrisadora was okay.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora was choking on water, it was in her ears, eyes and nose.<p>

She had flashes of her childhood, six years old and drowning in a lake, completely helpless.

Life was funny like that.

She was kicking and screaming, her heartbeat racing and her body trembling.

She needed air…

They pulled her head up, the air feeling like an icy sting on her skin, she shivered and shook violently.

"How about we have a rest?" Jenik proposed evenly, stepping closer to her.

Lyrisadora breathed heavily, leaning back in the chair, trying to control herself, throwing up some water in the process.

Jenik smiled at her. "Not much of a swimmer I take it?" he mused.

She felt cold, wanting to curl up on herself, the fear was overwhelming.

"Tell me your name?" he asked.

She bit down on her lip, scrunching her eyes up.

He slapped her across the face.

"Tell me your name?" He repeated calmly, his eyes fixed on her intently.

Lyrisadora recoiled away, finding it hard to breathe.

_Water in your ears._

_Water in your lungs. _

"Tell me your name?"

_Water in your ears._

_Water in your lungs._

Her head was dunked under again.

She struggled desperately, screaming as the water smothered all the air.

She threw up on the floor when her head was brought up again.

"Tell me your name?"

"Amata!" She screamed.

Jenik's eyes narrowed. "Tell me your _real_ name," he replied coldly.

Lyrisadora gritted her teeth, her whole body shaking. "A-Amata," she growled, her eyes darkening.

Jenik sighed, straightening up more. "Why must you be difficult?" he inquired mildly. "If you only cooperated, I would even let you work for me," he reasoned.

"I'm n-not good a-a-at taking orders," she snarled, forcing the words out, her breathing irregular.

An amused smirk curled its way onto Jenik's lips. "Oh I would very much like to see your soul," he breathed, grabbing her chin and looking into her eyes, she looked at him in confusion. "Would you like that?" he asked softly, making her heart thump louder, he hummed. "Later then."

He let her go, stepping back to withdraw his wand, the two henchmen tied her hands behind the chair. "Let's move onto phase two," Jenik said lightly, her outer robe was ripped off, showing off more skin, one of the men poured some of the water over her head, soaking her dress.

He grasped the stone in his hand and squeezed, Lyrisadora let out a hiss of pain, the familiar warmth of the stone fading, she shivered, the necklace glowed like a warmth surrounded it. "….Just in case you get any ideas," Jenik spoke, releasing his hold.

She felt disconnected, as she strained her magic, trying to touch the stone's power, but being met with resistance.

Jenik's wand sparked with electricity, before he whammed it into her stomach.

She felt a burst of pain as the electricity penetrated every weak point in her body, making her thrash and scream.

* * *

><p>Marcus woke up to find himself bound to an uncomfortable bed, his wrists and ankles strapped down. He looked around wildly, realising he was in a small grubby looking room with no windows, a flickering light overhead, he jumped back when he noticed another man in the room, standing by a work bench, with lots of different viles around him.<p>

'What's happening?' Marcus exclaimed, his eyes widening as he struggled. 'Where's Ama-my friend?' he hastily corrected, revealing names at this point wasn't the smartest choice.

The man looked over at him, he looked in his late twenties, sun kissed skin and hazel eyes. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin looked a bit sagged, he also had stubble and looked unkempt. 'Calm down,' the man said, wondering over to him. 'I'm just running a few tests,' he reassured, Marcus eyed him warily. 'My name's Healer Wilkes,' He informed. 'But I prefer Dr Wilkes," the healer informed.

Marcus frowned, what was a doctor? The man must be a Muggle-born. 'Where's my friend?'

The doctor looked confused. 'I don't know, I've only met you.'

_Well wasn't that great. _'Why are you running tests on me?' he questioned, straining his neck to look at the chemicals on the workbench.

Dr Wilkes looked at him curiously. 'It's a DNA test, a little hard to do with the lack technology-'

'DNA?' Marcus echoed in confusion.

'Oh, I guess you wouldn't know,' the healer muttered. 'DNA is in our body….see when people are related, their DNA is similar, so if you wanted to prove you're related to someone, you can run a DNA test, the more similar the DNA the more closely related you are to them,' Dr Wilkes explained.

'Oh, right,' Marcus murmured, putting the pieces together. 'Does that mean you know who my parents are?' he questioned, trying not to look as desperate as he felt.

Dr Wilkes frowned. 'Oh, well yes, considering I have to test Prince Adalard's blood, I have my theories ,' he replied evenly.

Marcus almost choked, his eyes bulging. 'What! Prince-I can't be related-are you sure?' he spluttered. Him related to royalty? No that couldn't be right, it couldn't-was this a dream? Or was this one big sick joke?

'It's not really something you'd joke about,' Dr Wilkes replied, looking faintly amused. They were interrupted when the door was flung open, Marcus shrank back, a young man and a woman stood in the threshold of the door, Dr Wilkes expression darkened. 'What do you two want?' he questioned sharply.

'The higher ups are getting impatient, Wilkes,' the man said coldly, stepping into the room, along with the woman.

'How much longer will this take?' the woman snapped, her piercing eyes fixed on Marcus like he was a pig to the slaughter. 'And why is he awake?'

Marcus wanted to curl up and disappear.

Dr Wilkes arched an eyebrow. 'A stupefy isn't exactly a correct form of aesthetic,' he retorted dryly. The woman gritted her teeth, reminding Marcus of a feral dog. 'And the DNA test needs more time, it isn't like you lot have a super computer lying around,' the Doctor remarked, brushing past them both towards his work bench.

Marcus saw the couple exchange a peeved off look. 'We want the results faster,' the woman said tightly, her wand fizzing dangerously as she neared the doctor, Marcus tensed as he watched Dr Wilkes jaw tighten.

'Well if you want it done right, then you'll have to be patient,' the healer told them slowly, his eyes narrowed, Marcus wondered if the man had a death wish, because the dark magic emitting from the spooky couple was prickling his skin warningly.

The woman's eyes were frosty. 'Careful Wilkes,' the woman spoke softly, causing Marcus to feel a cold chill run up his spine. 'We mustn't forget Little Anthea,' she continued, the tension suffocating the room.

Dr Wilkes had had grown as still a statue, grasping the chemical tubes in his hand tightly. 'We have an agreement,' he whispered, his eyes narrowing at the wall.

The couple smiled, the woman continued to speak. 'But Jenik's seems quite interested in her, you should see the way he looks at-'

The tubes were crushed in the doctor's hand. 'Shut up!' he snarled, whipping around, pieces of glass lodged in his hand.

'Temper,' the other man chided, smiling placidly, exchanging a look with his partner, before looking back at the doctor. 'So temperamental,' he said, flicking his wand to heal up the wounds. 'You're useless without your hands, Wilkes,' he remarked, stepping towards the door.

'We'll be back in an hour,' the woman warned coldly, following the man out of the door. 'Better start pumping more blood,' she chimed, smiling sweetly, before slamming the door shut.

Marcus felt his stomach clench, eyeing Dr Wilkes warily. The doctor was very still, almost frozen in place, until he let out a cry of frustration, his eyes locking onto Marcus like a hawk.

'I'm sorry,' the doctor apologised, letting out a deep sigh, grabbing a large beacon and a syringe, Marcus tried to move away, afraid of how much blood the man was going to take.

'Who's Anthea?' Marcus found himself asking.

'My niece,' the doctor replied in a clipped tone, exposing Marcus' bare arm. 'So I don't exactly have much choice.'

Marcus shut his eyes when the needle pierced his skin, trying to make sense of what was happening, did his mother know he was looking for her? Was he related to the Queen or the Prince Adalard? Did they want to welcome him into the family….. Or was the Prince going to kill him? There were so many questions and he didn't know what to do, and he had a bad feeling the DNA results wouldn't help his plight.

He hoped Amata was alright….but she was probably being tortured…He struggled against his binds, the beacon half-way full…he felt dizzy again….

And he wasn't sure if Aluka or Ada would find them in….time….he felt woozy….

The beacon was full of blood, his eyelids drooped as he began to lose consciousness, he strained his neck to look back at Dr Wilkes.

The doctor smiled at him grimly. 'Sleep tight, boy, you'll need it.'

* * *

><p>Jenik watched Amata's body consort in pain, he was starting to get bored, torture in general bored him. It was such a chore, but transformations were another story entirely, moulding something new was…..exciting, like art.<p>

Amata's screams grew louder as he aimed for her stomach.

Amata? From that English fairytale, he wondered if it was her favourite and debated asking her, but now didn't seem like the right time. She did look like the character, with pale skin and blonde hair, but her eyes were brown, much different to the character's blue ones. He also wondered if her real name was more interesting ?

Her screams sounded like a melody.

She was still a threat, but he was so tempted to recruit her, especially since she was an alchemist, and she must be a talented one if she managed to control the stone so quickly.

Ah yes, the stone, his eyes looked back at the stone hanging around her neck, it shined in the light of the electricity.

Amata gasped for breath when he removed his wand. "Can you feel its power?" he questioned lightly, smiling thinly.

She didn't appear to hear him, he wrenched her head back, making her wince, his smile grew when she finally looked at him. There was so much hate in her eyes, it was delicious. "The stone's power is consuming, isn't it?" he asked her.

Her body trembled, but he put that down to the electricity. "I know how to control myself," she countered coldly.

Such denial, he let her go and stepped back, he was starting to grow impatient, clearly pain wasn't going to have the desired effect on the girl. And the water-boarding had nearly sent her into shock, he supposed he could have one of his men rape her, he looked at her intently, seeing the anger and loathing in her gaze. He sighed, no rape wouldn't have the effect he needed, besides it was a bit tasteless….

Then an idea sparked to mind, his pets could help him, or even better, he could start transforming her into one! But he'd have to slow the process down, Jenik smiled at her placidly, Amata shrank back a little.

He needed to get the philosophers stone off, he'd have to use the imperius, he didn't want to chop her head off just yet.

Besides she could be a good pet; she reminded him so much of his wife Christabel and hadn't that ended too soon?

But the girl's bad attitude was a problem, she could turn feral like the others….she was a little too old as well…..but she could be a special pet. Jenik frowned, he didn't want to ruin her mind, all that alchemy knowledge, it was such a difficult choice….

He'd have to sleep on it, in the meantime it was best he kept her locked up, perhaps with the rest of his pets would convince her to be more compliant.

Jenik faintly frowned, he'd have to sterilise her first though, just to make sure their animal urges didn't get the better of them.

'Take her to my lab and guard her until I arrive,' he ordered his men, turning away from the girl, opening up her book again; such a valuable bonus, he'd have to reward his son and Reynard for their efforts.

* * *

><p>The Prince knew he was taking a risk, leaving the palace at such a late hour, but he needed to see the boy, such a wonderful slice of cake.<p>

The Mudblood healer watched in the shadows, glowering at Adalard; what a waste of space.

But oh well, Adalard looked down at his supposed unconscious nephew, the dark hair and slight tint of the skin revealed the boy's gypsy heritage, an unfortunate blemish. Honestly, did Berenice have no taste?

He peered at the child curiously. 'What colour are his eyes?' he asked, not bothering to turn around to face the healer.

'…Brown,' the healer replied tightly.

Just like Berenice, Adalard mused, stepping away to turn back to the healer. 'The DNA results?'

The healer's glower deepened, Adalard smirked, he assumed the Mudblood wasn't a fan of the monarchy. 'Positive; he's your nephew,' the healer replied crisply, flashing the clipboard in view.

The Prince glanced back down at the boy. 'His name's….Marcus, isn't it?' It sounded like something Berenice would choose to name her son, a little bit on the plain side.

The healer nodded in confirmation, the Prince hummed in acknowledgement, now laid the question of what to do with boy. He had been in two minds about this; was his nephew more useful alive or dead?

He could be good blackmail material, but it could make Berenice more formidable and he liked that she was distracted right now. If he killed the boy then the threat to the throne was gone….but his cousin could always name his eldest son heir, seeing how she was determined that Adalard would never have the crown rest on his head.

His nephew could be controlled, especially if Adalard was named the boy's regent, but the boy would have to be named heir first and Berenice would surely turn the boy against him.

And besides, despite the contaminated blood, the boy was still family, he couldn't just unnecessarily kill his only nephew.

Prince Adalard sighed, he had to be smart about this. 'I want the boy to remain unconscious for the next 24 hours,' the Prince informed briskly, making his way to the door. 'I'll need him prepared for transfer.'

The healer looked reluctant, but nodded; such a pathetic moral conscience.

But he cast the doctor out of his mind, he'd inform Sagebrush to come collect the boy and keep hold of him for a few days.

In the meantime, the Prince needed to head home, his daughters were still expecting a bedtime story.

* * *

><p>"Where the hell are they?" Ada stressed, pacing around the room hurriedly. "It's been hours," she groaned, while Aluka remained as calm as a fucking cucumber.<p>

Aluka frowned thoughtfully. "They could have been captured," he voiced, rubbing his chin. "Which is an inconvenience."

"No shit," Ada snapped, causing Aluka's eyes to narrow.

"Please refrain from-"

"Oh shut up, we need to rescue them!" She snarled. "Unless you want the stone to fall into Jenik's hands again?"

That seemed to make him more alert. "I'm trying to think of a plan…they're probably being held at the HQ, especially if Jenik's taken an interest in them," he explained.

Finally they were getting somewhere. But while sneaking in wouldn't be impossible, seeing how Aluka knew the place like the back of his hand.

Getting out alive would be a little more difficult.

* * *

><p>Everything seemed to grow worse and Lyrisadora wasn't sure if she could talk her way out of this one.<p>

She tensed when Jenik arrived, dismissing his men, she struggled against her binds, her wrists and ankles chained in place. He placed the alchemy book and her wand on a work bench.

She buried a pang of fear, there was something about him that made her skin crawl. It was strange, even with Voldemort and her aunt Bellatrix, she had at least expected the insanity and knew their boundaries.

But with Jenik…it was like he had no boundaries.

'Calm down now, dear,' he placated, his voice becoming almost paternal, patting her on the head, before his hand grabbed her short hair, making her hiss in pain.

He opened up the second door in the room, dragging her through it into the next room.

The room was more or less black, a few candles on the walls, there were….cages along the walls as well, she felt her gut twist, when she heard a rustle of movement and a moan.

There was a table at the end of the room, lit up by a stage light, the sterile metal gleamed, her heartbeat quickened when she saw the stirrups. She tried to fight out of his hold, but they barely grasped his acknowledgment.

He undid her hands first, she managed to punch his chin before he slammed her arms down on the table, wrenching the cuffs around each of her wrists.

She started to sweat, pulling at the cuffs that wouldn't budge , he locked down each of her ankles next. "What are you going to do to me?" she demanded shakily, because the fear of not knowing seemed worse.

The old man smiled at her, stroking back some stray hairs from her face clammy. "Just some modifications, to make sure my pets don't play with you," he replied lightly, stuffing a thick clothe into her mouth. "You don't need to worry, I've done this for years," he reassured, moving around the table to push the skirt of her dress up, so it was bunched up around her stomach, he used a knife to cut away her underwear.

She recoiled away and struggled more, he continued to smile at her reassuringly, she wanted to vomit. Her fear only grew when he brought out shaving foam, her eyes widening, her suspicions becoming more frightening .

Jenik caught her gaze. "It's necessary, I can't have my pets multiplying on their own, especially the females, they're the most depraved," he sighed, he sharply snapped on a pair of latex gloves, she flinched.

"It's like carving a pumpkin for Halloween, scooping out the insides, it's a messy job, but the result is worth it."

He picked up an ice-cream scooper with a sharp curved blade edge, then a pair of scissors, she felt like she couldn't breathe.

"You'll survive," he said, she cringed when he started to shave her, she tore at her cuffs, trying to access the stones power, but it was encased tightly. "I'm good at sewing," he went on.

She scrunched her eyes up, praying to whatever deity or god there was, as she started to cry. She tried to summon her magic, but she couldn't focus and Jenik had already started touching her genitals.

He wiped her clean. "There, now we can begin."

She had to get out now! Apparate! She screamed in her head, the gag muffling her own shouts and pleads. She twisted her torso when Jenik tried to hold down her waist.

Her mind was frazzled and the panic was overwhelming like a gush of a ravine and Jenik had just picked up some sewing pins.

Tears streamed down her face, she wanted her father, mother, Snape or even Adrian to burst in and save her.

Get out! GetoutgetoutgetouGETOUT!

She twisted her body and felt the world spin.

Then she felt the skin around her chest being ripped away from her, as she landed in front of the door.

Anti-apparation charms. Fucking typical.

But that was only a factor of her problems, because she was trembling from a new wave of pain.

There was a reason nobody attempted wandless apparation, the right side of her torso was spliced, the scars curling around towards her arm like a snake, the fabric of her dress ripped and stained with blood.

The gag fell to the floor as she screamed in pain, her tears blinding her vision.

"Now isn't the time for games, little girl," Jenik rebuked harshly, rushing towards her. "And now you're damaged!"

She had enough sense in her to try to open the door, but it was locked, she struggled to pull the knob, kicking at the door. She cast a terrified glance behind her shoulder, freezing when she saw Jenik looming over her like the devil himself.

"Now you're just wasting my time," he rebuked lowly, grabbing her ankle and dragging her back towards the table, ignoring her screaming protests.

"Please! Oh god, please don't," She pleaded, repeating the word over and over. Her words became more jumbled when her injured skin scraped against the concrete, leaving a bloody trail.

* * *

><p>Marcus snapped his eyes open, breathing heavily, still finding himself in the dim room, he saw Dr Wilkes loom over him with a syringe. 'What are you doing now? Marcus demanded, wondering how long he'd been passed out for.<p>

The doctor gritted his teeth, pushing Marcus head back, exposing the boy's neck. 'Preparing you for transportation; congrats kid, you're related to royalty,' he grumbled.

Well that was a lot to take in, and it was also frightening. But wait, transportation? Where the hell were they taking him and what about Amata? 'Why am I being transferred?'.

' I don't know,' the doctor replied tightly, looking frustrated when Marcus pushed his head down to hide his neck. 'All I know is that your uncle wants to transfer you somewhere, he might even want a family reunion, for all fuck I know,' Dr Wilkes spat bitterly.

'I'm not leaving without my friend,' Marcus snapped, even though he was more or less helpless and despite his matron's advice, praying to the virgin Mary wasn't helping.

'That's not my problem,' the doctor said harshly.

'Then you're a fucking coward!' Marcus insulted cruelly, noticing the doctor freeze. At least the man had some honour. 'And if I was your niece, I'd be ashamed.'

'Shut up,' the doctor snarled. 'I'm keeping her safe.'

'For how long?' Marcus argued, his mind racing. 'You heard those assassins, you haven't got long left, neither has she,' he continued. 'My friends can protect you both , if you help me,' he reasoned.

Dr Wilkes sneered. 'Yeah, clearly you're invincible, remind me how you got captured again?'

'They caught us off guard, besides there's more of us,' Marcus tried to win him over. 'And we've survived this long, and Jenik's got the philosophers stone, so we have to stop him before he makes everything worse,' he implored looking at the healer desperately. 'If you don't help we're all done for and the Syndicate will make things worse,' he begged.

The doctor hesitated. '….My niece is locked up somewhere in Jenik's lab,' he divulged. 'If I help you, we need to rescue her first.'

'Deal,' Marcus agree instantly. 'Now come on, before those two crazies come back,' he ordered sharply.

The doctor didn't need to be told twice, quickly undoing the binds with a flick of his wand, before he grabbed Marcus by the wrist. 'Let's move it,' he instructed, rushing out of the room, stunning the guard who was waiting outside, before they both legged it down the hall.

* * *

><p>Despite her long illustrious career as a reporter, sneaking around in air vents was a new experience for Ada.<p>

Now their main problem was finding out where their comrade and a half were being kept, Aluka recommended underground, seeing how that was where most of the interrogations occurred.

"Keep moving," Aluka hissed from behind her, who's bulky form looked pretty crammed in the narrow vent.

"Shut up," Ada whispered fiercely, quickening her crawling. "I'm trying to figure out which way."

She came to an air vent, her eyes widening when she saw Marcus run passed with a young man pulling him along, who was that guy?

She whipped out her wand and punched the air vent off, squeezing out. "What are you doing?" Aluka exclaimed.

The man whipped around to hex her, she jumped around a corner. "Marcus?" she called, peering around to look at him.

'Ada?' Marcus replied, a giant grin spreading across his face as he wrenched his hand free, and ran towards her. 'There really is a god!'

Ada arched an eyebrow when he hugged her. 'Nice to see you alive kid,' she said, her eyes locking on the other man. 'Who's your friend?'

Marcus quickly retracted his hug, looking back at the confused man. 'Right, this is Healer/Dr Wilkes, he set me free,' he rushed to explain. 'Dr Wilkes, this is one of my friends, Ada,' he introduced.

Dr Wilkes took a cautious step forward, Ada looked at him curiously, a healer who called himself a doctor? Must be a Muggle-born. 'Nice to meet you,' she greeted.

'Likewise,' the doctor replied. Aluka struggled to escape the vent, Ada had almost forgot he was there, the doctor's eyes narrowed. 'Wait a second…' the doctor murmured, Aluka pushed himself out of the vent, before straightening to his feet, a scowl creasing on his face when he saw the Muggle-born.

Then their eyes widened in recognition. 'You?' they both said in unison.

Marcus looked just as confused as Ada. However Ada had more of a bad feeling this old acquaintance of Aluka's wasn't a good one.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Aluka leered and the doctor turned to Marcus in indignation. 'That monster is one of your _friends_!' the healer snapped.

Marcus looked like a cornered puppy. 'Uhhhh….no?'

'I have no time for your hostility Wilkes,' Aluka chided roughly, walking towards him.

The doctor didn't even flinch. 'I haven't forgotten-'

Ada rolled her eyes. 'For fuck sake, can we not do this later!' she interrupted, turning to Aluka. "Remember, rescue mission?" she reminded the vampire, he had the decency to look a little sheepish, she looked back at Marcus. 'We need to find Amata.'

'Who?' Wilkes questioned.

'The friend I was on about,' Marcus answered.

'We need to find Amata, she has the stone,' Ada argued.

The doctor stepped in. 'We need to find my niece first,' he stressed. 'Jenik's has her locked up in his lab-'

Ada groaned; wonderful, another complication.

Meanwhile Aluka grew paler, his sneer disappearing. 'Are you sure?'

Wilkes gritted his teeth as he glowered at the vampire. 'Positive,' he growled, the two having some sort of bizarre silent exchange.

'Then maybe they're held up in the same place,' Marcus suggested. 'You said Jenik's obsessed with stone.'

The kid had a good point, she glanced back at Dr Wilkes, who had a desperate look in his eye, she swore under her breath. 'Okay, fine, let's go investigate the horror chamber,' she spat, marching forward, jumping back when four guards came running down the hall, wands shooting at the ready.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

She looked over her shoulder, shooting the vampire a knowing look. "Aluka, now would be a good time to go vampire warrior on them right now," she said in a strained voice.

His eyes narrowed at the crude description. "Americans," he muttered under his breath, his eyes turning bloodthirsty as he charged at the wizards.

Ada made sure to cover the child's eyes.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora's chest heaved when Jenik finished bandaging her up, every bone in her body aching, he placed a blanket over her, pulling it up to her chin.<p>

"There, that's better," Jenik said evenly, placing the bloody latex gloves in the bin. "You're lucky I take care of my pets, Amata,' he told her sternly, placing on a fresh pair of gloves, before he picked up the scissors and modified scooper. "Now be a good girl."

Like hell she was! She kicked and struggled, wildly moving her hips around so he couldn't pin her.

* * *

><p>The walls were painted red, as was the floor.<p>

Ada covered Marcus' eyes as they ran through the hall, the doctor kept muttering under his breath.

The smell was nauseating.

Aluka advanced forward, blood dripping from his mouth; she'd lose sleep over this.

It turned out the healer was more better at duelling than she was, taking down two guards on the way, but she noticed he didn't use any fatal spells.

At least he knew where the line was.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora screamed through her gag, the cages rattling around her, Jenik conjured up a thick chain, and fastened it around her waist, pulling it tightly so it dug into her skin.<p>

Then he used the scissors to make his first incision, widening the vagina slit, cutting the flesh.

She howled in pain, wrenching her head back, as he used a tissue to wipe away the blood.

Jenik smiled serenely. "Be still now, pet, it's a delicate process," he said softly.

* * *

><p>Marcus watched in horror when Aluka ripped out the two henchmen's throats simultaneously.<p>

No wonder Ada had been trying to cover his eyes….he felt like he was going to be sick, he swallowed back a bit of vomit.

The vampire was a walking nightmare, Marcus shivered, moving behind Ada as they followed the vampire into Jenik's lab….only to find it empty, his stomach clenched. But then he saw Amata's wand and felt a rush of relief, and then a wave of dread.

Dr Wilkes stepped forward. 'Move it,' the healer snapped, his eyes darkening. '_Bombarda!_'

The door was blasted off its hinges by the force of the spell.

They all scrambled in and froze when they saw Amata tied down to a metal table, Jenik about to shove an ice-cream scooper into her privates.

* * *

><p><strong>It's been a busy two weeks. <strong>

**Freaking hell this wasn't pleasent to write. But I needed to show Jenik's full craziness, as well as introduce other characters. **

**Sorry if I traumatised a few people. **

**But anyway, let me know what you guys think. **


	108. Choke the Weed

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelling errors.**

**Quote: Batman Begins**

* * *

><p><strong>"It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."<strong>

**Chapter: Choke the Weed**

* * *

><p>And for a second they all just stared.<p>

Jenik was frozen in position and Amata looked like they were her knights in shining armour.

Marcus blinked, just enough time for Jenik's expression to morph into anger, as a burst of electricity came from the palm of his hand.

Ada and him were pushed against the cages, while Aluka ran forward like an attack dog. Marcus jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, when he turned around he felt like a bucket of ice had been thrown over him.

A small hand clutched his shoulder, it was thin and the skin was peeling like a half done onion, and the face….it was a nightmare, a disgusting thing, face twisted and…..those eyes, Marcus was frozen in fear. The thing's eyes were pleading, a pale murky green colour.

Marcus jumped back in fear as the hand reached out towards him , Ada looked to have seen the creatures too, as her skin drained of colour, she grabbed Marcus and hauled him away from the cage.

However the doctor did the opposite, while Aluka was engaged in an elemental battle with Jenik. Dr Wilkes was looking into the cages, his skin as pale as a corpse as he frantically looked through the cage.

Marcus tried to gather his nerve and forget what he saw, or at least pretend. He focused on Amata who was still tied down to the metal table and tried to make his way towards her.

Jenik was barely even using his wand, the sleeves of his robes ripping off as he sent an electric current Aluka's way, the ground shaking, Marcus stumbled.

'You really should have known better,' Jenik chided cuttingly, the ground lifting up in a wave when the tattooed man raised his arm. Aluka hissed in pain when the flames scorched his skin.

Meanwhile Dr Wilkes was calling niece's name. 'Anthea!' he called, recoiling when he looked inside the cages, his body trembling. 'Please no,' he hissed.

Ada tried to go help Aluka, but Jenik's eyes locked on her like a wolf. 'And the trouble maker returns,' he snarled, stamping his foot down on the ground, the cage behind Ada opened, the bars morphing into vines as they grabbed her, swallowing her in like some kind of mutant monster.

Marcus manoeuvred around, trying to stay as low as possible, hiding behind an empty cage, his eyes fixed on the still struggling Amata.

Aluka transformed into a bat, avoiding Jenik's attacks, when the Syndicate leader whipped out his wand to strike the vampire with a curse. Marcus crawled across the floor, his breathing erratic, Dr Wilkes jumped on top of a cage to avoid Jenik's violent hex.

Marcus grabbed Amata's hand, noticing in horror that she was bleeding from her privates and her skin was washed out. She looked at him in relief. 'Good timing,' she breathed, watching as he hastily undid her cuffs.

He gave her a shaky smile. 'You can thank Aluka, the man's a living weapon,' Marcus replied, setting her free, he tried to help her up, as her body shook, he saw the bandages around her chest when the blanket slipped.

His stomach churned, he didn't think she would be alright for apparation. She winced when she hurried to a sitting position. Aluka had managed to strike a blow across Jenik's chest, making the man's expression darken.

'Do you know a way out?' Marcus questioned quickly, helping her to her feet, his dread mounting when he saw her fall to her knees, hissing in pain. 'Amata?' he repeated desperately.

She had to have a plan, she was the leader, leaders always had back up plans and other schemes up their sleeve. He looked at her pleadingly when she met his gaze, a flash of fear appeared in her eyes, but then she smiled at him reassuringly and gingerly ruffled his hair. 'Don't worry, I have a plan,' she reassured weakly, looking around the room, she picked up a small knife that had fallen on the floor. 'Where's my wand?' she questioned, her voice sharpening, knife clutched in her hand .

His fear seemed to lesson. 'It's in the lab,' he replied, pulling her towards a safe corner of the room.

Dr Wilkes ran towards then, running on top of the metal cages. Her eyes travelled to the doctor. 'Who is that?' she snapped, as the doctor stumbled towards them.

'A new friend, his name's Dr Wilkes,' Marcus replied quickly, turning to Dr Wilkes. 'She can't walk properly,' he told the doctor.

The doctor gave him an impatient. 'You don't say,' he bit out, roughly picking her up bridal style, much to Amata's displeasure and wariness. 'I can't find my niece,' the doctor worried, his expression turning desperate when he looked at Amata. 'Have you-'

'No, I'm sorry but she's probably dead or worse,' Amata more or less shouted, making Dr Wilkes flinch, Marcus winced at her coldness. 'We need to leave.'

They ducked when a whip of fire shot over their heads.

'You're not going anywhere, pet,' Jenik snarled, throwing a unconscious severely burned Aluka to the ground. Amata shrank away, Jenik's eyes shifted to Dr Wilkes. 'Even I didn't think you were this stupid, Alec,' he sneered, Marcus backed away.

The Jenik's eyes widened when a ray of red electricity blasted him across the room, hitting his head on the hard wall.

Marcus gaped in disbelief, whipping around, Amata had her arm raised, a strange circle like rune carved into the palm of her left hand, the blood dripped on the floor as she clutched the stained knife in her hand.

Dr Wilkes looked at her in shock; Amata shot them both a frustrated look. 'Stop gawking you idiots and move!' she screamed, her breathing irregular, she was starting to look like a corpse, her body turning more limp as she leant against Dr Wilkes.

That managed to knock them to their senses, Marcus ran to the cage where Ada had been swallowed.

"Help!" she cried desperately, reverting to English, her voice high pitched, he didn't need to know English to understand what she was pleading. The cage rattled, the doctor aimed his wand at the lock of the cage.

When the cage door was flung open, Marcus was instantly grabbed as Ada flung to him, kicking her legs, trying to struggled against the small arms that were trying to pull her back in. Dr Wilkes cringed, shooting a 'stupefy' at the creatures inside the cage, as Marcus pulled Ada out.

'Let's go!' Amata snapped. 'With the amount of noise you lot made, the others will be here soon,' she spat.

Ada rushed over to Aluka's side, trying to carry him as the five of them hurried to the door, they could already hear the sound of running, Amata shakily grabbed her wand and the Alchemy book, clutching her possessions to her chest.

Ada had Aluka hovering behind her like he was held by an invisible leash. 'We got in from the roof….getting out won't be as easy,' she divulged, the five of them in a huddle.

Marcus felt his fear grow, with Aluka out of the game, fighting their way out felt more suicidal.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora groaned in pain, she heard Ada fret, as the rest of them started to panic. Lyrisadora swallowed back vomit, the energy drained from her, she tried to focus and think, because it didn't look like anyone else was thinking of a good escape plan.<p>

She looked at her carved into palm, her injury wasn't helping her magic level. Thank Merlin the transmutation runes did most of the work-

Her eyes lit up, as an insane idea sprang to mind.

She was dropped on the floor when the twins appeared, Dr Wilkes withdrawing his wand. She growled pain, biting down as she ducking under the workbench, shakily turning the pages to the correct chapter in the alchemy book.

Constancia grinned at Dr Wilkes. 'Oh I'll make sure this is a slow one,' she crooned, a whip of water shooting from her wand, the tip freezing to a sharp blade, slicing the doctor across the face.

Constancio shifted behind the doorway when Ada threw a curse at him.

Ada and the doctor acted as her shield, trying to send the twins back. 'What are we going to do?' Marcus hissed beside her, looking terrified.

She ignored him, slapping her hand down on the correct page, eyes scanning the runes on the page, trying to calculate the correct maths; because one false miscalculation and they could end up ripped in half.

She raised her left arm, trying to steady it, trying not to hit Ada and the doctor in the process. The twin assassin's synchronisation helped guide her aim as she shot another energy blast, making the right side of the doorframe one meter wider, as the twins were knocked out.

Then she threw up on the floor. "Fuck," she swore, her whole body shaking, she forced herself to stay focussed. 'Ada, Wilkes, I have an idea,' she informed, trying to force herself to her feet by grabbing onto the side of the workbench. 'I'm going to make a portal, but I need your magic.'

They looked beyond confused, Lyrisadora held back a frustrated growl. 'The anti-apparation-' Dr Wilkes began to argue.

'Shut up!' Lyrisadora snapped, feeling like she was about to pass out. 'Ada, help steady me, Wilkes guard the door,' she ordered sharply.

They had the sense to listen, Ada wrapped an arm around her waist, Lyrisadora leant on the older woman like she was a wall, before she pointed her wand at the ground. A ray of orange light emitted from her wand, burning into the wooden floor like a crafting knife.

Dr Wilkes tried to barricade them in, shifting the bricks to cover the hole in the doorways, as they heard more footsteps drawing closer.

Lyrisadora blocked everything else out, focusing on the calculations, she needed to measure the miles right, but she realised in horror that she didn't know the exact location of their safe house…well she knew where it was, but not the street and exact location….

She held back a sigh, remembering the underground cave, which was in Croix-Rouge. "Where exactly are we!" she snapped at Ada.

Ada struggled to think, before she blurted the answer out. "Block two, Boulogne-Billancourt."

Lyrisadora did the calculations of miles, burning the runes and dialect into the ground, her skin clammy and breathing erratic.

Dr Wilkes placed a shield on the wall, trying to delay the barrage of attacks coming from the other side.

"I need your magic," Lyrisadora said in a strained voice, looking at Ada sternly. "Place both your palms on….the edge of the circle," she struggled to explain, her knees feeling weak.

Ada looked anxious, but was smart enough to not question her orders, she carefully let Lyrisadora go and placed her hands flat on the ground.

"Now…channel your magic, let it….flow down," Lyrisadora instructed, forcing her voice to stay steady, using Marcus to keep herself propped up, tugging the blanket tighter around her torso, blood staining the bandages around her chest. "No matter what, don't remove your hands."

Ada closed her eyes, the circle glowed, she scrunched her eyes up tighter as the portal started to open.

Lyrisadora stepped back a little to bend down to Marcus' level. 'You first,' she ordered firmly, Marcus looked nervous; she was half tempted to push him in. 'Marcus, trust me,' she reassured, stroking his hair back and looking at him intently.

He gave a wary glance at the portal, before he looked back at her, her eyes narrowed. 'Ok…' Marcus replied hesitantly, moving towards the glowing circle, the blue light blinding. He took a cautious step forwards, she growled, weakly nudging him towards the light, making him yelp as he passed through.

'Wilkes! Toss Aluka in, then you next,' Lyrisadora yelled, her stomach twisting when she saw blood stain he thighs, her body shaking.

The doctor looked reluctant to touch the vampire, but complied, violently shoving the vampire into the portal, he cast Lyrisadora a worried look, which she returned with a glare.

Why did they have to care so much? They didn't even know each other. 'Go!' she growled.

He was the third to jump, the brick wall blocking the door was cracking, Lyrisadora felt like she couldn't breathe. "Ada, go!" she shouted.

Ada looked at her in alarm. "What about you?"

"The portal will stay open for ten seconds onceyouletgo," Lyrisadora explained quickly, her body growing weaker by the second, a brick was cracked away. "Go you idiot!" she screamed, shooting Ada a venomous look, she really didn't have time for any useless noble protests. "Or we're both dead."

Ada listened, retracting her hands from the ground, like they burnt, her skin sore and pink, as well as a little cracked. The American jumped into the portal.

Lyrisadora wrenched the heavy book under her arm, her wand crushed in her hand, the wall was punched in.

She jumped into the light, the air sucked out of her, the stone glowed red and sparked to life.

* * *

><p>She was in darkness.<p>

"_Flamel's stone is impressive….."_ A soft woman's voice spoke.

Lyrisadora looked around, but she couldn't see anything, not even her own hand.

….This wasn't meant to happen.

_"The man knew his alchemy,"_ a male voice sighed, almost wistfully.

"_Do you think she's figured it out yet?"_ A silky voice purred in the darkness.

Lyrisadora felt cold, she couldn't breathe….it was like she didn't need too, frozen in place, she opened her mouth to speak…..but nothing came out.

A male voice sighed. "_We did give her enough pieces, how much help does she need?"_

_"I told you we should have focused more on Potter."_

_"He's had more than enough help!"_

Where the hell was she?

_"Do you think she'll go mad?" _A voice purred, sounding almost hopeful.

_"No she's a fighter…I think." _The male voice murmured._ 'Maybe we should add another player to help her…'_

_"Fate sure doesn't like her." _

_"Fate doesn't like anyone."_

_"It's called indifference." _The soft voice spoke.

_"I like her." _A deep voice said.

There was an indignant scoff._ "You're death, you like everyone…oh looks like she's moving on!"_

Lyrisadora squinted when she saw a bright light.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora jerked awake, finding Marcus hovering over her. "Amata," he exclaimed. 'It worked,' he stated excitedly.<p>

She frowned, feeling a rush of panic when she found herself on a table, but her panic decreased, realising the table was made from stone, she was in the cave.

She was….safe.

Lyrisadora groaned, Dr Wilkes rushed to her side, helping her to sit up. 'How did you even do that?' the doctor questioned in confusion, conjuring up another blanket to cover her.

She ignored his question. 'How long was I unconscious?" she murmured, looking around the cave like room, Marcus had said the cave had subdivisions, since the gypsies had built a lot underground. The old station should be further down the cave near the entrance, a large crack in the tiled wall.

'Four hours,' Marcus replied, stepping back when Dr Wilkes handed over a blood replenishing potion.

She looked at the potion questionably, the doctor must be a fast worker, he had made a workbench and everything, she wondered how he scraped together the potion ingredients. 'Drink,' the doctor ordered stiffly.

She jugged the potion down, wiping her mouth afterwards, her mind lingering on the strange dream she had. 'How are Ada and Aluka?' she questioned.

Dr Wilkes jaw tightened as he drew away. Marcus cast Dr Wilkes a cautious glance, before he leaned in closer to her. 'They're fine. But Aluka and Dr Wilkes don't like each other,' he whispered.

Lyrisadora looked back at the doctor curiously, he was still a stranger to her. 'And how did you and the doctor meet?' she questioned evenly, trying to assess the man.

It was curious that he decided to address himself by the muggle medical term, even if he grew up in the muggle world. 'Well, ' Marcus began slowly, looking over at the doctor, who just raised an eyebrow. 'He was meant to test my blood for…DNA? Because the Syndicate wanted to prove I was related to the crown,' he began to explain sheepishly.

Lyrisadora's eyes narrowed at the man. 'How interesting,' she spoke, glancing at Marcus, giving him a feigned look of surprise, which was a bit half-assed in her weakened state. 'Who exactly are you related to?'

Marcus faltered, but the doctor spoke up. 'The Queen,' Dr Wilkes answered, eyeing them both with interest.

Marcus did little to hide his nerves, looking a bit lost. 'So, did she know about the Syndicate?'

'No,' Dr Wilkes replied, Lyrisadora studied his face very carefully, but it didn't appear he was trying to hide anything from her. 'As far as I know, she's in the dark, but the Prince is pretty chummy with Jenik.'

'How long did you work for them?' Lyrisadora questioned lightly.

Dr Wilkes became more grave. 'I'd call it more forced labour,' he replied tonelessly, folding his arms tightly. 'I was in the wrong place….they needed a new healer, but I ….wasn't really eager to join so…' he trailed off.

'They used your niece as blackmail,' she finished for him, feeling a stab of pity, remembering the cages. 'How old was she?' she questioned in a detached voice.

He hesitated, swallowing deeply. 'Five,' he answered quietly. 'I have to go back to find her,' he said weakly, looking at her imploringly. 'She's a muggle, she can't-there might be a chance-'

'She might be alive,' Lyrisadora said calmly, her face set like stone, looking the doctor in the eye. 'But I'd pray she wasn't, you saw those….things in the cages?'

The room became tenser, the doctor's knuckles turning white, Marcus looked at the doctor in concern. 'She might be okay,' Marcus muttered meekly.

Lyrisadora sighed. 'I'm sorry,' she told the man.

Dr Wilkes was silent, not appearing to register her words, he didn't reply, but instead unfolded his arms and walked straight out of the room, his eyes empty like a dead man.

She stared at the floor, feeling herself shiver, glancing at her left palm, the cut healed up. 'Was he going to turn you into one of them?' Marcus whispered, regaining her attention.

Lyrisadora looked at him blankly, feeling hollowed out, her absently moved to the blanket covering her lower body. 'Most likely,' she replied softly.

Marcus shivered. 'They barely looked human,' he spoke, clutching his wrist tightly, as if to steady himself. 'Their faces, it was….were they children?' he questioned, his voice sounded raw.

She assumed so, she hadn't had a proper good look at them, she was thankful for that. 'Most likely …..come here,' she said quietly, seeing how he was on the brink of crying.

He looked reluctant, he probably thought he was too old for hugs, but he obeyed, shifting onto the bed, as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his head. 'It's over now,' she reassured gently, closing her eyes, trying to forget the flashes of terror, being strapped down…the cutting, her face consorted in pain. 'We're safe….'

'For how long?' Marcus murmured, his hands tightening. 'Dr Wilkes said the Prince wanted to transport me…. What if they want to kill me?' he said apprehensively, straining his eyes to look up at her.

For some reason she felt a rise of anger, not directed at Marcus….it was strange. 'They won't kill you, I'll make sure of it, besides you're more valuable alive,' she told him clinically, stroking his hair back.

Marcus bit down on his lip. 'Well, how do we fight them?'

She forced a reassuring smile. 'We find a weakness and we exploit it, we make them suffer for what they've done,' she told him evenly, stroking his hair back soothingly.

Marcus shifted uncomfortably. 'Aluka….he killed a lot of people….'

'He's a vampire, it's in his nature,' she continued, loosening her hold. 'If we're going to survive and save people, we need to make compromises, do you understand?'

Marcus averted his gaze, his brow creasing, he looked at her warily. 'We won't hurt innocent people though….promise?'

She looked him intently, she supposed his age contributed to his naivety, she understood, she'd been like that once….

'I promise to do what's right,' she told him firmly.

Marcus looked relieved. 'Good. I guess I'll leave you to rest,' he said, moving off the table.

Lyrisadora nodded, leaning back down. 'We'll talk more later,' she said.

'Yeah sure….' Marcus trailed off, she raised an eyebrow at him. 'Uh, listen….if you want to talk about what happened, I'm all ears, um, if you want…' he rambled, avoiding her gaze.

She smiled at him fondly, he was a sweet kid. 'We'll talk more later,' she repeated quietly, turning away. She stared at the ceiling, hearing Marcus leave the room, she let out a deep sigh.

She clenched her fingers, feeling her heartbeat race, remembering the drowning, electricity, the operating table…. She let out a shallow breath.

Utter helplessness. No wand, no stone….even with Adrian she hadn't felt that terrified. This fear was cold and sickly, she subconsciously squeezed her legs tighter together, wanting to scream and thrash. But she remained still and thought, feeling trapped in her own head.

The Syndicate was a disease, it needed to be eradicated, every member was guilty and corrupted. They needed to be destroyed, every last one of them.

She touched the stone around her neck, the shield blocking its power had grumbled, most likely the portals doing, either way, she needed to start exercising its power more.

* * *

><p>The place was a wreck when Reynard finally arrived on the scene, Bayard was still carrying out his next assassination, which meant he didn't have to bear the brunt of Jenik's anger.<p>

Constancio and Constancia were on their knees cowering, looking very beat up, Reynard tried not to show weakness in front of his boss, especially when he found himself in the room. The room that sent chills down his spine as he tried to ignore what was in the cages.

The twins were holding each other as they kneeled, looking exhausted, Jenik let out a cry of frustration, Reynard instinctively stepped back. "Sir?" he spoke cautiously.

'I hadn't finished the process,' the old man hissed, his eyes deranged looking than normal. Reynard tried to bury his panic, because when Jenik started not making sense, that's when things became dangerous. 'They didn't let me finish.'

'Patron, I….what are we going to do?' Reynard asked carefully.

Jenik gritted his teeth, but fortunately he started to calm down, stepping towards the three of them, he looked down at the twins. 'Go arrange a meeting with the five families,' he ordered briskly.

The twins hastily stumbled to their feet. 'Yes, sir,' they said unison, backing away.

'And the Prince, sir?' Reynard questioned.

Jenik paused, watching the twins retreat out of the room. 'I'll speak with him personally. In the meantime, I need to get new men to start cleaning this place up,' Jenik informed. 'Burn the dead,' he added coldly.

Reynard nodded, before a thought occurred to him, he eyed his boss warily. '…And the philosophers stone, sir?' he asked delicately , wondering if the stone was still intact.

Jenik tensed, making Reynard instantly regret his decision to speak. 'She's unworthy of wearing it,' he replied tightly.

That didn't quite answer Reynard's question, but he knew better than to press the matter further.

* * *

><p><em>29th June 1996<em>

Lyrisadora arm was placed in a sling, joining the others for breakfast, despite Dr Wilkes ridiculous insistence that she spend the day resting, she rolled her eyes.

The cave had been cleaned up some more, the rest of the Devil Snare gone, a few spiders were still hiding in the corners. They must have moved in a few of the furniture from the old safe house, the chard kitchen table in the centre of the large space, some of the old couches close by, as well as the armchair.

They had even fixed up some food; eggs and toast. Marcus shifted in his chair, perking up when he saw her. 'We saved you a plate,' he called, his upbeat attitude contrasting against the others.

Dr Wilkes was stiff, glowering at Aluka opposite him, the vampire wasn't helping the situation by sneering back at the doctor. Ada was in-between Marcus and Aluka, staring at her plate, mashing her eggs with her fork.

Lyrisadora took a seat next to Dr Wilkes, who momentarily stopped glowering at the vampire to give her a quick look over. 'How's the sling?' he asked.

'Fine,' she replied, her bandages irritating her skin, but nothing too bad to complain about. 'My bandages will need rewrapping though,' she told him casually.

Dr Wilkes nodded. 'I'll need to get more potions,' he sighed. 'I could only scrape a few from town, but with us pissing of the Syndicate even more…'

'We'll get you the supplies,' Ada interjected, looking towards Lyrisadora. 'In the meantime, we need to plan out what to do next,' Ada pointed out.

Lyrisadora nodded, sparing a glance at Marcus. 'Well, we know why the Syndicate wanted Marcus.'

'And that the Queen isn't involved with the Syndicate, ' Ada added, shooting a glare at Aluka. 'Especially seeing how they killed her dear old dad,' she said curtly, Aluka gave her an unpleasant look, to which made the woman's eyes narrow more.

'You killed the king…?' Marcus murmured, looking disturbed and shifted away.

'Yes,' Aluka replied icily, his eyes narrowing at the boy.

'Aluka,' Lyrisadora interjected calmly, the vampire shot her a challenging look, to which she returned with cool indifference. 'No need to be so testy,' she said lightly, taking a bite of her toast. 'If we're going to break the Syndicate, then we need to share as much information as possible,' she reminded the, Ada's brow creased slightly. 'So introductions; I'm Amata, a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Dr Wilkes, was it?' Lyrisadora questioned, turning to the said man.

The healer nodded. 'Alec Wilkes, trained healer and doctor,' he stated uncomfortably.

Lyrisadora glanced over at Ada expectantly. '….Ada Millers, ex-reporter who really should have known when to quit,' she sighed.

Marcus straightened up more. 'Marcus Corbin….well I guess my last name is still Corbin…..' he trailed off.

Aluka gritted his teeth when they all turned to look at him. 'This exercise is irrelevant,' he scorned. 'The Syndicate is a disease, plain and simple, I want to remove it, that's all you need to know,' he bit out.

Dr Wilkes tightened his fists. 'Not going to mention the many lives you ruined?' he asked mildly.

Aluka's eyes darkened. 'If you have something to say, Wilkes, say it,' he snapped.

The atmosphere became tenser, as Dr Wilkes posture became more hostile. Lyrisadora frowned, looking them both curiously. 'Would you mind filling the rest of us in?' she requested evenly, she really didn't have time for pointless bickering.

'Fine,' Dr Wilkes began, his voice unnervingly calm, his gaze never leaving the vampire's. 'Eight months ago I just got a job at a high end wizarding hospital, then I accidentally stumbled on Mr Bloodsucker here, draining one of the patients-'

'I was doing my job,' Aluka interrupted in irritation.

Dr Wilkes continued like Aluka hadn't even spoken. 'He sees me, but I manage to escape. The next day five men break into my house, kidnap me and take me to their headquarters with a black bag over my head-'

'It could have worse,' Aluka hissed.

'-So it turns out they need a healer to work for them, I either take the job, or I join the rest of the witnesses six feet under,' Dr Wilkes explained bitterly. 'So I take the job, then after two months, I can't take it anymore; the blood, the torture, death, I feel like I'm living a damn nightmare,' he spat, looking at the vampire accusingly. 'So I stupidly, try to escape, this asshole not only hunts me down, but he murders my sister and kidnaps my niece!'

Aluka rose from his chair. 'I didn't kill your sister! You forget Bayard was there too,' he snarled.

Marcus and Ada moved away from the table, Dr Wilkes was standing too. 'You were still there-'

Lyrisadora's magic flared. 'Calm. Down,' she ordered sharply.

Aluka looked at her in indignation. 'Don't give me orders, girl,' he snarled.

Her face remained passive as she eyed the vampire coldly. 'Then don't, give me a reason to. You're behaving like animals,' she rebuked harshly, she focused her gaze on Dr Wilkes. 'Your hostility will gain you nothing, so I suggest you either sit down, or leave ,' she advised.

No one moved, Ada and Marcus watched the two men like cats analysing a potential hazard, while Lyrisadora kept up a façade of indifference.

Dr Wilkes was the first to sit down, Aluka followed suit slowly afterwards. 'It may sound cold, but we have bigger things to worry about than old grudges ,' she told them clinically. 'You all saw what Jenik did to those children,' she said lowly.

Ada closed her eyes, looking like she was going to be sick, while Marcus hunched in on himself. Aluka turned away, Dr Wilkes looked pained and washed out, like a shell of a man.

'Our past doesn't matter,' Lyrisadora said, surveying them all. 'We don't have to trust or even like each other, what we need to do is to destroy the Syndicate,' she told them firmly, trying to push the flashes of Jenik out of her head. 'The Dark Lord's already started taking a hold of France, and he's using the country as a bridge to gain more allies, we need to kill two birds with one stone,' she went on. 'The Queen is against the Dark Lord, but I doubt the Prince is the same.'

Aluka scratched the table lightly, in agitation. 'The Queen does not like her cousin, there were whispers of her passing the crown to his son instead,' he informed.

Marcus looked at them questionably. 'Then why does he need me? His son would be easier to control, and I'm not even legitimate.'

Lyrisadora tilted her head as she looked at Marcus with interest. 'Maybe your mother is considering you as a candidate,' she reasoned.

Marcus withered under all their gazes. 'Yeah but…no one would want me as a king…I'm not the right, _pedigree,_' he argued, with a hint of bitterness.

Dr Wilkes raised an eyebrow. 'You'd be surprised how quickly people can be swayed,' he said.

'Even if they dress me up in loads of fancy clothes, they still won't accept me, I'll just be another uncultured idiot to those snobs,' Marcus protested, still looking unsure.

Lyrisadora sighed, it was true others would still see him as a charity case, but Marcus underestimated the importance of blood, especially in the magical community. Poverty and bad manners could be ignored as long as you had the right linage. 'Don't over think it,' she advised, the last thing they needed was him having a mental breakdown before he even reached thirteen. 'We still need to start crumpling the Syndicates power and connection to You-Know-Who,' she argued, drumming her fingers on the table.

'Their smuggling is a big factor,' Ada chipped in. 'And if we're going to go after the five families, then we'll need more help,' she said, looking around the group.

Lyrisadora nodded in agreement. 'We do need more eyes and ears on the street…' she murmured to herself, her eyes lit up when she remembered Hugh Dayne and his little secret love affair. More blackmail would build up resentment….and Hugh didn't seem to be a willing team player. There was still Auror Orsan, but she didn't want to waste time looking for him.

'There are minor street gangs,' Marcus quipped in.

'Street gangs?' Lyrisadora repeated curiously, they could be useful if used correctly.

'There's only two in the city,' stated Ada. 'The Boiled Inferior and the Green Goblins,' she said dryly. 'They're just a bunch of teenagers who like to cause trouble,' she sighed.

'We'll need a little bit of trouble,' Lyrisadora countered, giving her a crooked smile, before she face the rest of the group. 'Obviously I'm going to be out of action for a few days-'

Wilkes scoffed. 'More like a few weeks! You got spliced.'

Lyrisadora gave him an impatient look, she really didn't appreciate people interrupting her. 'Anyway, I won't exactly be able to help in the physical area. We need to start blocking their transportation network, Aluka do you know any weak points?' she asked briskly.

Aluka thought for a moment. 'The Raulf and Filibert family are in charge of transporting people and goods, if we attack their holding houses and storage units they won't be able to store their goods, it would delay things and knock them off their edge,' he told her crisply. 'I'd recommend-'

Lyrisadora noticed Marcus tensing more, so she hastily interrupted before the Vampire divulged a little too much graphic detail. '-We'll need more time to discuss those plans later,' she said, while her mind turned, bombing and explosions would be an easy way to get rid of the members quickly, but she didn't want to be labelled a terrorist and explosions were so messy.

Killing them off quietly one by one would still gather attention, so she'd do it slowly, destroy their empires then move onto the killing.

'…Will I get to meet my mother?' Marcus asked hesitantly, his eyes shifting between them all, regaining their attention.

There was a pause, Ada, Aluka and Wilkes were looking at her to provide an answer; she didn't know whether to smile or scowl at their growing dependence. She smiled sadly, deliberate giving the others an unsure glance, as if she didn't want to be in this position.

'When the time is right,' Lyrisadora told him. 'When we're 100% sure the Queen is on our side,' she divulged.

Marcus nodded, looking like he had expected the answer. 'I understand,' he said quietly.

Lyrisadora gave him a warm smile, taking a bite of her eggs, grimacing when she realised they had gone cold.

* * *

><p>This must have been the sixth letter, whoever this stalker was, they weren't like the others, Victor Krum frowned when he read the shabby looking letter.<p>

In spidery messy writing, identical to the other five, no name of sender or even an address on the envelope;

_GO TO_

_Paris, Croix-Rouge. _

It was bizarre.

* * *

><p>Prince Adalard did what he usually did and hid his anger with a smile, as he wished his cousin a good morning, to which she returned with mutual pleasantness.<p>

The Queen sat at the head of the table, his wife Giselle by her left hand side, while his three children, Henrietta, Juliet and Xavier sat on her right side. He took a seat next to his wife, a servant silently offering to fill his glass. His wife gave him a quick peck on the cheek, smiling at him placidly. 'Sleep well my dear?' she asked, giving him a meaningful look, he supposed he should have informed her before breakfast of the latest development with the Syndicate.

He returned her smile. ' I grew a little restless in the middle of the night,' he revealed, filling his plate. 'I don't think dinner went down well last night,' he sighed, glancing over at the Queen. 'The chef may be losing his touch, cousin.'

Berenice smiled. 'Or perhaps you're just a picky eater,' she retorted.

He gave her a tight smile, and turned back to his wife. 'Regardless, I think I'll try something more suited to my tastes next time,' he continued.

Giselle just smiled pleasantly, Juliet perked up, wiping her mouth with her napkin. 'Father, is it true there was an attack at the prison?' she asked innocently.

The Queen's expression tightened, while Giselle's smile stayed nailed in place. 'Now Juliet, that isn't a pleasant discussion for breakfast,' she chided.

But Adalard smiled at his daughter encouragingly, despite his wife's warning pinch on his leg. 'Yes, there was, why do you ask, dear?'

Juliet shrugged, fiddling with her fair hair. 'I was just wondering, Xavier says it was probably a terrorist attack,' she replied flippantly.

'I did not!' Xavier snapped indigently, earning a reprimanding look from his mother. 'I didn't say it was a terrorist attack, probably just a riot or whatever,' he quickly tried to save, shooting an anxious glance at the Queen.

Adalard kept his eyes trained on his cousin, the word terrorist seemed like a taboo word nowhere days, ever since that ridiculous Fire Stubs group six years ago; still so paranoid, yet she failed to accept the inventible. 'Stop stirring up trouble, Juliet,' Adalard sighed, failing to hide an amused smile.

* * *

><p>Even with the dementors gone Azkaban still seemed to suck the life out of you, Lucius put it down to the cold cells, poor food and overall unpleasant company.<p>

He sighed, hugging himself tighter for warmth, a permanent scowl stuck on his face. He supposed the humiliation was worse and being away from Narcissa, that had made him shed a few reluctant tears.

However Rodolphus seemed almost relieved to be away from his wife; Lucius didn't blame him. The eldest Lestrange brother was in the cell opposite, which just added to Lucius misfortune. To make matters worse there was a deep crack in the wall that separated them, so Rodolphus spent most of the day and night babbling on about who the hell knew what.

"….And you know, I did like the brief freedom, even if it was only for a couple of months," Rodolphus sighed. "I liked the alcohol, Merlin I fucking envy Rabastan, the little shit doesn't know how lucky he is!"

Lucius tried to drown his voice out, his eye caught the Warden passing by, reading through the Daily Prophet. Bless the small mercies.

Lucius rushed the edge of his cell, the Warden looked at him suspiciously, Lucius cleared his throat. "Wold you mind if I have a quick read of that?"

The warden looked at him blankly. "….I like the horoscopes," Lucius added uncomfortably, hoping the paper would serve as a distraction.

The Warden shrugged, handing over the paper without another word. Lucius sighed, filtering out Rodolphus as he read through the pages.

Then he froze when he turned to page 3 and saw the headline:

**FUNERAL HELD FOR DECEASED LYRISADORA MALFOY**

"…..Hey Lucius are you still there?"

* * *

><p><strong>And I'll save the rest of his reaction for later. <strong>

**Well after reading your reviews, I'm glad a majority of you were not too traumatised. Except for that one person….but oh well, you can't please everyone. **

**Let me know what you guys think **


	109. The Bitter Taste of Grief

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelli****ng errors.**

**Quote: Stoker **

**'...' french**

* * *

><p><strong>You know, I've often wondered why it is we have children in the first place. And the conclusion I've come to is... At some point in our lives we realize things are screwed up beyond repair. So we decide to start again. Wipe the slate clean. Start fresh. And then we have children. Little carbon copies we can turn to and say, "You will do what I could not. You will succeed where I have failed." Because we want someone to get it right this time.<strong>

**Chapter: The Bitter Taste of Grief**

* * *

><p>Lucius felt the colour drain from his face, his hands tightening around the newspaper as he read the headline over and over. It had to be a lie, Narcissa would have told him of their daughter's death in her letters.<p>

He started to feel sick, a vile taste stuck in his mouth as he continued to stare at the paper, it had to be a lie….maybe he was just dreaming.

He tore his gaze away from the paper, his hands trembling, he looked around the cells.

"Oh come on Lucius I'm bored out of my mind." Rodolphus moaned. Lucius ignored him, throwing the newspaper to the ground, his heartbeat starting to grow faster. This couldn't be real.

It was a nightmare, a delusion, Lyrisadora couldn't be…

It hurt to breathe, a lump stuck in his throat, he pinched himself, trying to wake up. He kept pinching himself, his unkempt nails digging into his skin, until a faint line of blood oozed out.

The penny dropped when he realised he wasn't dreaming.

Then maybe he'd gone insane, maybe he was just seeing things, he grabbed the paper and reread the headline again.

**FUNERAL HELD FOR DECEASED LYRISADORA MALFOY**

**FUNERAL HELD FOR DECEASED LYRISADORA MALFOY**

**…..HELD FOR DECEASED LYRISADORA MALFOY**

**…..DECEASED LYRISADORA MALFOY**

**…..LYRISADORA MALFOY**

He felt a consuming rage, as he tore the newspaper to bits.

"Hey, what are you doing in there?" Rodolphus exclaimed.

Lucius crushed the shreds of paper in his hand, his stomach twisting in pain as a rattle of emotions raged through him.

She couldn't be dead. She couldn't….he was meant to protect her. He felt a rush of failure, he'd failed his daughter, just like he'd failed his family.

He was useless, pathetic, stupid!

He closed his eyes and curled in tighter on himself, remembering when the Dark Lord had first expressed an interest in Lyrisadora. Lucius found it harder to breathe, he should have done better to dissuade him but….at the time he had felt proud. Lucius swallowed a bile of sick back down his throat. He'd felt honoured and afraid at the same time.

His daughter had been deemed worthy of the Dark Lord's attention, and if she earned their family more favour…he held back a small whimper.

He remembered seeing her passed out, fresh bruises and scars blemishing her skin.

He remembered when she snuck out of the house, thinking she wouldn't get caught….and then her tears when he backhanded her across the face and told her how ashamed he was.

He remembered every tear, every reprimand, the hurt look that flashed in her eyes when he told her she'd fallen short of his expectations.

His chest tightened, his eyes stinging as they began to water.

Then he remembered when her eyes started to grow a little more colder, when the hurt looks changed to suppressed rage and hatred.

Things weren't meant to have turned out like this, this wasn't the life he had wanted for her, she should have been happily married, safe and sound, away from the warzone. But he should have known early on that fantasy would never work.

She was too much like him, too stubborn, proud, cold…he felt his heart start to break as he closed his eyes and buried his face in his knees.

He remembered the last time he saw her, at the train station, her expression solemn as she hugged that stupid cat in her arms. He'd wanted to say a lot to her that day, apologise, hug her, tell her he loved her…but bravery had never been a dominate trait in him.

His body started shaking, as his sobs grew louder.

She'd been his little girl, the small giggling baby who was always curious about the world around her. Who'd then grown into an intelligent child who read books faster than he could buy them , soaking up knowledge like a sponge, always eager to learn.

Lucius held himself tighter, the tears becoming overwhelming as his sobs became more choked, the pain coming in waves.

The seeds of resentment had been sewn from those early days, he'd thought he knew what was best for her, what was best for the entire family, trying to secure every one of their futures. But instead he'd ruined them all, irony was a bitter thing.

* * *

><p><em>30th June 1996<em>

The sky was clear, as Aluka and Ada slipped through the night. "_Imperio_," Ada whispered, the man guarding the massive crates stiffened, she watched him from her hiding place, trying to focus on the spell.

_Pick up the bottle and drink. _

The spell whispered, the fill bottle of alcohol sitting at the man's side, there was a bit of a struggle, but that was expected, seeing how she'd never properly used the unforgivable before.

It took less than twenty minutes to get the man shit faced, as he passed out on the wet ground.

She sighed quietly, feeling her stomach twist into knots; she'd just used dark magic and the whole world didn't explode. She shook her head, observing Aluka as he started the fiendrey, she stepped back. She was glad this was just illegal goods; there were no living people or creatures in those crates, that could make things more messy.

But Amata had reassured her that they wouldn't be using extreme force, and even though Ada was suspicious, the English girl seemed to have good intentions. However that still didn't mean Ada wasn't wary still, there something about Amata's honesty that seemed off.

In the states Ada had the pleasure of exposing corruption and the slimy cockroaches in Wizarding Congress, cracking their polite facades. Amata gave off the same aroma, something was off about her, and even though Ada wanted to believe the girl was trustworthy, there was something about her that seemed fake.

* * *

><p>The five families were sat at the long table, looking very disgruntled, Jenik sat at the head of the table, the Twins standing at both side of him.<p>

Klaus Gauther was the most vocal in his displeasure. 'This girl is making a fool out of us,' he sneered, Jenik arched an eyebrow at the tone. 'Especially with the scene she made outside my establishment.'

Jenik eyed the rest of the families; Shireen Odilon rolled her eyes, examining her orange painted nails. Her attitude always was the worst, often acting like she had something to prove. There were hints of Chinese in her features, her skin ivory and eyes dark, her thick hair a soft brown.

Sebastian Raulf was the miserable looking elder man next to her, his dark wrinkled skin contrasting against her youthful appearance. His outdated robes neatly pressed, a series of expensive rings on his fat fingers.

Didier Filibert looked attentive, nodding in agreement with Klaus. Dressed in the latest fashion of robes, sleek and light fitted, his dark hair fashioned in neatly trimmed dreadlocks that were fastened into a ponytail.

Valentin Arluin sighed, appearing to share Shireen's animosity towards Klaus, a grimace on his bloated round face. He was in his early seventies, so he did often look down on the younger man, but Jenik disliked Valentin's overall laziness.

'She's a child playing an adult's game,' Valentin stated dryly. 'It's that vampire that's our main problem,' he argued, looking at Jenik pointedly. 'He knows too much.'

Jenik saw Constancia's hand twitch towards her wand, Jenik hid his smile, keeping his gaze focused on the overweight man. 'I agree, Aluka is a living weapon, but the girl should not be underestimated. She possesses…a unique talent,' he reasoned, steeping his withered fingers. 'And they have the boy, which does hinder us a little.'

'The Prince would be an idiot to withdraw his support,' Shireen interjected. 'He can't expect us to be his personal errand runners,' she remarked shrewdly.

'The Prince has been bothersome,' Jenik agreed. 'But he is still useful, especially if we want the takeover to go through smoothly,' he reasoned.

Didier nodded, sitting up straighter, opening his mouth to speak. 'According-'

Klaus interrupted him. '-I have been informed that the Queen is growing more distracted, the Veela opposition worked better than expected.'

Didier gritted his teeth in frustration, While Jenik looked at Klaus with interest. 'Have the vampires fully allied with the Dark Lord?' Jenik asked.

Klaus nodded. 'They stand at the ready. The Prince also proposes we get the werewolves to cause more havoc.'

'The English ones are already on our side,' Shireen stated. 'So converting the French ones shouldn't be that hard; they're already treated like vermin.'

Jenik nodded. 'Apparently more Death Eaters will need to be smuggled through the country, they're trying to transport the giants over to England,' he informed them all.

Shireen frowned and Sebastian frowned. 'That'll cost,' Shireen stated tightly. 'Especially since we'll have to transport them underwater.'

'And we haven't got a portkey large enough,' Sebastian added.

_Yes it was bothersome_. 'The Dark Lord will be travelling over to us at the end of the summer, to discuss future progress,' Jenik told them smoothly, noticing Didier, Valentin and Klaus squirm in their seats. Jenik held back an annoyed sigh. 'As for our little terrorist group, we need to find out if they have any links to the Fire st-'

The door cautiously opened, diverting all their attention, one of Jenik's men , Alonso, briskly entered, walking towards him. Jenik arched an eyebrow at Alonso, wondering what was so urgent, he leaned in to whisper. 'Sir, there's been an incident with the latest shipments,' Alonso hissed lowly, casting a nervous glance at the head of the Odilon family. 'We suspect sabotage.'

Jenik gritted his teeth, smothering his anger as he remained calm. Fine then, if it was war that little girl wanted, then war she'd get.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora leaned back on the couch,reagusting her bandaged sling, Dr Wilkes was sat at the table sorting through a series of potions, along with jars of harvested Devil Snare and different organs from stray bugs; they'd even managed to milk some venom from the spiders.<p>

'I'll have to get more travel papers,' she sighed, remembering that her money and passport had been taken from her. "And I'll need to sneak into the bank to withdraw more money," she added, examining her nails.

'That could be risky,' Marcus quipped, glancing over her shoulder to look at the pictures in the Alchemy book. 'Maybe you should hire an in-between guy,' he suggested, coming to sit down next to her.

'I could, but it's knowing who to trust, especially with the Syndicate pulling all the strings,' she reasoned, she twirled her wand in her hand, taking a quick look at Marcus. 'Besides, I need to make sure you're kept clothed and fed,' she sighed.

Marcus raised an eyebrow. 'I've survived on my own before,' he argued.

Dr Wilkes looked up from what he was doing. 'Which explains why you're so scrawny, and malnourished,' he pointed out.

Marcus hunched his shoulders. 'I wasn't….starving, I got by,' he tried to argue.

Most likely on bread crumbs, Lyrisadora thought, shaking her head. 'You'll do more than get by with three square meals a day, Wilkes also thinks you should take a protein potion to get you back on track,' she informed crisply, Marcus grimaced. 'I'll also need to get you a wand,' she added.

Marcus froze, looking at her strangely. 'You mean to learn magic?' he questioned hesitantly.

Lyrisadora and Dr Wilkes looked at him questionably. 'Yes, you're twelve,' Lyrisadora replied curiously, her brow creasing, she was pretty sure it was illegal in France to not train a child how to control their magic. 'How far are you in your magical education?' she asked warily, giving him her full attention.

'Urrr, well…..I know how to read, write and do maths,' he mustered apprehensively, focusing his gaze firmly on the ground, his cheeks tinged pink.

Lyrisadora's lips thinned. 'That doesn't answer my question,' she said evenly, her gaze grew sterner as she exchanged a look with Dr Wilkes. 'Marcus, have you ever even held a wand?'

There was a suffocating silence as Marcus kept his gaze focussed on the floor, tightly gripping the edge of the couch. '….No,' he answered meekly, straining his eyes up to look at her. 'I didn't….they said…never mind,' he muttered, his cheeks heated in embarrassment.

Lyrisadora's gaze grew colder when she saw Dr Wilkes frown. 'Wilkes, what is the French mandatory age a child must learn magic at?' she questioned lightly, keeping her eyes trained on Marcus.

Dr Wilkes faltered for a second. 'Uh, well minimum is seven and maximum is ten,' he replied cautiously, looking at Marcus in concern. ' If a child is homeschooled then the parent has to register them,' he explained.

Lyrisadora felt her stomach twist. 'And are there any check-ups to check the child is being educated?'

Marcus remained eerily silent, Dr Wilkes gave him a look of pity. 'They tend to do regular check-ups with orphanages, and they review test scores. But from what I assume, the isolated homes tend to be ignored, unless any dangerous accidental magic catches their eye.'

'I see,' Lyrisadora spoke mildly. 'Marcus, come with me,' she instructed curtly, closing her book and placing it to the side, standing to her feet.

Marcus looked up at her timidly, as if he was in trouble, but he obeyed and reluctantly slid off the couch to follow her.

She walked towards her living space, which was basically a hollowed out space in the stone, she'd managed to fix it up a bit, conjuring up an Aztec blue rug to add colour, a cushiony bench bed built into the wall, moulding the stone out to make a desk. The candle light gave the place a cosy feel.

'Sit down,' she said evenly, gesturing to the bed, Marcus cringed, dragging his feet as he sat on the bed. 'You're not in trouble,' she reassured, Marcus flickered his gaze to the wand in her right hand, she sighed quietly and stuffed wand into the holster around her belt. 'I just want to understand why your foster family didn't properly educate you,' she reasoned diplomatically.

Marcus opened his mouth, but hastily closed it, a scowl settling on his face. 'They were busy, they would have taught me eventually,' he argued, avoiding her gaze.

'Don't lie to me,' she warned coldly, making him grow tenser. 'There's a reason you ran away from them,' Lyrisadora pushed.

The boy shifted more uncomfortably. 'I…it just wasn't working out, I wanted to find my real mom and dad,' he protested, still refusing to look at her, she took a step closer.

Did he think she was an idiot? It was stupid of him to think he could weasel out of answering her, besides the more he avoided the question, the more annoyed she was getting. 'Marcus, you either tell me the truth, or else,' she warned, her gaze turning frosty. 'Now look at me,' she instructed firmly.

She heard him gulp, as he forced himself to look up at her , she didn't penetrate his mind straight away, but instead closed the distance, so she was standing right in front of him. 'Why haven't you started learning how to control your magic?'

His jaw slacked as his shoulders slumped down. 'Because my adopted mum said I didn't need to,' he mumbled, she strained to register the sentence.

Didn't need to? Was this woman mad? 'Of course you need to learn how to control your magic,' she snapped, making Marcus flinch, she quickly softened her features, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'What she did was illegal, if you don't learn to control your magic then you pose a danger to yourself and those around you,' she chided softly.

It was part of the reason you couldn't leave Muggle-borns unchecked, what had the woman been thinking? 'Tell me more about your adopted parents,' she told him firmly.

His apprehension appeared to grow. 'Well, they're called Cecile and Avien Dafonte, I was only with them for two years, and we lived near the mountains…' he mustered out, lowering his gaze a little, her eyes narrowed.

'How did they treat you?'

'Well Mr Dafonte was always away at work, he travelled a lot selling goods, so it was mainly just me an Mrs Dafonte,' he continued, she lifted his chin up so she could look him in the eye, he looked up at her uncertainly.

'Did she hurt you?' she questioned tonelessly, feeling her anger start to mount when she saw fear in his eyes. 'Marcus.'

'No,' he replied weakly, trying to shrink away from her, she held his chin tightly. 'Please stop,' he pleaded, closing his eyes.

Lyrisadora felt her chest tighten, as she bent down to his level, stroking his hair back soothingly. 'I need to know, please, let me help,' she consoled, noticing that he was hugging himself tightly. 'You know you can trust me,' she reassured warmly, smiling kindly.

There was a long pause, before Marcus opened his eyes. 'Okay,' he said lowly in resignation, meeting her gaze.

She nodded in approval, before uttering, "_Legilimens_."

The memories were carved into his skull like scars.

_'Oh he's adorable!' a shrill voice boomed. _

_Marcus looked up at the tall woman who was examining him like he was some sort of cute animal. _

_The woman looked like she was in her forties, with pale skin and dark straw blonde hair that was tucked in under a pointed feathered hat. Lyrisadora assumed this was Mrs Dafonte, as she watched the woman stroke his hair back with her long pointed fingers._

_Mr Dafonte looked at him in mild indifference, the man's long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail as he watched his wife simper over the child. _

_Marcus shrank away from the older woman's touch._

_The memory shifted. _

_Marcus was standing in a bathroom, towel held to his chest, gaze focused on the floor. '….I don't need your help,' he murmured, peaking a glance up at Mrs Dafonte who had closed the bathroom door behind her._

_The room felt small and suffocating. Mrs Dafonte smiled placidly. 'Oh don't be silly precious, I'm your mother,' she chided warmly, stepping towards him. 'Now take off your clothes and get in the tub.' Her tone sharpened as her smile tightened. _

_Lyrisadora frowned._

_The memory shifted. _

_Marcus flinched when his adopted mother shredded Mr Dafonte's letter into shreds, his hands shook as he refilled her glass of wine._

_'Pathetic,' she sneered, throwing the bits of paper on the floor, wrenching the glass of wine from Marcus, most of it spilled and stained the cream plush rug. Marcus watched her as she drained the glass clean, collapsing in an armchair. _

_Her grey eyes focused on Marcus, smiling serenely, patting her thigh. 'Come here precious,' she cooed. When Marcus didn't move, her gaze sharpened, he hastily walked over to her, awkwardly sitting on her lap like a reluctant dog. 'Your father's a disappointment,' she sighed, stroking his hair back. 'He doesn't deserve you.'_

_Lyrisadora felt herself cringe as she watched the woman fawn over Marcus like he was a puppy. _

_Marcus kept his gaze focussed on the ground, remaining completely still, like he'd detached himself from his body. _

_Mrs Dafonte kissed his cheek, then she did it a second time. Then she kissed his forehead, then his neck, then she moved onto his lips..._

_Lyrisadora felt like she was going to be sick, she hastily pulled out of the memories. _

Marcus was looking at her worriedly, when Lyrisadora reeled back, the colour draining from her face.

There was a desperate look in Marcus' eyes. 'Don't tell anyone,' he implored meekly.

It felt like a punch to the gut, she looked at him in shock, watching him in silence. 'How long?' she asked quietly, not having the guts to go in and probe deeper, afraid of what she'd find.

'….About five months after they adopted me,' he divulged, turning away, as if he was ashamed to look at her. 'I think she was just lonely,' he tried to justify.

Lyrisadora felt her jaw tighten painfully. 'She sexually abused you,' she stated coldly.

'No she didn't!' Marcus snapped, his head jerking up, his eyes wide in alarm. 'It was never _that_ bad, she just…..sometimes she just touched me or kissed me, we didn't have sex!' he struggled to protest.

Lyrisadora struggled to remain calm. 'You don't have to have physical sex, for it to be sexual abuse,' she informed, feeling way out of her depth, she looked at him anxiously. 'You don't have to feel ashamed, she was in the wrong, not you, understand?' she tried to sooth, bending down to place a hand on his shoulder.

Confusion ticked across his face as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. 'I know what she did was wrong but….she wasn't cruel or anything, she was just lonely,' he continued to argue weakly.

She sighed, sitting down next to him on the bed. 'Tell me everything,' she instructed stiffly, keeping her face blank.

Marcus gulped, tightening his hands into fists. 'Well, I guess their marriage was unstable, and they probably thought a kid would fix things, but….she was always sad and she drunk a lot and got more upset,' he sighed. 'I felt sorry for her, even if she was creepy , and at first she just liked….watching me change and take a bath…' A look of disgust flashed across his face.

'Take your time,' she reassured gently.

'…Then she started kissing me more and it was weird…and then she started touching me sometimes-um-down there,' he mumbled, his shoulders becoming more tense. 'Then one night, she got really drunk and I was in bed….she came in and crawled on top of me, I felt like…' he choked on his own words.

'….Like you were being crushed under a wall,' Lyrisadora supplied tonelessly, staring at the floor. 'Like you couldn't say stop even though you wanted to…'

Marcus looked at her in surprise. 'Yeah, like that. I freaked out when she tried to take off my clothes….then she pinned me down and I got more worked up. I can't really remember how I did it, but my magic must have gone haywire, because I blasted her away and knocked her out,' he explained, letting out a shallow breath. 'I was scared, I thought I'd get locked up, or Mr Dafonte might get mad, so I ran away,' he revealed, shrugging his shoulders.

'And they never reported you missing?' Lyrisadora questioned in surprise.

'I don't think Mr Dafonte would notice me gone, he was away for a lot of months,' he sighed. 'I don't really know ,' he muttered, kicking his feet against the bed.

Lyrisadora took in a deep breath. 'Did he know what his wife was doing to you?'

'No….she kind of ignored me when he was around, and she told me he'd be angry if he found out,' he answered uncomfortably.

_Manipulative bitch_, Lyrisadora seethed, her eyes glittering with a cold rage. 'She just didn't want to get found out,' she told him icily, she tried to make him understand. 'What she did to you was wrong and selfish, it wasn't your fault, and you shouldn't be ashamed to talk about it. Do you understand?' she said sternly.

Marcus looked a bit unsure, but nodded nevertheless. 'Okay…you promise not to tell the others though?' His gaze was pleading.

'You can tell them in your own time,' she replied, smiling at him gently. 'You shouldn't be ashamed,' she reminded.

'I know,' he said lowly, forcing a smile. 'And it's okay, I'm fine, it's not like I have nightmares or anything,' he tried to reassure her.

Clearly the boy was in denial, they'd have to work on that, she smiled at him pleasantly. 'You can still always talk to me, we should support each other,' she advised. 'And we'll definitely need to buy you a wand,' she changed the subject, her smile widening. 'We just need find a way for you to learn without your magic alerting the ministry,' she mused, he gave her a small smile in response, it lifted some of the weight from her chest. 'Things will get better kid,' she told him warmly.

* * *

><p><em>1st July 1996<em>

The weather in America was a bit more predictable than England, Adrian liked that about the country, it had more colour to it.

Adrian glanced away from the window, tidying up his paperwork, handing it over to Hermes. "You can handle the rest from here, can't you?" he drawled, walking from behind his desk, he checked his watch, it wouldn't be long until Aileen arrived for their date.

"Of course," Hermes replied brightly, placing the papers underneath his arm. "I've already arranged your meetings for the next two days," he added. Adrian hummed in disinterest, the smile on Hermes face twitched, before he hastily reached into his robes. "I also took the liberty of buying a present for your date."

Adrian paused, frowning at Hermes in confusion. "Uh, what?"

Hermes smiled and brought out a neatly wrapped box. "You've been so busy lately I thought I'd help out," he explained quickly.

Adrian wondered if Hermes would like to lick his feet as well, Adrian smirked in amusement, taking the gift from his assistant. "Why thank you," he replied shrewdly. "Did you also get flowers?"

Hermes smile dropped. "Uh no, sir, I didn't think-"

Adrian made a disappointed tut noise, finding the man's distress amusing. "Tsk, I expect better Hermes," he chided lightly, half wondering if he would burst into tears, but then Constantine popped her head in.

"Sir, a girl's here to see you; Aileen?" Constantine informed curtly.

Adrian smiled politely. "Send her in please," he instructed, before glancing back at Hermes. "If there's an emergency you can-what is this thing called again?" Adrian inquired, reaching into his robe to pull out the small piece of technology, he'd been reluctant to use the damn thing, but Hermes had insisted all the big businessess used low level Muggle technology.

"A beeper sir, they're becoming quite popular in the Wizarding world," Hermes replied.

"Ah yes, well if there's an emergency beep me-ah, Aileen!" Adrian chimed, turning around when he saw her enter, stuffing the beeper back in his pocket.

Aileen smiled, wearing her usual cheap clothes, he really wished she'd just let him buy her a new wardrobe, but the green dress she was wearing still looked nice, and her dark red hair looked smooth and glossy. He also appreciated how she'd fixed up her make-up more. "Hi Adrian," she greeted, giving him a brief hug.

Adrian smiled at her and handed over the gift. "I got you a gift," he said pleasantly, watching as her face lit up more, he felt a rush of nostalgia.

"That's so sweet," she gushed, eagerly unwrapping the neatly wrapped gift, revealing a box of chocolates, she smiled at him sweetly. "Thank you," she said, before glancing over at Hermes who was standing idly by. "Hello, I don't think we've met," she said, holding out her hand.

Hermes cast an anxious look at Adrian, before he strained a smile and shook Aileen's hand. "I'm Hermes, I work here…uh, nice to meet you," he stammered, avoiding her gaze, Adrian rolled his eyes.

Aileen smiled kindly. "My name's Aileen," she greeted, letting go of his hand, turning back to Adrian. "Are you ready to go?"

Adrian opened his mouth to speak.

"Oh, hello there," a smooth velvety voice interrupted, making him freeze.

_For the love of God, no!_

Adrian swallowed his panic and smiled faintly as his mother barged into the room, a very flustered Constantine trailing behind. "_Mother_, I wasn't expecting you," Adrian said evenly, shooting Constantine a cold look, making the woman wince.

Aileen blinked and looked at Mrs Pucey in surprise, his mother smiled at her placidly, while Hermes shifted nervously on the spot. "I thought I'd surprise you," his mother said mildly, looking at Aileen curiously. "I was beginning to wonder why you've been returning home so late," Mrs Pucey added, looking pointedly at Aileen.

Adrian gave a light-hearted chuckled, wrapping an arm around Aileen's waist. "Aileen, this is my mother, Rosalie Pucey. Mother, this is Aileen," he introduced, hoping his mother wouldn't ruin this for him.

Aileen looked a little out of her comfort zone, but smiled nevertheless. "It's nice to finally meet you," she greeted, holding out her hand.

Mrs Pucey's lips twirled upward into a crooked smile as she eyed Aileen's hand for a moment, before she grasped it tightly. "As it is you. My, aren't you beautiful," she complimented, letting go of the hand.

Aileen smiled shyly, tugging at the end of her hair. "Thank you."

It was like watching a wolf eye up a lamb. Adrian shot a warning look at his mother. "Well, we must be going, we have a musical to see," he announced brightly, taking hold of Aileen's hand.

"Oh, but we've only just met," his mother protested, shooting him a stern look. "Why haven't you invited her round for dinner?" she admonished, scowling at him, a slight edge to her tone.

"I've been busy," Adrian replied crisply.

Aileen frowned at him, before she smiled at Mrs Pucey. "I'd love to come round," Aileen said, Adrian resisted the urge to crush her hand in his grip.

"Wonderful, we should all go out," his mother said pleasantly, smiling at Adrian appealingly.

Adrian kept his polite smile nailed onto his face. "Of course, when I find the time, but as I said, we must be going," he said firmly, walking towards the door.

"I look forward to it," his mother called.

He more or less dragged Aileen out of the office, she stumbled slightly, looking at him in concern. "What's wrong with you?" she questioned in alarm.

When they stepped outside, he quickly composed himself, giving her a contrite look of apology. "I'm sorry, my mother likes to embarrass me a little," he sighed, closing the distance between them, making her angry scowl fade. "She's a little smothering."

Her smile returned. "I understand, when I used to bring friends over, my mom used to show them all my baby pictures," she divulged, grimacing.

Adrian gave her an amused look. "She sounds delightful," he responded, as they started to walk down the street.

"Your mother seems interesting, " Aileen added, hesitating a little, before she held his hand. "She reminds me a bit of you."

His smile tightened as he laughed quietly. "Oh, does she? In what way?"

She shrugged. "Well she's charming, and uh….a little intense," Aileen replied, a frown flickering across her face, before she shook her head.

Adrian just smiled back, burying his worry, he'd have to have words with his mother, the last thing he needed was her scaring away Aileen. And he was starting to like the idea of keeping Aileen around, she was….like a breath of fresh air, she wouldn't betray him like Lyrisadora had and she wouldn't plot behind his back.

Which was of course painfully boring and mundane, but at least he didn't feel lonely anymore, though he was a little annoyed Aileen hadn't given up the goods yet, he knew he just had to be patient and not rush things. He already had her wrapped around his finger, and as long as he didn't let his feelings grow too strong for her, then his mind would remain clear.

* * *

><p><em>2nd July 1996<em>

Zurie silently ate her breakfast, sitting by Damien's side, while she watched him bounce their daughter on his lap, she faintly smiled when little Rosalie giggled.

'Train!' Rosalie cooed, as Damien smiled gently, making shoo shoo noises. 'Bouncy train!' the toddler squealed.

Zurie felt a warm feeling in her chest as she watched Damien dote on their daughter. 'Come here Rosie, dada needs to eat his breakfast,' she said softly, noticing Damien's still full plate of food,

Rosalie scowled when her father pulled her off his lap, she ran to her mother, snuggling into her lap. Zurie avoided her husband's inquiring stare. 'I'll be coming home late tonight,' Zurie said mildly, running a hand through her daughter's blonde hair. 'The Queen is quite distressed.'

Zurie stole a glance at her husband, Damien smiled sympathetically. 'I heard there was another werewolf attack,' he said in displeasure, shaking his head. 'Makes you wonder what the world's coming to.'

She nodded in agreement, holding her daughter protectively, while little Rosalie smiled in ignorance. '….Apparently the Queen wants more law-enforcement on the streets to keep the peace,' Zurie murmured, feeling a twinge of worry. The world was starting to feel darker each day, and Zurie wasn't sure how to cope. 'I read there was another Death Eater attack in London,' she whispered fearfully.

The war seemed to be spreading faster than anticipated and with a great number of dark creatures from France allying with You-Know-Who, how long until France was caught in the frontlines? She heard the chair scrape against the wood as Damien came to her side, placing his hands on her shoulders reassuringly.

'You shouldn't read things that upset you,' he murmured into her ear, tenderly kissing her cheek, she closed her eyes, trying to focus on his touch.

Damien always made her feel safe, she was still angry with him for going to that dreadful casino….but she couldn't hold a grudge, and perhaps she was just being paranoid. She had been awfully controlling towards him.

'I'm worried about our safety,' she confessed meekly, feeling Rosalie squirm in her arms. 'What if we become targets because of your cousin…?' She felt a surge of fear, her eyes watering as she looked up at him for reassurance.

Damien's smile thinned, he sighed quietly, kissing her forehead. 'I won't let that happen, I'll always protect us sweetheart,' he promised warmly, his smile returning when he looked at their daughter. He squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. 'Now you know I hate to see you worry,' he chided lightly, a hint of playfulness in his tone.

She managed a small smiled, giving him a deep kiss, making Rosalie wrinkle her nose in confusion. Zurie looked at her husband adoringly, of course he'd protect them, and in turn she'd protect him. 'I love you,' she told him gently.

'And I love you,' Damien replied warmly, moving his hands away from her shoulders, his eyes flickered to Rosalie, his face becoming a little more grave. 'And I'll do whatever it takes to keep you both safe.'

* * *

><p><strong>Finally churned this one out! Been busy with hand ins.<strong>

**On a side note, I always pictured Adrian using Muggle technology, but at the same time still being a hypocrite and look down on Muggle society. **

**Well let me know what you guys think! **


	110. The Pyramid System

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelli****ng errors.**

**Quote: The Art of war, Sun Tzu**

**'...' french**

* * *

><p><strong>"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."<strong>

**Chapter: The Pyramid System **

* * *

><p>Fixing up their hide out was coming along nicely; though Lyrisadora hadn't been able to do too much, especially with Dr Wilkes worrying over her like a mother hen.<p>

But despite that, Lyrisadora had managed to set up a small meeting room, the open space downstairs was a little to echoic for her liking, and Dr Wilkes had stolen a large heap of wood to make doors, instead of using curtains. The underground sanctuary was resembled a bee hive with its many hideaways; though the odd human remains were daunting to clear out. So there was lots of space.

She pulled up a chair to the head of the table, Ada, Aluka and Dr Wilkes entered the room. 'Is Marcus still in his room?' Lyrisadora asked. Ada nodded, pulling up a chair. 'Good, I don't want him to hear this. Dr Wilkes, can you cast a silencio charm, please.' Aluka sat down next to Ada, looking a bit impatient.

Ada arched an eyebrow. "What's so secretive?" she asked.

Lyrisadora glanced at Dr Wilkes when he finished casting spell and sat down, before she looked back at Ada. "Just in case he decides to eavesdrop," she replied.

Dr Wilkes frowned. "Uhh, can you talk in French…my English, is not fluent," he requested sheepishly.

'Of course,' Lyrisadora switched languages. 'Now first I want to ask about the sabotage, any updates on the mafia's response?'

Aluka straightened up more. 'A lot of the goods were destroyed, from what I've gathered, the Odilon and Raulf family have increased security, but right now the enemy seems to be anticipating our next move,' the vampire informed crisply.

Lyrisadora folded her hands on the table. 'Good, last night was a message to them, we should spend the next couple of months laying low and gathering more resources,' she told them.

'They could grow stronger,' Ada argued. 'We lay low and that gives them enough power to gather more resources, they're at their weakest right now,' she protested fiercely.

Lyrisadora eyed her passively. 'We only bruised them, it's not enough to cripple them,' she countered mildly, making Ada's brow crease. Lyrisadora eyed them all intently, it appeared they only knew the minimum of politics.

From what she had studied from their personalities, Ada knew the most about how politics worked, but couldn't properly execute her tactics, she also didn't see the big picture. The same went for Aluka, the man was good at arranging battle strategy, but lacked a calculating mind, besides he was more force than cunning.

Dr Wilkes knew barely anything, not a surprise.

Lyrisadora sighed. 'As long as the Syndicate remains in the shadows, they have the advantage, so as well as sabotaging them we need to expose them.'

Aluka gave her a shrewd look. 'The Syndicate controls-'

'I think you underestimate reporters,' Lyrisadora interrupted evenly, raising an eyebrow at the vampire. Aluka bared his fangs in frustration, Lyrisadora paid him no heed. 'If we incriminate the five families, the thread will start to unravel, and if we incriminate Prince Adalard, it'll become a chaos,' she explained.

'And the creatures in the cages?' Dr Wilkes questioned stiffly.

Lyrisadora gave him a sad smile. 'We need to build things slowly, make people's suspicions grow over time, if we push too much information then it won't sink in properly,' she advised.

There was a pause, Ada chewed her lip. 'I guess that makes sense,' she muttered, before giving Lyrisadora a wary look. 'Who taught you politics any way?'

They all looked at her curiously, Lyrisadora could detect the hint of suspicion in Ada's tone, so it appeared the woman still didn't trust her; which was good and bad at the same time. '…Experience, lots and lots of experience,' Lyrisadora sighed, adding a hint of shame in her tone; she held up her left arm and looked towards Dr Wilkes. 'I was forced into a life I never wanted,' she said, pulling down her sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark.

Aluka wasn't surprised, and she was pretty certain they had all seen it when she had been passed out, but Ada and Dr Wilkes still eyed the mark with an element of fear. 'Can he track you with it?' Ada asked.

'No, but it does burn when he calls his Death Eater, I just ignore the pain,' Lyrisadora answered dismissively, deliberately avoiding their gaze as she nervously covered the mark. 'Jenik's seen it, so it won't be long until he finds out who I am, however I don't think he'll tell , not while I have this,' she told them, pulling the philosopher's stone into view. 'He doesn't want the Dark Lord from knowing his plans; whatever they may be,' Lyrisadora sighed, shaking her head.

'And if he does end up giving you up?' Dr Wilkes questioned.

'Then I'm fucked and so is he,' Lyrisadora replied flippantly, making Dr Wilkes struggle to hold back his laughter. 'Either way, I can't let that threat stop me from doing my job,' she reasoned, turning back to the others. 'This brings me onto our next problem, Marcus.'

'It's about time,' Aluka quipped, earning a scornful look from Ada.

Lyrisadora rolled her eyes. 'His adopted parents never taught him magic, which means he's thirteen and has never even held a wand before,' she divulged.

"What!" exclaimed Ada, looking outraged. "Do they know how dangerous is, I'm surprised the kid hasn't blown himself up."

Dr Wilkes winced. 'If we don't get him trained soon his magic will start to go haywire, especially when he starts entering puberty,' he cautioned.

'We can't teach him here though,' Aluka argued, receiving an annoyed look from Dr Wilkes. 'Not with trace on him.'

Ada nodded in agreement. 'We could try to sneak him out and teach him magic in magical communities, he'd be practically invisible on the radar.'

'The what?' Aluka questioned, frowning in confusion.

'It doesn't matter,' Dr Wilkes snapped, earning a deadly glare from the vampire.

Lyrisadora hastily spoke up. 'Which is why I'm considering sending him to Beauxbaton?' The table grew silent, Dr Wilkes frowned. 'I have connections inside the school, Marcus could assume a different identity, he'd be safe and learn how to control his magic,' Lyrisadora continued.

Dr Wilkes nodded in agreement. 'It's one of the best protected schools in Europe, he'll be safe,' he encouraged, his gaze looking a bit nostalgia.

'You speak from experience?' Lyrisadora asked curiously.

Wilkes smirked. 'I won a scholarship there,' he replied, his mood appearing to lighten, while Aluka discreetly rolled his eyes, but luckily Wilkes didn't appear to notice.

'The headmistress could also help him get fake travel papers, it's how I was able to study for my Muggle medical licence,' Wilkes explained. 'If we use a Polyjuice potion to disguise him as a Muggle-born, fewer questions will be asked about his parents. And as for his late start in education, the Muggle-borns have to sit a test to decide which school they'll go to, and sometimes they can retake it when their older to earn a place in an higher school.'

Lyrisadora looked at him with interest. 'What kind of test?'

'It's mainly intelligence based, like maths, science, French, English and Art. But there's also a practical part where they test your magic to see how strong it is,' Wilkes continued. 'It was brought in because of the population growth, which resulted in a higher demand of new schools. The few smart ones win scholarships to Beauxbaton, while the average ones tend to go to the minor schools, but there's a lot of sponsorship programs, so poorer kids can get into more expensive and high ranking schools-'

'Yes we get it!' Aluka snapped in irritation.

Dr Wilkes gritted his teeth. 'Go drop in a ditch, then burn in hell,' he spat.

'I'm already heading there, you imbecile.'

'Shut it!' Ada snapped, glaring at Aluka. 'Stop goading him, asshole.'

Aluka gritted his teeth. 'He's annoying,' he said simply.

Ada sneered. 'Act your age.'

Lyrisadora cleared her throat. 'Anyway, back on topic, are we all agreed on sending Marcus to Beauxbaton?'

Ada shrugged. 'It's fine with me.'

'I'll be glad to be rid of the brat,' Aluka hissed.

'It's probably be the best place for him,' Wilkes added, his posture still too tense.

'Then we're agreed,' Lyrisadora said, feeling her stomach churn in guilt. 'Now we just need to tell him.'

Ada shifted uncomfortably, while Aluka simply raised a condescending brow. Wilkes looked at her sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 'Maybe it's best if you tell him, you two seem close,' the healer argued.

Bunch of cowards.

Lyrisadora gave Wilkes an annoyed look. 'Fine,' she said irritably, her eyes narrowing at him as she shook her head, she doubted Marcus would happily accept their decision, she sighed, oh well, he'd gradually understand….eventually.

* * *

><p>Creusa crept through the forest under the protection of night, her two favoured; Cerci and Agata. Followed closely behind.<p>

The three Veela stopped in the centre of the forest, a fresh moonlight shining down, as a warm breeze tittered by.

Creusa kept her eyes alert from sound, Cerci drew her bow when there was a rustle of movement in the trees.

'So paranoid, old friend,' a smooth silky voice whispered in her ear.

Creusa bristled, and snapped her head forward, she heard Agata and Cerci tighten their bows. Standing in front of her was a broad man, who was a little short, standing at the same eye level as her.

He looked a little different from the last time she saw him, his hair was shorter….and he'd changed it to the colour blue….strange. His skin was still as pale as chalk, but it wasn't like he could get a nice tan in the sun.

His robes were also more modern, his shoes had lots of buckles and fastens, and his trousers were also baggier, tucked into those strange boots. But she noticed he still kept the same 18th century yellow coat, despite how frayed and faded it was now.

'Eanraig,' Creusa greeted crisply, holding herself a little more higher.

The vampire did a low graceful bow. 'An honour as always, High Priestess,' he oozed, smiling at her charmingly.

Creusa's eyes narrowed. 'Don't push your luck, Eanraig,' she warned, raising her hand to signal her Agata and Cerci t stand down, she heard the bows being lowered. 'Now hurry up and tell me what you want?'

The Vampire straightened up, his smile widening, revealing his glistening white fangs. 'Always to the point,' he remarked tightly. 'I heard from a passing bird that your little babes have been stolen,' he said.

Creusa pursed her lips. 'Why is it of interest to you?'

Eanraig shrugged. 'It just seems like the Queens caged you well and good, not a good thing for a Veela,' he sighed.

Artimes have mercy! This vampire was a cryptic swine. 'You know I hate it when you don't get to the point,' she snapped, leering at him.

The Vampire rolled his eyes and chuckled in amusement. 'Alright, no need to start sprouting feathers,' he retorted, stepping a little closer to her, she felt her two Veela instinctively take a step forward. 'As you know, the Dark one's returned,' he said lowly, looking at her with those black soulless eyes, her gaze sharpened. 'It's only a matter of time until he wins….he's quite interested in the Veela.'

Creusa's gaze turned colder. 'Is he now?'

The vampire smiled, blue hair shining in the moonlight. 'His numbers are growing fast, vampires, werewolves, giants, the army is growing!' he whispered, his eyes glittering in excitement. 'We won't be oppressed anymore, join the cause and your people will be finally free, like before.'

She didn't need to think about it. 'No.'

Eanraig's smile dimmed. '…No?' he repeated flatly, eyeing her blankly.

'I don't think I mumbled,' Creusa said tonelessly.

The vampire's gaze turned icier, he tilted his head as he considered her. 'Are you deluded?' he questioned quietly, Creusa gritted her teeth, Eanraig looked lost, much to her pleasure. 'I'm offering you chance to fight for your freedom.'

She almost laughed. 'No, you're offering another tyrant,' she retorted smoothly, noticing his eyes narrow. 'You see I'd rather not have another Grindelwald, not very fond memories.'

Eanraig looked frustrated. 'He isn't like Grindelwald, he respects the dark creatures!' he snapped. 'Remember his first war, we had so much freedom,' he stressed.

Creusa took in a deep breath, Eanraig did speak some truth, the Veela's lives had been less constricting…..but the price was too heavy. 'I remember blood on the streets,' she spoke softly. 'People screaming for mercy as their homes were burnt.' Her gaze was frost as she stared at him. 'Our freedom, came at a price of theirs,' she said lightly.

There was a tense silence as Eanraig and Creusa stared at each other, Cerci and Agata watched with baited breaths.

Eanraig's eyes narrowed. 'Then who will you ally with?'

'I will fight for my kind, that's all you need to know,' Creusa answered curtly.

To her surprise, the vampire's lips quirked upwards, his anger diminishing, he chuckled lightly, stepping away from her. 'Of course, oh you never change, so set in your ways,' he remarked, his smile widening. 'Well, they can't say I didn't try,' he sighed in exasperation, giving her a low brow.

Creusa gave him a cold smile. 'Goodbye, old friend.'

Eanraig grinned as he straightened up and back away. 'As to you,' he replied softly, turning away, he took a few steps forward before he paused. 'Oh, one more thing,' he chimed, half turning to her as she eyed him warily. 'Enjoy your peace while it lasts,' he said mildly.

Creusa gritted her teeth, but he was gone in a flash.

A cold breeze tickled her shoulders.

* * *

><p>Damien shifted in his chair; it was very rare for the Prince to assemble them all together, especially at such a late hour.<p>

And Elodie wouldn't stop smirking at him, it was unnerving and quite frankly he thought the woman belonged in a mental ward for her perversions.

He glanced around the table, Princess Giselle, Lou Sagebrush and Ace Xerxes were present as well. The Princess was sat on her husband's right hand side as always. Lou was sat next to Elodie, the old man was trying not to ogle at the dark skinned beauty. While Ace was openly smiling at the Princess.

Damien held back a sigh, himself sat on Adalard's left hand side. 'Your highness, if you don't mind me asking, what's the emergency?' Damien inquired smoothly, he could only afford to be out for so long until Zurie got suspicious, and he'd promised to read little Rosalie a story before bed; the toddler could be so demanding.

The Prince exchanged a look with his wife, before he looked at Damien. 'The boy's parentage has been confirmed,' he told them. 'He is the Queen's bastard.'

The rest of them looked more attentive. '….Unfortunately he was apprehended by a new terrorist group,' the Prince sighed.

They all deflated, Damien held back a groan. 'Where did these people even come from?' he exclaimed.

'They can't be from the Fire Stubs, we wiped them all out didn't we?' Lou argued.

Elodie nodded. 'All but the two freaks and the snitch,' she stated callously. 'The snitch is still on parole and the two survivors are locked up tight.'

Ace frowned. 'That didn't stop that reporter from breaking into the prison.'

Elodie rolled her eyes. 'The Warden practically invited them in,' she retorted, glancing over at the Prince. 'Can we confirm any identities of the members?'

The Prince nodded, 'Ada Millers, the Vampire Aluka, former Healer Alec Wilkes, the boy Marcus Corbin and this English girl called Amata; though we barely know anything about her,' he told them.

'We could target Ms Miller's mother,' Ace supplied. 'I can send people to go track her down.'

The Prince nodded. 'Send some people, but she might have already fled the country,' he said. 'Wilkes was under the Syndicates thumb, so they have the most blackmail on him…'

Damien noticed Ace's brow crease slightly, but Damien could sympathise, dealing with degenerates was never pleasant business. 'What of the werewolves?' Ace asked, leaning back in his seat.

'That's already being arranged,' the Princess spoke up, her voice as light as a feather. 'From what Elodie has gathered, the Queen is starting to favour more extreme forces,' she informed.

'Does General Aloys encourage this?' Damien inquired.

The Prince shook his head. 'No, he seems quite anxious, he'd even started smoking again,' he said coolly.

Lou looked amused. 'I knew he'd pick up the habit again,' the old man commented.

'The Queen shows sign of stress as well,' Elodie interjected.

The Prince looked over at Damien. 'I assume your wife has spent more time in her company?'

Why did they always have to bring Zurie into this! Ace was already smiling coyly just at the mention of her, Damien shot his peer a warning look, before he addressed the Prince. 'Yes, your highness. Zurie says the Queen is overwhelmed,' Malfoy said evenly.

Prince Adalard nodded curtly, continuing to eye Damien like a hawk. 'Good, the Dark Lord will be visiting Paris to discuss future plans,' The Prince told them all mildly.

Damien stiffened, his mouth feeling dry, Lou averted his gaze, while Ace shifted uncomfortably. He saw Elodie's prim fingers twitch. The Prince raised an eyebrow at them. 'He won't be meeting you all personally,' he sighed, as if annoyed by their fear.

Then again, Damien supposed the Prince had less to fear, the Malfoys were not favoured by the Dark Lord anymore, and Damien didn't want his idiot cousin's failings to damn Zurie and Rosalie. So he hoped he would be able to slip under the Dark Lord's notice.

After a moment of silence, the Princess spoke up again. 'Finding this Marcus boy will be difficult, but when he is found, we must plan his future correctly,' she advised smoothly.

The Prince nodded. 'The Queen has already made sure I'll never be crowned, but she has still to name an heir,' he said curtly.

'The boy would be good blackmail,' Lou proposed.

'But the Queen could try to steal him back,' Elodie argued.

'She already knows I'm up to something,' the Prince sighed, Damien felt his stomach churn in dread. 'She's not stupid. However the problem with cousin is that she panics when shoved into a corner,' he stated. 'She's desperate to keep this country united, but she's already lost,' the Prince said coldly, glancing over at his wife. 'If she crosses the Dark Lord, he'll kill her, we just have to make sure her demise doesn't inspire more rebellion.' The Prince smiled, as he kissed his wife's hand.

Damien swallowed a lump down his throat, keeping his face passive.

Why fight the inevitable?

* * *

><p>The room was silent, his pets were sleeping….or unconscious, he sometimes couldn't tell.<p>

Jenik walked paced up and down the cages, some of his pets watched him with swollen beady eyes, their disfigured little hands clutching the bars tightly. If he was logical, he should inform Voldemort of the young little rogue Death Eater….but where was the fun in that?

Besides the girl still had the Philosopher's stone, he couldn't risk Voldemort finding out about his plans, and the drilling wasn't finished yet….

He sighed, he almost wished Christabel was able to console him, she always gave the best advice….but best not to dwell on the past. Jenik shook his head, rubbing his wrinkled face, all his years of work was nearly done, almost complete.

He'd need to find out the girl's identity, but it would be a little tricky, since he didn't want other's knowing the little secret hidden under her left sleeve. Besides, if she had a weakness, he didn't want it destroyed and Voldemort had a reputation for being too trigger happy.

So little Amata's secret was safe for now. He turned his attention to his pocket watch, his eyes widened, he'd almost forgot to feed the girl. He chastised himself for being so neglectful, making his way to the food cabinet next to the sterile operating table.

He pulled out a baby bottle, with thick green liquid inside; which contained all the nutrients his pets needed to stay healthy. He pointed his wand at the trap door hidden next to the table, unlocking it with a flick of his wand. '_Lumos_,' he uttered, walking down the steps into the pitch black cellar.

There was the faint sound of clinking of chains, Jenik shined the light in the prisoner's direction.

A ghostly pale little girl sat huddled in a corner, her ankle chained to the wall, splats of blood on her frilly dress. Her brown hair was limp and her blue eyes were wide like tennis balls as she trembled.

Her skin grew paler when he shined the blue light in her face, as she winced, he smiled and bent down, handing her the bottle. She snatched it up and hastily drank the liquid, choking it down, Jenik smiled serenely as he stroked her hair back; she was a good child.

He quickly lifted her dress to check her wounds had healed up properly, happy to find that the skin was properly clean and the scar tissue had healed. 'Your uncle's causing trouble for me again, Anthea,' Jenik sighed, patting her on the head.

Anthea looked scared and confused. 'U-uncle?' Her voice sounded hoarse and faint, he could barely hear her.

'Yes, such a reckless man,' Jenik sighed, shaking his head, he hadn't expected Healer Wilkes to be so reckless, he smiled down at her, his gaze becoming more calculating. 'But don't worry, I'm sure he'll realise his mistake, very soon.'

* * *

><p>Marcus blanched when Amata told him the news.<p>

They wanted to send him away.

They didn't want him anymore.

He felt his chest tighten as he looked up at her fearfully, the two of them sat in his room. 'Did I do something wrong….Is this because of what happened with Mrs-'

'No,' Amata interrupted, giving him a soft smile, sitting down next to him on the bed. 'It isn't like that, I'm trying to keep you safe,' she reassured, smiling at him warmly. 'You need to control your magic and …..I can't guarantee I'll always be able protect you.'

He scowled. 'No where's safe, you can't promise that this school will be able to protect me, people make mistakes, anything can happen,' he argued.

He didn't want to leave, not when he felt like he had actually found something resembling family…well maybe family was a stretch, but he felt protected with these people, and Amata was like his brick wall…

He understood, it made sense but….he didn't want to leave. But he did want to learn magic, become a real wizard and not be useless. 'What if I get found out?' he protested, looking at her almost pleadingly. 'Then it'll be a disaster.'

'You being in the city is already a risk, at least this way you won't be a prisoner' Amata argued.

Marcus scowled and looked away. 'Just a prisoner in a better cage,' he scoffed.

Amata sighed in irritation, Marcus knew he was being difficult, but it wasn't fair, and he knew life wasn't fair but…what if everything went wrong and Amata wasn't there to help him?

'It's the best solution we have, you need to learn to control your magic, I won't jeopardise your health, ' she said sternly.

He felt a flutter of warmth in his chest, it was nice having someone who cared. '….Okay,' he murmured in reluctance, trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach.

'She smiled at him gratefully. 'That's a good sport,' she praised gently, squeezing his shoulder comfortingly.

Marcus forced a smile, the least he could do was pretend to be happy, for her sake.

* * *

><p><em>4th July 1996<em>

The streets on Old Versika Levski street in Opulchenska were fairly busy in the afternoon, the enchanted sky sparkled, as Victor Krum made his way to the Poliakoff family hotel, to meet an old friend for catch up.

He manoeuvred through the markets, walking past the recently repaired fountain, passed the museum.

He walked down a narrow street and stiffened when someone grabbed his arm, his wand was out in seconds, but he faltered when he saw a frail raggedy middle aged woman, with misty brown eyes and a round face gawking at him.

'You!' she exclaimed.

Victor felt a rush of dread, great, another fanatic fan. He forced a polite smile. 'Hello, can you please let me go,' he asked lightly, wondering if she wanted an autograph.

She whacked him over the head, sending him stumbling back as he looked at her in surprise, why the hell had she done that! 'Why aren't you in Paris!' she snarled accusingly.

Wait what?

She continued to scowl at him, her misty eyes growing more accusing. 'The letters stupid boy, don't you read your mail?' she snapped in a clipped tone, letting him go to fold her arms. '

Victor's eyes grew in realisation, she was his stalker? And what was this nonsense about wanting to go to Paris? He looked at her suspiciously, before he felt a stab of pity, the woman must be mad, he tried to be as understanding as possible. 'Uh, Ms you must be confused-'

She whacked him on the head again. 'Don't patronise me!' she clucked, her eyes narrowing at him. 'Stop being lazy and go to France.'

'B-but why?' he spluttered, backing away from her.

She gave him a frustrated glare. 'I don't know, I just know you have to be there.'

Victor's brow creased in befuddlement. 'Ms that doesn't make any sense…'

The woman sighed in exasperation. 'Do you want to help stop the war?' she inquired sternly.

He winced, that question had been plaguing him for a while now, especially with Hermione's recent letters and the news reports. And he'd tried to use his influence to encourage his country to help England's war effort, but no one really took him seriously. 'Yes,' he answered.

'Then go to Paris, find Auror Orsan, or Frank-whatever he's calling himself these days,' she snapped.

'Who?-ow!-Alright I'll go!' he replied uncertainly, still not sure if that was a lie or not….but he really didn't want this woman to keep on hitting him. He rubbed the bruise on his head, growing pink in embarrassment when he saw a few passersby snigger at him. 'Who are you anyway?' he asked warily, frowning at her.

She wrinkled her noise at him. 'A Seer,' she said primly, before whipping her long unkempt tangled hair back and marching off.'Oh, and you might want to take a step to the left!' Was the last thing he heard her say.

He stood there stunned, blinking a few times as he rubbed his head. What had just happened? He felt his stomach twist, was he really going to put his career and family on hold just because of one insane woman's insistence? Victor sighed, shaking his head in disbelief, then he frowned when he heard a muffled noise, he instinctively took a step to the left.

An Arrow skimmed passed his ear.

He felt like he'd been punched in the gut, as he reeled back.

Then he heard a piercing scream cut through the air, Victor's eyes widened, he hurried back the way he came, faltering when he saw people running through the streets, a small army of beautiful woman with bows, arrows and swords were attacking people of the streets.

So much for squashing the Veela rebellion.

One of the Veela with long flowing platinum blonde hair used her glowing hot red sword to slice the water fountain statue in two with a jet of red light.

* * *

><p><strong>Guess who had free time! I've outlined the next ten chapters in detail, so this one was quicker to write. <strong>

**On the bright side Dr Wilkes niece is...alive.**

**Glad my Lucius reaction was up to par, and I've nearly done all my assignments, so summer soon!**

**Let me know what you guys think.**


	111. Lo Douleur Exquise

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelli****ng errors.**

**Quote: Jonatha Brooke**

**'...' french**

* * *

><p><strong>"I am not a child now, I can take care of myself, I mustn't let them down now."<strong>

**Chapter: Lo Douleur Exquise**

* * *

><p><em>4th July 1996<em>

Alec was trying to keep it together, distracting his thoughts from Anthea….. But the bloodsucker just kept testing his boundaries.

'Are we really going to have this debate again?' Aluka snapped at Ada.

The atmosphere grew a little bit tenser, Alec gripped his fork tighter, all of them were sat down for dinner, a normally uncomfortable affair. Alec would have preferred to eat on his own, but then Marcus would sway him into a deep conversation, asking lots of questions about the muggle world and how it worked ; the boy could chat for hours.

Plus he didn't want to disrespect Ada, the woman spent a lot of time preparing their meals, introducing them to varying meatloaf's, and she expected them to sit down and throw her compliments on how amazing it was. Well except for the vampire who didn't eat, Alec assumed he was just here to cause tension.

Because being in the same room with his sister's murderer pretty much dampened Alec's appetite.

'I wasn't trying to start a debate,' Ada shot back, her eyes narrowing at Aluka. 'I'm just saying there's other ways to silence someone than to fucking kill them!' she swore.

Marcus stiffened, his gaze focused on his food.. Amata sighed quietly, moving her arm a little in her sling, Alec absently wondered if her dry skin was irritating her again; he'd need to make more healing formula.

'We couldn't afford witnesses,' Aluka hissed.

Alec's eyes darkened, from what he had gathered the two had gone out on a simple supply mission, and somehow they had nearly got captured by the police, which by no surprise, resulted in Aluka snapping one of the officer's neck.

Alec knew it wouldn't be soon until the vampire's days were numbered, his usefulness could only stretch so far.

'You could have had Ada obliviate him,' Amata interjected calmly, speaking up for the first time, her tone commanding attention.

Aluka clenched his fists as he looked over at Amata. 'There wasn't!...I-I…' he faltered, a deep scowl settling on his face. '…I wasn't thinking straight,' he admitted, grinding the words out, setting his gaze on the table.

Ada clutched her head in exasperation. 'Yeah well you need to start thinking before you act, this isn't the Syndicate anymore,' Ada argued. Alec had to admire her boldness, the woman wasn't afraid to anger the Vampire…then again Alec wasn't really one to talk, but he already had a death wish.

Aluka's eyes darkened as they narrowed at her. 'I'm perfectly aware of that,' he hissed.

'Are you?' Alec found himself speaking, looking at the vampire coldly. 'Vampires are monsters by nature aren't they?'

For a moment the two just stared at each other, Aluka's lips forming a sneer. 'Stating the obvious much,' he said tightly.

'Do you get off on it? I heard vampires can go into a bloodlust,' Alec continued, his gaze growing colder, his jaw tightening. 'Makes a hell of a mess, I hear it's disgusting,' his words cut, he smirked when he saw the vampire's teeth grind in anger, Alec felt a rush of pleasure.

'Dr Wilkes,' Amata cut in coldly, he could feel her eyes on him, he reluctantly tore his gaze away from Aluka to meet her warning look. 'You're acting pathetic,' she rebuked acidly.

Alec winced at her tone, his stomach twisting in embarrassment, _why did she have to take the bloodsuckers side? _He felt a rush of anger, but Amata had already directed her attention to Aluka and Ada. 'I have a covert mission for you,' Amata told them. 'There's an informant I need you to locate, a Mr Hugh Dayne,' she continued, completely ignoring Alec's frustrated look.

But he supposed he had been a little out of…Alec frowned, no why shouldn't he let loose? The vampire had killed his sister and delivered him to the Syndicate, he clenched his fists when he thought of Anthea. She had been five for Christ sake! Completely defenceless and innocent. Alec sighed quietly, tuning back into the conversation.

Aluka frowned, his temper having faded. 'He's quite well known, are you sure you want him?'

'Yes, I know how to control him, I have interesting dirt on him in my vault,' Amata divulged, smiling faintly, before her expression became blank. 'So please, retrieve him for me,' she instructed politely.

Ada nodded. 'We'll start tracking him in the morning.'

Amata nodded, finishing off the last bite of her food, before she placed her fork down. 'Dr Wilkes,' she finally addressed him again, a polite smile on her face. 'My wounds are irritating me again, could you rewrap my bandages?'

It didn't sound like a request, and her smile was a little too intimidating. Alec nodded mutely, placing his fork down and standing to his feet, while Marcus watched them both cautiously, still nibbling on his food.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora watched Dr Wilkes silently, they hadn't spoken since they left the dinner table, she recoiled when she saw the still damaged skin on her right side, her skin yellow and pink. She held a blanket to her chest to cover her breasts, as Dr Wilkes peeled away the old bandages.<p>

He saw her grimace and gave a strained chuckle. 'And you said it'd be healed in a few days,' he observed, shaking his head.

She smiled grimly. 'It could have been worse,' she reasoned, gritting her teeth when he applied the healing formula. 'You understand why I was harsh earlier,' she spoke lightly, looking at him pointedly.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. 'Yes…I'm still pissed off though,' he confessed.

Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow. 'You're no good to me if Aluka rips out your throat, nor is he if you curse him,' she said evenly.

'I'll never forgive him,' Dr Wilkes said coldly, pausing from his work to give her a firm look. 'I'll never forgive any of them.'

'I don't want you to,' Lyrisadora replied plainly, he looked at her questionably. 'You have every right to be angry, Aluka is a horrible person,' she agreed, smiling at him sympathetically. 'But causing fights won't solve anything.'

He turned away, his face crinkled in frustration. ' I can barely stand to be in the same room as him,' he growled.

'Then tune him out,' Lyrisadora said sternly. 'We need to operate as a unit, we don't have to like each other,' she reminded him.

He looked at her thoughtfully, she smiled at him warmly, he looked away. 'I know,' he muttered, getting back to work, applying the healing formula. She gave him a pointed look, he scowled. '….I'll try not to egg him on,' he relented.

Her smile brightened. 'That's all I ask,' she said smoothly, she heard him sigh and shake his head. She could understand why he was so angry, losing your family in a short amount of time was hard, especially in such a cut throat way. 'You can talk about it you know,' she tried to reach out, her smile dimming. Hopefully she'd be able to establish some more trust, she did need it, especially with Ada starting to grow more wary of her.

Dr Wilkes remained silent, before he shook his head. 'Talking about it just….brings up more bad feelings,' he divulged roughly.

Lyrisadora watched him closely. 'That's true, but it'll help you start to move on,' she said, before she took a deep breath; a secret for a secret. 'I still get nightmares of what Jenik did to me,' she confessed.

Dr Wilkes froze, eyeing her cautiously, before he quickly averted his gaze when she smiled at him. '….I could give you a potion for that, I just need to gather-'

'I can make it myself,' she replied dismissively.. 'It's one of my many talents,' she added. He gave a strained laugh that quickly died in his throat. 'I'm used to having nightmares, so I'll get by….I'm not ashamed to talk about it.'

'Good,' Dr Wilkes said, looking like he was searching for the right thing to say, he looked back at her. 'I…I've had trouble sleeping lately, hence why I look like a horse's ass,' he tried to joke, gesturing to the dark circles under his eyes. 'And if you're going to take Dreamless sleep drought, use it sparingly, or you'll get addicted and that never ends well,' the Healer advised, tossing her soiled bandages in the bin.

'I understand,' Lyrisadora replied, wincing when she tried to stretch her arm, her muscles still pulled painfully, but at least she could move her arm a little.

'You'll open up the wounds again,' Dr Wilkes chided, gently starting to wrap the bandages around her shoulder. '…So how's Marcus?' he asked, changing the subject.

'Well he's not happy, but he understands it's for the best,' she sighed, she was proud that Marcus was at least being mature about this. 'I've alerted Dumbledore, so he'll be arriving in three weeks,' she revealed, watching him carefully.

Dr Wilkes looked at her intently. 'Albus Dumbledore?' he repeated.

She smirked. 'No, his brother, who else?' she retorted, rolling her eyes.

The healer gave her a dry look. 'Is sarcasm a celebrated trait in England?'

'But, of course,' she chuckled, her smile widening. 'It's frowned upon not to express dry humour in conversation.'

He rolled his eyes at her, continuing to wrap her bandages. 'Have you drawn up a back story for Marcus?'

'Yes, are you aware of the recent werewolf attacks?' she asked, he nodded. 'The story will be that his parents got killed in the crossfire, as for the hairs for the potion, I'll find a random Muggle child and shave his hair off,' she explained dismissively.

Dr Wilkes eyes widened. 'Heaven have mercy on the poor kid,' he commented. 'Couldn't you make his hair grow back?'

'Hmm, maybe if I have the time. I've already started brewing the Polyjuice potion, but I need more ingredients. I have to brew it perfectly and the ingredients need to be of _high_ quality, or it won't last twelve hours,' Lyrisadora said firmly, looking at him expectantly. 'Can I rely on you?'

The healer sighed, a frown creasing his face. 'I'm not the best thief…'

'You stole those medical supplies well enough,' she argued, her lip curling in amusement.

'Yes, but that was from a _Muggle_ hospital,' he stressed, looking quite concerned. 'And you did say we need to keep a low profile…'

She forced back her irritation and smiled at him reassuringly. 'Hey, it's okay,' she spoke warmly. 'I trust you,' she said firmly, looking at him confidently, quickly peaking into his mind, trying to see his wants and fears. 'It's okay if you're nervous,' she placated, her expression earnest as she smiled at him. She strained her injured arm to touch his hand reassuringly, she was surprised how warm and soft it felt.

His shoulders lowered a little, his gaze looking a little dazed, before he bristled, tearing his eyes away from hers, shifting his hand out of her grip. 'I'm not,' he said curtly, as if embarrassed, he was trying very hard to avoid her gaze. She frowned, hopefully he didn't detect her presence in his mind, she needed him to trust her. 'I'll get the ingredients,' he added quickly, tying the bandage in place, before hurriedly putting her sling back on.

She gave him an odd look, wondering what had gotten into him. 'Did I offend you?' she asked slowly, arching an eyebrow at him.

'No, of course not,' he said, grabbing her robe and passing it too her. 'But you should get some more rest,' he added, his voice sounding flustered, as he turned away from her to rearrange his potions ingredient. 'Your injury needs more time to heal, ' he more or less snapped, sounding slightly angry.

Lyrisadora looked at him blankly, dropping the blanket from her chest to carefully place her robe on, she picked up her wand to charm the fasten around her waist, the doctor kept his back turned to her as she got up to leave.

When she spared a glance at him as she left, she saw a troubled look on his face, which only served to peak her curiosity.

* * *

><p><em>6th July 1996<em>

Victor sighed, looking at the letters from the Seer, she hadn't sent anymore; which he was thankful for, seeing how his mother had been threatening to hire a bodyguard for him.

But her words still troubled him, and then he'd received Hermione's latest letter.

_Dear Victor,_

_There isn't much good news to tell, we've already had a few Aurors come round to our house to place protective wards on it. Mom and dad are starting to get more worried, since then, even though they're trying to act like everything's normal, things are getting tenser. _

_And they're insistent I stay with the Weasleys for the rest of the summer, I suppose they know I'll be better protected with a Wizarding family. But I'd have more peace of mind if mom and dad were a thousand miles away, where they can't be targets. _

_I heard about the latest attack from the Veela, I hope your family is okay, I could do some research into protective spells against them if you want? I've been doing a lot of research into magical creatures ever since I found out the Dodo wasn't extinct; you know it as a Diricawl. It's all very fascinating, though I'm not sure on Crubs, they sound like mean little things, but I suppose they've just been bred that way so they can't help it. _

_I won't be able to write as frequently, the Ministry is introducing strict postal restrictions for letters from abroad. _

_But I'll try to keep in touch._

_Hermione_

Victor swallowed a lump down his throat, rereading her words. Things were only going to get worse, so was he just going to sit around and watch innocent people get hurt?

He remembered Diggory's death, Professor Dumbledore's parting words, of unity and standing together. But should he put his entire career on hold, because of a Seer's prediction? He wasn't even fluent with French.

But Victor knew grandfather would have fought, given up everything to do what was right.

He closed his eyes; it looked like he had travel plans to make.

* * *

><p><em>10th July 1996<em>

_Why did he agree to this?_

Adrian fidgeted in his seat as he watched Aileen and his mother talk, the three of them were dining in a popular hotspot in New York, a wizard restaurant located in the eye of the Statue of Liberty; quite a marvellous view as well.

"Oh how do you manage it?" his mother sighed, when Aileen had finished regaling them of the latest patient endeavour at the hospital. "You have the patience of a saint," she praised lightly.

Aileen smiled brightly, as Adrian looked at his mother dryly. "It does get stressful," Aileen argued. "Especially when I have to clean up after the patients," she blurted out, before her cheeks grew red. "Sorry, uh, I know that must sound-sorry," she apologised nervously, shooting a desperate glance at Adrian.

He forced a smile and chuckled lightly. "It's fine, I think our stomachs can handle it,' he reassured, holding her hand under the table, her smile became fonder.

"Right, anyway, enough about me," Aileen said, looking between them both eagerly. "You must have lots of stories to tell," she said cheerfully.

The table drew silent, Aileen looked at them questionably, her smile dimming. Adrian cleared his throat, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "Of course, I'm sorry, it's just England doesn't hold many happy memories for….me," he said, giving her a sheepish smile.

She looked at him in sudden understanding. "Oh yes, with the war, I'm sorry….were you two affected badly?" Aileen asked quietly, looking at them sympathetically.

Mrs Pucey smiled evenly, something dark glittering in her eyes, Adrian stopped himself from tensing. He couldn't let her ruin this for him. "Not as badly as others," he answered, making sure his expression looked sincere. "I suppose the reason many are terrified is because the battles are mostly fought in the shadows," he sighed.

Mrs Pucey nodded in agreement. "You just don't know who to trust, in fact, in the first war I was worried my own friends would stab me in the back," she divulged.

Aileen winced, drawing a little closer to him. "It must have been a nightmare," she muttered, Adrian chewed his food slowly as he watched his mother intently.

His mother smiled thinly. "You have no idea," she said smoothly.

Adrian recognised the cold undertone in her voice, he swallowed his food. "Can we talk about something less grim?" he proposed shrewdly, giving Aileen a sidelong glance.

"Of course," Aileen quipped, happily devouring her pumpkin and pork dish, before wiping her mouth with a napkin, there was a faint grimace on his mother's face as she watched Aileen. "There's this English band I've really gotten addicted to," she said, her smile never faltering as she looked over at Adrian. "They're called the _Weird Sisters_, you must have heard of them?"

Adrian looked at her curiously. "Oh them, yeah they played at our school once," he replied dismissively, he'd never been that much of a fan; Celestine Warbeck's music had more rhythm. But Lyrisadora had loved them….he quickly tried to shove her out of his mind.

"That's fantastic," Aileen exclaimed, looking at him with envy. "Do you know how hard it is to get a hold of tickets?" she protested, a pout forming on her face.

He smirked in amusement. "I could always just buy you some."

Her eyes lit up more, she usually declined his gifts, but right now she seemed very tempted to accept his generosity.

"Wasn't Lyrisadora a fan of that band?" his mother asked mildly, taking a leisurely sip of her drink.

Adrian stiffened. _Why did she have to fuck this up for him? _Did she enjoy his suffering, he felt a rise of anger as his eyes burned into her, and with some luck he just might set her hair on fire.

Aileen frowned. "Who?"

His mother feigned surprise, looking at Adrian scandalously. "Adrian, you didn't mention her?" she exclaimed, Adrian clenched his fists, Aileen looked at him in concern.

"…Who's Lyrisadora?" Aileen asked hesitantly, looking between them both questionably.

There was an unbearable silence, Adrian gave his mother a warning look, but she continued to feign ignorance. Realising he needed to answer Aileen's question, he let out a deep breath. "She was my fiancée," he answered flatly, keeping his eyes focused on his mother.

Aileen looked at him in shock. "You were engaged?" she spluttered.

"Yes," he said sharply, breaking away to look at her coldly, Aileen faltered, looking at him questionably. He quickly softened his face. "She died," he told her apprehensively, averting his gaze, tapping his finger on the table.

Aileen was quiet, as the chatter of the restaurant carried on around them. "…Oh, I'm sorry," she murmured, looking away in guilt.

"It's not your fault dear," Mrs Pucey said lowly, smiling meekly.

Adrian felt like he was about to explode, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before he smiled pleasantly at his mother. "Mother, could I have a word?" he requested mildly.

His mother smiled warmly. "Of course darling," she replied, placing her napkin on the table, picking up her hand bag.

Aileen's brow creased as she watched them warily, Adrian smiled at her reassuringly. "We won't be long," he said, calmly walking with his mother towards the entrance.

When they found a secluded spot near the sideway entrance he let his smile drop, a hateful snarl forming on his face. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.

His mother smiled coldly. "You really should be more truthful with the girl, she isn't that simple minded," she sighed, smiling coyly.

He gritted his teeth. "Why do you want to ruin this for me?"

She eyed him passively. "You honestly don't think it'll last? You're already struggling as it is," she argued.

He bristled at her words. He could make this last, true it was annoying having to keep his mask in place for such a long time, but…he was doing so well. He was already starting to control his temper better and he had no urges to hurt Aileen. Though he'd admit he sometimes got the odd urge to torture Hermes , but that was expected.

His mother knew nothing. "Things are different now, I'm trying to move on, isn't that what you wanted?" he asked in a clipped tone.

His mother pursed her lips in displeasure. "Yes, I wanted you to step up, Aileen is…more of a step down."

"At least she's honest," he snapped.

"But, painfully boring," his mother remarked.

"It's called being normal," Adrian argued lowly. "Besides, boring is good, boring means I won't do something rash," he protested.

His mother quirked an eyebrow at him. "Unless she leaves you first," she stated bluntly.

Adrian tried not to wince; he composed himself, narrowing his eyes. "That won't happen, I can change. Now I'd really appreciate it if you left," he ordered coldly, folding his arms.

His mother's eyes darkened at his insolence. "Don't try my patience, _dear_," she warned lowly.

He smiled sweetly. "Oh I wouldn't dream of it mother, I just worry that this whole affair will just bore you," he sneered.

His mother looked at him in irritation. "I'll see you at home," she replied coldly, brushing him off to go fetch her coat from the front desk.

Adrian shot her a glare before wondering back over to the table, Aileen was scrunching up her napkin anxiously when he returned. "Is everything alright?" she asked suspiciously.

Adrian sighed, sitting down next to her. "Just a little tiff," he replied.

Aileen grimaced. "She doesn't like me, does she?" she queried.

Adrian gave her a grim smile. "She's not the friendliest of people and I did warn you that she's quite smothering," he told her.

Aileen bit down on her lip. "I guess you can't please everyone….why doesn't she like me?" she questioned, a hint of insecurity in her tone.

He smiled at her fondly. "She's just a snob, apparently no girl's good enough for me."

"…What about this Lyrisadora girl?" she asked cautiously, looking at him in uncertainly.

His smile dimmed, he debated on how much he should tell her, obviously he needed some truth to sprinkle over the lies. "Yes and no, they had a difficult relationship….I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it's just…I loved her," he revealed hesitantly, his chest clenching, feeling a little over exposed. "And when she…."

Aileen's gaze softened. "I understand…and it's fine, you can tell me in your own time," she reassured, gently holding his hand.

He gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks," he breathed in relief. "You really are amazing," he complemented, making her smile widen. "And Beautiful, smart, how did you not get snatched up already?" he said charmingly.

She blushed, averting her gaze. "Hehe, stop it," she chided, her right hand fiddling with the material of her dress; he noticed she did that a lot, must be the insecurity. "I'm no one special…." She mumbled.

He smiled warmly, letting go of her hand to curl a finger under her chin, lifting her gaze up to meet his. "You really think I'd like you if you weren't?" he said smoothly, kissing her tenderly on the lips, she closed her eyes and leaned in.

His mother was wrong.

He had Aileen hook line and sinker.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora decided to change her style again, this time being a bit more adventurous with bright purple hair, even though Aluka gave her some strange looks, but Ada found her change of style adventurous.<p>

Hugh Dayne was visibly trembling, hands bound behind his back, she'd chosen to do this in a nice derelict toy factory. Ada watched the scene apprehensively, holding a file under her arm, while Aluka silently observed, Lyrisadora smiled at Hugh. "Long time no see," she greeted.

Hugh looked at her angrily. "What the fuck are you playing at? I gave you all you wanted," he snarled.

Lyrisadora bent down to his level. "Not everything, and besides, so much more time has passed, plenty of time for you to gather new information," she reasoned, gesturing Ada to come forward with the file. Hugh gritted his teeth when Lyrisadora revealed more scandalising shots of him and Mrs Raulf kissing in dark corners and under bridges . "And there is still the problem with your beloved, how long do you think you can keep it up? Her husband will find out," she sighed, shooting him a sympathetic look, snapping the file shut and handing it back to Ada. "I hear they favour acid attacks."

A flicker of fear slashed in his eyes, his snarl dimmed, his lips setting into a grim line. "….What kind of information do you want?"

She gave him a pleased look, straightening up. "I want information on brothels, drugs and human trafficking; where are the sex slaves held in Paris?" she asked curtly.

Hugh pursed his lips. "…With the sex trafficking they're normally held up in the lower ends of _Bondy_," he divulged. "They're placed in small house overnight, then they're distributed out in the morning," he told them dully.

Ada shook her head in disapproval, but wisely held her tongue, Lyrisadora looked over at Aluka. "Can you confirm this?" she asked.

The vampire shrugged. "That line of work wasn't my job, so I know little of it, but that is in the Filibert's family region of power," Aluka replied.

Lyrisadora looked back at Hugh. "Alright then. Hugh I'm going to make you an offer," she told him smoothly.

Hugh scowled. "Like I have a choice," he responded dryly.

Lyrisadora looked amused. "Of course you have a choice," she retorted, twirling her wand with her good hand. "You obviously seem very committed to Mrs Raulf, despite the dangers, so what if I helped you out a bit," she proposed, making his brow crease. "She needs to get away from her husband, but if you two ran away together, they'd hunt you down like blood hounds," she continued.

"You…you'd help us?" Hugh said warily. "At what price?"

"Information is golden, and I need all the information I can get," she told him firmly. "You've been at this game for a long time now Hugh, think you can help me out?" she questioned lightly.

He didn't look very pleased, but nodded nevertheless. "Let's strike a deal then," he sighed.

Lyrisadora nodded, transforming the tip of her wand into a small blade, before glancing over at Aluka. "You may want to leave the room," she told the vampire evenly, Aluka looked annoyed, but nodded, walking towards the back entrance.

Hugh frowned, as Ada untied the ropes binding his wrists. "What type of-"

Ada wrenched his arm out, a permanent grimace stuck on her face.

Lyrisadora strained her hand out of her sling, before slicing into the palm. "I prefer the old ways," she said coolly, Hugh's eyes widened, as she sliced his palm, she buried a wince of pain when she forced her bleeding hand into his. "Ada will act as out sealer," Lyrisadora said evenly, noticing how nervous Hugh had become, she smiled at him warmly. "Just to make sure we both do well on our promises."

* * *

><p><em>25th July 1996<em>

Marcus felt like a bug compared to the powerful wizard and witch in front of him. Albus Dumbledore was an eccentric looking old man with glittering purple robes and …..heels….Marcus shook his head and looked at the headmaster warily. He looked friendly enough, like an excited granddad who loved musicals and sweets. Overall he wasn't very intimidating.

Madame Maxime however, Marcus peaked a glance at the tall woman. She was most likely over seven foot, with a long figure draped in flashy pink satin robes, her black hair cut into a bob. Her face resembled a raven and her skin was a bit sagged. She was eyeing him critically.

Amata stood by his side, smiling politely, looking a little funny and out of place with her bright blue hair, blue jeans, and long sleeved black top. Marcus had noticed she regularly changed her style every week. All four of them were in the headmistresses lavishly decorated office.

Amata had just finished explaining the situation. '….So as you can see, we're in a bit of a dilemma,' she finished explaining.

Madame Maxime nodded. 'You have done well,' she drawled, the French vowels curling off her tongue. 'The boy will have a place here, I will arrange the fake papers,' she said.

Marcus looked at her curiously. 'How?' he found himself speaking up.

Madame Maxime looked amused, smiling coyly. 'I have my ways."

Now Marcus was even more confused, Dumbledore smiled at the headmistress. 'Thank you, Olympe, I am grateful for your help," Dumbledore said, bowing his head slightly.

Madame Maxime chest puffed out a bit in pride. 'It is no trouble my friend, we must all do our bit,' she said, before glancing back at Marcus. 'Of course there is still the long term we must think about,' she sighed, looking over at Amata. 'This political mess with the royalty and Mafia is disturbing,' Madame Maxime stated grimly.

Amata nodded in agreement. 'From what I've learnt, the vampires and Werewolves are allied with the Dark Lord, meaning the werewolf attacks will only increase,' she informed regrettably. 'The Syndicate is obviously trying to weaken the Queen's grip she won't be able to keep control for long, and her public approval will only decrease.'

Dumbledore nodded gravely, the twinkle in his eye fading, Marcus frowned in concern. 'In England, there was news of a group of wizards who got slaughtered at the harbour where goods are transported; I assume the vampires were hungry from the long trip,' the old man commented.

Marcus felt his stomach twist, remembering Aluka ripping those men's throats out, blood spattering everywhere. He shuddered, Madame Maxime scowled at Dumbledore in disapproval. '_Albus_, the child, please!' she reprimanded.

Dumbledore gave Marcus an apologetic look, smiling reassuringly. 'I'm sorry my boy, it has simply been a troubling time for my country,' he apologised.

Marcus forced a smile. 'It's fine, and it's okay, I've seen enough to know what war's like,' he said, he noticed he received sympathetic looks from them, he bit down on his tongue.

Madame Maxime clapped her hands together. 'Enough talk of politics, the boy still needs to pick his lessons,' she exclaimed, placing a large hand on Marcus shoulder, leading him towards her tiled desk.

'Of course, besides, I and Amata have more business to discuss,' Dumbledore said lightly, Marcus strained his neck to look at her, Amata shot him a gentle smile as she followed Dumbledore out of the room.

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora considered her former headmaster carefully, the small room outside of Madame Maxime's office was empty, a few large crafted Abraxan and phoenix sculptures along the walls.<p>

"How's your progress?" Dumbledore asked, looking at her curiously.

She couldn't help but heighten her Occlumency shields and avoid his eye. "Well enough, I've assumed leadership in the group, but I still sense distrust among them, which is expected," she explained.

Dumbledore looked at her right arm in the sling. "And your safety?" he asked, looking at her pointedly.

Her face remained passive. "It hasn't been easy, but we're doing alright, we'll be keeping a low profile to plan our next attack," she said evenly.

"And how dangerous is Jenik?" Dumbledore asked sombrely.

She hesitated, her eyes downcast. "On a scale of one to ten? Eleven, he's insane," she divulged, gritting her teeth. "And so much worse, he's…perverse, I can't understand him," she confessed.

It was frightening, with Voldemort she could at least understand his line of thinking, know what he wanted and his endgame. Jenik on the other hand was like an incorrectly made potion, she didn't know what his end goal was.

"And our numbers are still low," Lyrisadora continued, straining her eyes up to look at Dumbledore. "I'm still figuring out who I can and can't trust," she sighed, feeling a massive weight on her shoulders.

"I understand," Dumbledore sighed, his brow creasing. "I will try to send forces over to help, but finding the right people will be difficult . Have you heard anything of Auror Orsan?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I haven't really been looking, I'm still debating letting him in….but I suppose he'll catch up with me eventually, especially if he's still trying to find Ada," she reasoned.

"The Order is stretched quite thin," Dumbledore revealed ruefully, pausing for a moment. "Contacting Mr Orsan on your terms is the best idea, you'll need him on your side, as for more members…." He trailed off, a thoughtful look in his blue eyes. "I may have a few candidates," he told her, his smile returning.

That was a bit of a relief, at least the pressure had lessoned somewhat. "Thank you, sir," she replied.

"I'll help you as much as I can, you're taking on a hard task and the situation is more complicated than we anticipated," Dumbledore commented, looking at her approvingly. "Severus picked well," he added warmly.

Lyrisadora felt a rush of warmth, her smile tugging upwards, she nodded stiffly, looking away. "….How is Professor Snape?" she asked cautiously, unable to quell her concern.

The twinkle in the headmaster's eye dimmed a little. "Coping as expected, his own task is not an easy one, he's been in more of a foul mood than usual," he said, his mouth twitching into a smile. "And I believe he misses you, he won't stop recalling the times you got on his nerves," he told her.

Lyrisadora grinned, feeling a hint of fondness. "Give him my best…..and how is my family?" she questioned, her tone lowering as her face became more serious. "Has Snape mentioned anything at all?"

"Not much, your brother has been much more reclusive lately," Dumbledore informed her.

She felt some unease, trying to smother her emotions. "Expected," she commented evenly, trying not to think much about it.

Dumbledore looked at her with concern. "Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"No, I have too much to focus on, as long as they're safe, that's fine," she replied coolly, absently touching her sore shoulder; it had mostly scabbed over by now

"You told me earlier that Jenik saw your mark?" Dumbledore said carefully.

She nodded, tugging on her blue hair, as she looked away thoughtfully. "Yes, I suspect he won't say anything to the Dark lord, less he wants his own plans to unravel, but he might try to attack my family if I push him too far," she mustered, shaking her head.

"And the stone?" Dumbledore asked, looking at her intently.

Lyrisadora fingered the chain around her neck, the stone hidden underneath her top. "It's safe with me," she said, feeling a rush of possessiveness, the headmaster looked sceptic. "Besides, I need it to figure out Jenik's plan, and since I'm an Alchemist I know best how to control it," she argued.

"And if Jenik gets a hold of it?" Dumbledore inquired mildly, his gaze turning stern.

She buried her frustration, the stone wouldn't be safe with the headmaster, besides if Jenik found out about her family she'd have nothing to barter or hold over him. "The reason Jenik is moving cautiously with me is because I have something he wants," she protested, finally meeting the Professor's eye, her eyes narrowing. "This mission is mine, trust me to carry it out delicately," she said coldly.

He looked at her calculatedly, as if trying to suss her out. "Very well, I will respect your wishes," he said quietly. "But be careful, Lyra," he said lowly, she froze; she hadn't heard her nickname in…was it over a month now? It made her feel strange…"Power and war are often a toxic mix," he warned her, his face passive.

Lyrisadora remained silent, holding his gaze for another second, before she looked away, removing her hand from the chain around her neck. "I should help Marcus pick out his lessons, " she said crisply, turning to the door.

Trying not to think about how her hand itched to touch the stone again.

* * *

><p><em>29th July 1996<em>

Victor let out a deep breath, stepping out of the international Floo station, trying to blend into the crowd. He was dressed simple, wearing trousers and a T-shirt with a travel robe covering him, he rearranged the backpack on his shoulders.

He supposed his first destination should be _Croix-Rouge_, but he wanted a bit of time to help properly clear his head and understand his new surroundings, he still had no idea who was waiting for him at _Croix-Rouge._

He decided to find a hotel, but wizard Paris was a little hard to navigate around, especially with it intermingling with Muggle Paris. But the gold road thankfully helped distinguish the two; he noticed it started to get dirtier as he walked down the street. The sun was setting and there were hardly any people on the street, but considering the werewolf attacks, it wasn't much of a surprise, so Victor remained on his guard.

He followed the street signs, apparently there were some hotels on Chimera avenue-

He sensed movement behind him, he slowed down a little, hearing some more footsteps, it sounded like four or three people? Either way they were getting closer, Victor let out a sigh, wondering where the best place to handle this would be.

He took a left turn towards a more open area, pulling his hood up to hide his face. He saw two people flag him on both side, he whipped around and raised his wand, casting a shield charm as a hex was aimed his way.

Four teenage boys stood before him, wands raised, with an air of arrogance about them, they wore identical brown aviator jackets, with glow in the dark flame patterns along the sleeves. The boy in the middle, with blonde straw like hair smiled at him wickedly. 'Hello there young sir,' he said in French, Victor just managed to understand it. "Ce sac semble loured, besoin s'aide?' the teenager asked slyly.

The boy's French was lost on him, but Victor got the gist they didn't want to help him with directions. "No vanks," he replied coldly, shooting a stunner at them, feeling an old rush of adrenaline.

It hit one of the other boys' dead on, making the blonde boy snarl in anger. There were jets of orange, pink, and ember lights whizzing past as Victor tried to take down the gang. A curse hit the ground next to him, cracking it, so he sent a whip of fire their way.

Victor smirked when he saw the colour drain from their faces, all air of arrogance gone, Victor took down a second boy, shooting a bolt of lightning at the third boy's feet.

That was enough to scare the rest of them, they started scrambling to get away, Victor levitated the apparent leader in the air, before hanging him up on a lamp post, the boy was now violently swearing in a mixture of English and French.

Victor smiled in amusement, watching the rest of the gang runaway, as he started to go on his way again, an pleasant aftertaste of adrenaline still pumping through his veins.

* * *

><p><em>30th July 1996<em>

Lyrisadora knew Dr Wilkes was avoiding her, he barely even talked much to her anymore, she had no doubt he'd realised she'd been peaking into his mind. She stared at him curiously, her injury was nearly healed, so he was removing the bandages from her shoulder.

'Your arm will still be stiff for a few days,' he said evenly, still refusing to look her in the eye.

Lyrisadora strained her arm, some of the scars were still there, but it didn't bother her much anymore, she had enough of them on her back. She pulled up the strap of her bra, clenching the fingers on her right hand.

'Thank you,' she said, looking at him with interest. 'I've noticed you and Aluka have calmed down.'

He shrugged, a frown clothing his face. 'I just pretend he doesn't exist, it's a tolerable coexistence,' he stated dryly.

'Good, the less tension the better,' she told him, pushing her long hair back; she was debating dying it red for next week, she'd already coloured it green, orange, purple and bright blue. 'Should I dye my hair red or royal blue?' she asked amusingly, hoping he'd pick up a conversation again, his earlier views on potions had been quite interesting.

Dr Wilkes looked confused, glancing up at her. 'What?' he questioned in exasperation, his eyes absently sliding to her chest, before he quickly looked away, looking more flustered. 'You should put your shirt back on, you'll catch a chill,' he mustered, shoving his potions in the draw.

She arched an eyebrow at him, since when did he get worked up over that sort of thing? She found his nervousness annoying. 'Since when were you a prude?' she questioned flatly, this man must have seen dozens of woman naked, and it wasn't like she was showing much, she was in jeans and a bra, not very explicit. 'You are a healer?' she said slowly.

He gave her an angry look. 'I don't know what you're talking about!' he snapped, she looked at him in surprise. 'You're distracting me, alright. Don't you have more important things to do?' he rebuked sharply.

She was a little stunned by his outburst. Maybe the pressure was finally breaking him, the death of his family sinking in, she looked at him with pity. The stress and lack of sleep was no doubt messing with his head.

Her frustration faded, she obliged him and slung her shirt on. 'I'm just concerned, no need to be snappy,' she sighed.

He ran a hand through his hair, a troubled expression on his face. '…I'm sorry,' Dr Wilkes said contritely, looking back at her. 'I've just had a lot on my mind, things are pretty confusing right now,' he said tightly.

She frowned, pushing herself off the stone table. 'Anthea?' she assumed sympathetically.

'….Yes, among other complications,' he confessed quietly.

Lyrisadora eyed him cryptically, by the sound of it, he probably hadn't realised she'd looked into his head…but if that was the case, why couldn't he look her in the eye?

'I see, well I'm still here if you need to talk about it,' she reassured, smiling softly, touching his shoulder, looking him at him warmly. She waited for him to speak, as he stared at her intently, his pupils dilating, her brow creased slightly, wondering what was wrong wi-

Then he kissed her, making her eyes widen in surprise, his lips crushing hers.

She stood stock still, he retracted away from her, the two stared at each other for a long time. The silence stretched on.

Dr Wilkes expression morphed into panic. 'I….sorry, oh Christ,' he swore breathlessly, she remained silent, still staring at him in dumbstruck.

He hastily darted out of the room, leaving her standing there.

Lyrisadora blinked. _Well shit,_ she thought when the penny dropped.

* * *

><p><strong>Hehehe. <strong>

**Yeah I did it again. **

**Anyway, summer is nearly upon us! And uni will be finished soon! Can't wait. **

**Let me know what you guys think of this latest development. **


	112. A Chaos of Wasps and Bees

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelli****ng errors.**

** quote Littlefinger, Game of Thrones**

**'...' french**

* * *

><p><strong>"Always keep your foes confused."<strong>

**Chapter: A Chaos of Wasps and Bees**

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora sat on the bed in her room, her fingers lightly skimming her lips, she sighed. This put her in an awkward position, Dr Wilkes was a nice man, but a bit plain looking though, she didn't really feel any strong feelings towards him.<p>

But if she used his infatuation to her advantage, she'd have a trustworthy ally, someone she could control, and seek other pleasurable benefits from.

Besides, rejecting him would cause a strain in their relationship, and she rather found him an interesting companion. Plus it would be nice to have something of a personal life and why shouldn't she sleep with other people? Adrian was probably burying his sorrows into some dumb bint….

She stared at her fingers, recalling where the promise ring had once been, why did she even care? She might just sleep with Dr Wilkes just to spite the asshole, a smirk curled onto her face when she imagined Adrian's pained expression.

And anyway it didn't matter what he thought, he was on the other side of the world.

* * *

><p><em>31st July 1996<em>

'….And the current French president is?' Alec questioned, looking at Marcus expectantly.

Marcus frowned, sitting at the table, pen poised to take notes. '….Uh….Jacques Chirac?'

'Good work,' Alec praised, the kid was developing into a quick learner. 'Right, so we've covered history, let's move onto pop culture, do you remember the musicians we went through last week?'

Marcus hesitated as he thought. 'Uh….Gala and um…Girl Spices?'

Alec smiled in amusement. 'It's _Spice Girls_,' he corrected, before giving him an encouraging nod.

'Lagaf, Celine Dion….Nirv-ana…oh! And Elton John," Marcus answered brightly, looking pleased with himself.

'Don't forget Michael Jackson and Madonna,' Alec quipped, it was best Marcus knew all the clichéd ones.

'Hey Dr Wilkes?' Marcus spoke up, looking at him curiously. 'A lot of these singers' songs are in English, so why would I listen to music I don't understand?' he asked.

Alec smirked. 'Kid, I think you underestimate how catchy the Spice girls are,' he replied mildly, then he remembered the present he was meant to give the kid. 'Which reminds me,' he said, reaching into his jacket to pull out his wand. 'Accio Cassette,' he uttered.

A bulky cassette player, with headphones attached, zoomed out from a tunnel, Alec quickly caught it, before handing it over to Marcus. 'A little gift to help you with your homework,' Alec said.

Marcus examined the object, turning it around in his hands, his eyes widened in surprise when he pressed the open button and the lid popped up. 'What do I do with it?' Marcus asked, looking at him questionably.

'You play music on it, like a record player, it's second hand, but it was built to last,' Alec said, looking at the cassette player in nostalgia.

Marcus popped the headphones on, placed the tape back in and pressed the play button, his eyes widened when sound buzzed out. Alec could hear the faint vibrations from the headphones, as he watched Marcus react to the music. 'This is awesome! And it's so small,' Marcus exclaimed, looking at the piece of technology in awe.

Alec chuckled. 'You should use the internet, that stuff is mind blowing,' he commented, he did want to take the kid to an internet café, but Amata was being really overprotective of him lately, though Marcus didn't seem to notice.

He cringed a bit when he thought about her, he felt like such an idiot, kissing her like that, she probably though he was a pervert….Alec winced, feeling a rush of shame. He was thirty, there was a over decade age gap between them, since she looked fresh out of school. And she was his patient! Well she had been his patient….but that wasn't the point.

The point was that he was meant to be professional, he wasn't meant to ogle at his patient's body or get flustered around them-

'Uh, Dr Wilkes are you okay?' Marcus spoke up warily, pushing the headphones off his head.

Dr Wilkes forced a smile. 'Sorry, dozed off for a bit,' he said sheepishly. 'Anyway, that tape is a mix tape, so it's got all the top charts you need to know,' he explained.

Marcus arched an eyebrow, but then shook his head. 'Alright then. So what do I do if a Muggle-born asks me something about the Muggle world I don't know?' he asked.

'Play dumb, or pretend you know, as long as you know the basics you should be alright,' Alec reassured. 'Just sing Wannabe and Freed from desire around the your dorm and you'll be okay,' he chuckled.

Marcus nodded. 'I'll memorise the lyrics,' he promised.

'Good lad. Now we'll need to cover diseases next,' Alec said, making Marcus scowl. 'I'll try not to go into detail. Also have you written down the Muggle devices I mentioned earlier?'

Marcus looked at his notes. 'Telephone, mobile, traffic lights, aeroplane, train, metro, jet, motorbike, car, television ect, yeah I think I can remember that,' he said brightly, before he frowned. 'A bread maker seems kind of pointless though.'

'Yes they are,' Alec agreed, fondly recalling when his sister had wasted her money on that stupid thing, he felt a rush of warmth at the memory, then a twist of sadness.

'Are you done for the day?' Amata's voice called, making him tense.

He turned around, she was approaching them, smiling politely. He arched an eyebrow when he saw she'd changed the colour of her hair to indigo, looking like a punk rock fan with her ripped jeans and black and white striped tank top, he looked away when he found his eyes lingered on her chest.

He gritted his teeth. _Stop being a fucking pervert_! He screamed in his head.

'Uh Dr Wilkes, are you sure you're okay?' Marcus questioned, giving him a strange look.

Alec's stomach twisted, feeling embarrassed, Amata looked at him in amusement. She probably thought he was pathetic, she looked over at Marcus. 'Marcus why don't you take a twenty minute break, then we'll start our lesson on transfiguration theory,' she said.

Marcus shrugged, popping the headphones on again. 'Yeah sure,' he said dismissively, a buzz of music coming from his headphones as he wondered off.

Alec sighed, before he forced himself to look at her. 'I'm sorry about yesterday,' he apologised, making sure he looked her in the eye. 'I just misread the signs-'

'It's fine,' Amata reassured, smiling warmly, he looked at her questionably, was it possible she felt the same way? He'd hoped but…surely she had more on her mind, she was leading a revolution after all. 'You just surprised me,' she said, stepping closer to him. 'And I'm quite flattered by your interest,' she said.

Alec waited for the inevitable, _but,_ the _we should just be friends_ line. 'I behaved unprofessionally,' he said, wanting to get this off his chest. 'You're young and I shouldn't have taken advantage of you,' he said stiffly.

She burst out laughing, he frowned in confusion, she grinned at him. 'Oh don't worry, you didn't,' she reassured, he didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or relieved that she didn't think he was a creep. 'I was a bit oblivious to your attractions, but I've never been good with romance,' she told him lightly. 'And I was hoping we could maybe, give it go,' she said.

He faltered. 'Excuse me?'

She shrugged. 'It would be nice to have a life, or some downtown, where I don't I have to organise attacks, evade assassins and play politics,' Amata told him grimly.

He felt a pang of sympathy, he could empathise, while working for the Syndicate all he ever seemed to do was eat, sleep, work and try to not get killed, not much of a life. And he hadn't really seen Amata do anything outside of fighting, mentoring Marcus, organising them all, holding meetings, and gathering supplies.

'….I am thirty,' he pointed out, looking at her intently. 'It's a bit of an age gap,' he said evenly.

'I know what I want, Alec, do you?' she questioned slyly, closing the distance between them.

He felt a rush of heat, his heartbeat quickening, she smiled at him gently, looking at him like she was staring into his soul. Her smile widened into a grin, she was so close he could kiss her, wrap his hands around her, feel her body-

She kissed him on the cheek, making his skin tingle. 'Because I do,' she murmured into his ear, before pulling away, she gave him a crooked smile.

Well she was certainly confident, and little intimidating, it was something he admired about her, not all girls her age were so sure of themselves. He found himself getting more turned on...

He gulped, trying to compose himself, he was a grown man, so he shouldn't be getting this flustered. 'Clearly you know what you're doing,' he said, roughly clearing his throat. 'So how should we….uh…'

She rolled her eyes. 'Relax doctor, we'll see how that goes down tonight,' she teased, clasping her hands behind her back, walking away without sparing him another glance.

Alec found his eyes fixed on her retreating form, he hadn't expected her to so ….coy, she seemed so serious a lot of the time, this behaviour was something new….

He wasn't sure what he'd just got himself into.

* * *

><p><em>2nd August 1996<em>

Adrian was busy, but he still needed to buy Aileen a new dress for their dinner with the senator, so he decided to take work on the go.

Hermes trailed behind them, carrying a clip board full of paperwork, Aileen looked around the expensive shop warily, her eyes widening when she looked at a price tag of one of the dresses. "I'm sure there's cheaper places to go to," she whispered, her brow creasing.

Adrian was half paying attention to her, as he reviewed the paperwork Hermes presented him with. "Aileen I'll be with you in just a sec," he said, clicking his fingers at the sales woman, gesturing to Aileen.

The weedy looking sales woman smiled brightly at Aileen. "Come with me ma'am," she said evenly, giving her a droll smile as she more or less dragged her to a fitting room.

Adrian signed off the paperwork. "I want the employees recruitment sped up," he instructed Hermes. "And double check that they're staying in budget," he reminded sternly, placing his pen back in his suit pocket.

Hermes hastily nodded. "Of course sir," he replied, before casting a glance over at a very disgruntled looking Aileen, Adrian caught the look, he wondered over to her to see what all the drama was about.

"I don't need help," Aileen snapped at the sales woman, making the shop assistance smile tighten.

"Aileen?" Adrian inquired lightly, looking at her questionably. "Is everything alright?"

Aileen looked sheepish, avoiding the shop assistant's sharp gaze. "I just don't like being hassled…..sorry," she apologised to the sales woman.

"Oh it's no trouble at all ma'am!" The sales woman said sweetly.

Adrian sighed, smiling politely at the woman. "Thank you for your assistance, but we can handle it from here," he said pleasantly, making the shop assistant's smile become more warmer, as she nodded curtly, leaving them be.

Aileen sighed, sitting down on one of the stools. "Couldn't we go somewhere less….overwhelming?" she proposed, looking up at him hopefully.

_Like what, some ugly thrift shop?_ Adrian held back a sneer; he wished she took a little more pride in her appearance. He smiled warmly. "We're attending a dinner with the senator, Aileen, we have to look our best," he said smoothly.

"Just because something's cheap doesn't mean it can't look nice," she argued, scowling.

Adrian felt a rush of irritation, but he hid it with a smile. "But people will know it's cheap, that's the problem," he tried to explain. "You wouldn't wear a four Galleon dress to a Congress dinner, now would you?"

Aileen looked down and sighed. "….I guess not, this just feels weird," she divulged.

Adrian kissed her head affectionately. "That's just because it's a new thing for you," he reassured, she frowned at him, but he wasn't paying much attention, he was examining the different dresses lined up against the wall.

"Hermes," Adrian called, examining the different dresses, Hermes was by his side in a second. "What colour is in this season?" he asked.

Hermes faltered. "Uhh….." he trailed off, Adrian's eyes narrowed at him. "Green….I think. I've seen quite a few people wear it…." Hermes hastily answered.

Adrian sighed, well he supposed Hermes wouldn't be that privy to fashion. He looked around for the sales woman, but she was nowhere to be seen, Adrian frowned; it looked like Aileen had done a fine job of pissing the woman off.

One dress caught his attention though, it was a cocktail dress, made from green dragon skin, he felt the material. The neckline was a simple scoop neck, and there were black thin feathers on the shoulder pads, with green peacock feather aligning the bottom hem of the dress. He picked out Aileen's size.

"This is nice," Adrian said, holding the dress up to view.

Aileen fiddled with her hands, looking unsure. "Um…isn't it a bit flashy?" she said quietly.

"Just try it on," he said lightly, handing the dress to her. "You might like it."

Aileen gripped the dress tightly, but complied, entering the changing room. He sighed, he hadn't expected her to be this awkward about the whole thing, and she just didn't seem to get it, it was like they both from two entirely different worlds.

He frowned, Lyrisadora would have understood, she would have played her part perfectly. He felt his stomach twist when he thought about her smile, graceful manners, fiery temper, intelligence-

"Adrian…." Aileen called, he glanced back at the changing room, she'd stepped out in the dress. He examined her closely as she fidgeted, looking at herself in the large mirror of the fitting room.

Adrian smiled approvingly, the green complemented her dark hair and it made her ember eyes look more striking. Her freckles ruined it a little, but no one was perfect. "You look fantastic," he complimented warmly, placing his hands on her hips.

Aileen pushed him away, avoiding his gaze, he frowned at her in confusion, wondering why she was being so difficult. "It's just not me, Adrian," Aileen murmured.

He felt a rise of irritation. "It's just a dress," he said tightly. "Don't be so dramatic."

Her head whipped around, as she looked at him angrily. "You know that's not what I meant," she rebuked sharply. Hermes took a step back and looked between them cautiously. Adrian's eyes narrowed. "I feel strange, t-this isn't me," she spluttered, gesturing to the dress.

"Aileen, you're being ridiculous," Adrian reprimanded, making her bristle. "This is an important dinner, I need you to look your best," he said coldly.

"I don't want to pretend to be something I'm not," Aileen said quietly, shaking her head.

He felt his temper rising, he tried to control himself, breathing deeply, ignoring Aileen's look of concern. "Why are you being so selfish?" he questioned in a measured tone, looking at her accusingly.

The colour drained from her face. "Selfish? I'm not-"

"This is a very important dinner for me, Aileen," he reminded evenly, closing the distance between them. "I need you to support me," he continued, looking at her coldly.

She clenched her hands tightly, looking at him with uncertainty. "I'm just….I don't feel…" she struggled to explain herself.

He forced his face to soften. "I understand this is all new to you. You're the type of person who likes to earn everything, you're realistic and you don't pretend to be something you're not," he praised, smiling warmly, the tension left her shoulders, as she seemed to preen at the compliments. "But other people don't admire that like I do, and if you want their respect, you need to dress to impress,' he said softly, she withered a little. 'I need your support on this one, so please, can you do this, _for me_?" he requested tenderly, taking hold of her hand.

She hesitated, looking at him thoughtfully, before she sighed. "…Alright, I'll try," she relented, looking down at the dress she was wearing.

"Thank you," Adrian said lightly. "You don't know how much that means to me," he sighed, kissing her gently, he noticed she leaned in closer this time.

* * *

><p>Victor stepped out of the hotel bathroom, having finished shaving off his beard, he'd placed a glamour on his hair, making it longer and changing it to a light blonde, hopefully it would keep people from recognising him straight away.<p>

But he'd have to work on his disguise some more he wasn't that good at those type of spells though, but he'd try to make his nose longer, maybe change the shape of his jaw.

He picked up the newspaper that he'd found at the front desk, flicking through it, using a translation spell.

Page one

**Another Werewolf attack: has the Queen lost control?**

Page three

**Crackdown on illegal fighting pits.**

Page five

**Prince Adalard reaches out to help fund low end schools**

Page six

**Delinquent Teenage gang The Boiled inferior deface Eiffel Tower!**

Victor paused and read on.

_If the recent return of You-Know-Who and the Werewolf attack weren't enough to spread chaos and fear, the newly risen Paris street gang is causing more trouble._

_The statue of secrecy was jeopardised when the delinquent gang turned the Eiffel tower bright orange! Then spray painted crude disgusting imagery of genitals all over. Without the quick response from the Offical Wizarding Censors, the magical world would have been exposed..._

Victor held back a laugh, it was a little funny, he frowned when he saw a dim picture of the gang, taken at an awkward angle, with the gang members faces hidden, they were all wearing dark aviator jackets with glow in the dark flames along the sleeves.,

He frowned, remembering the teenagers from a couple of nights ago, he turned back to page three, scanning the article on the fighting pits.

* * *

><p><strong>Another Werewolf attack: has the Queen lost control?<strong>

The Queen read the latest headline, feeling a bad taste in her mouth, she sat back in her armchair, glancing over at General Pascal Aloys and her elderly advisor Thierry Ives.

The General had a permanent hard look about him, his skin was shallow and slightly tinted yellow from the years of smoking, he was heavily muscled in his blue military uniform. His black hair tied back, streaks of grey running through it, his grey eyes looking at the Queen expectantly.

Thierry shot her a tired smile, his face full of wrinkles, looking frightfully thin, his grey beard tied into a neat plait, his silver hair cut short, with a receding hairline.

'How is the recruitment fairing?' She asked evenly, her face passive as she looked at the General.

'We have one hundred new recruits, they just need six more months of training,' General Aloy responded curtly. 'Which means unemployment has decreased to only 750.'

Considering it had been 1,000 three years ago, the decrease was at least some good news. 'Are the gypsies included?' she asked lightly, raising an eyebrow, the General tended to pretend the Romanian Gypsy population didn't exist, it irked her to no end.

'I assume,' The General said briskly.

Berenice shook her head, before turning to her advisor. 'And the rogue werewolves?'

'Still being recaptured, the Aurors have managed to snatch up 47 out of the 150,' Thierry answered curtly.

Berenice chewed her lip thoughtfully, her brow creasing. 'I want the number of recruits increased by 25% by the end of the month, and then I need more security posted on the streets, especially the lower regions,' she ordered firmly. 'I want more measures to be taken to repel the vampires.'

The General nodded without question. 'Yes your grace,' he agreed, he hesitated before adding. 'I also must reveal that one of the young Veela tried to escape our custody last night,' he informed briskly.

The Queen grimaced, she expected it, but it still made her stomach twist, she knew it was cruel to separate those children from their mothers…but it was necessary, she had enough on her plate without worrying about Creusa's rebellion. 'Increase the security wards, and add three extra guards,' she instructed coldly, her eyes flickering to Thierry when she saw his grave expression. 'Don't give me that look,' she chided irritably, leaning back in her chair.

'Creusa will grow more vengeful,' Thierry reasoned.

'She refuses to ally with me,' she said, before letting out a hollow chuckle. 'And she most certainly won't reconcile with me now.'

'If you struck the right deal, she might cooperate,' Thierry argued. 'She values peace, she's not beyond reason,' he continued.

Berenice looked at him thoughtfully, before her eyes flickered to the General. 'Leave us,' she ordered evenly.

The General bowed, briefly glancing at Thierry, before leaving them alone. Berenice looked at her advisor expectantly. 'Do you propose I use Zurie? Creusa is ashamed of her, she will not listen to her daughter's pleads,' the Queen stated.

'I'm not saying you should use Mrs Malfoy in that exact way,' Thierry countered, clasping his hands behind his back. 'Let Creusa see her daughter, as a gesture of goodwill.'

The Queen sighed lowly, looking out of the window. 'And if it ends badly and Creusa just grows more angry? I doubt Zurie will inspire her mother,' she retorted, the girl had little sense, the Queen sometimes wondered if Zurie had been dropped on her head as a baby.

'Even if the meeting doesn't end well, you still showed Creusa that you are willing to submit to her demands, the Veela hate being ignored and looked down upon,' the elder man said calmly. 'Let this be a stepping stone, the Veela are fierce warriors and if we had them on our side…?'

The Queen nodded. 'I know,' she murmured, closing her eyes. 'I will consider it,' she told him coolly, looking back at him.

Thierry nodded gratefully. 'Thank you, your grace,' he said, his eyes shifted around the room before he stepped closer. 'There is another matter I found interesting,' he said slowly.

The Queen's eyes narrowed. 'Does it involve my wayward cousin?'

'Well I came across a peculiar drilling operation that the Prince had authorised,' Thierry spoke quietly. 'Five points, around the borders of Paris, which officially are apparently building work for sewage and pipe repairs.'

'But?' she questioned warily.

'The pipes were inspected five years ago and were recorded to not need repairs for another ten years, and when I dug deeper, I found that the small group of workers who signed up for it, haven't contacted their families for months, but no missing person reports were filed,' Thierry explained.

The Queen frowned. 'Investigate it, quietly,' she ordered lowly, her advisor nodded stiffly.

She felt dread bubble in her stomach, an uneasy chill skimming her spine.

* * *

><p><em>3rd August 1996<em>

Lyrisadora watched Marcus carefully, the boy was in a dour mood, listening to that strange Muggle music emitter, she found him lounging on the couch. Ada and Dr Wilkes were busy building a new area to cook food, since Ada had been complaining about spiders getting into the lasagne again. Aluka had ventured out to go catch a meal, reassuring them that he wasn't stupid enough to hunt people.

Lyrisadora wondered over to the boy. 'You alright there, Marcus?' she asked, slipping the headphones-she believed that's what Alec had called them- off when he didn't react.

Marcus jerked up in surprise, before he gave her a sheepish smile. 'Oh hello,' he replied, sitting up, turning the music machine off.

'Enjoying your gift?' she asked, sitting down next to him.

He nodded enthusiastically, a grin spreading onto his face. 'It's awesome,' he answered. 'Muggle music's really cool,' he stated.

She looked at him curiously. 'Mind if I listen?'

'Go ahead, you press this button here to play and pause it,' Marcus explained brightly.

Lyrisadora stuck the headphones on and pressed the play button, an irritatingly cheerful tune blasted into her ears.

_Yo I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,_

_So tell me what you want, what you really really want _

_I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want!_

_So tell me what you want, what you really really want!_

_I wanna!, I wanna-_

Lyrisadora ripped the headphones off her ears, the whiny voices making her ears bleed.

Marcus grinned. 'It's really catchy isn't it?'

His taste in music was clearly awful, she forced a smile. 'Yeah, really catchy,' she lied, pressing the pause button to make the buzzing of the headphones stop, she placed the small machine to the side. 'Have you finished the homework I set you?' she asked.

'Yes,' Marcus said evenly.

She rolled her eyes. 'Liar,' she said, shooting him an annoyed look.

He scowled at her. 'How do you always know?' he grumbled.

She smiled at him slyly. 'Darling, you're a horrible liar,' she mused.

'I can lie,' he argued. '….Can you read minds?' he asked, looking at her warily.

She smirked at him. 'Not exactly, it's called Legilimency,' she told him. 'It means that I can look inside a person's memories,' she explained smoothly, leaning back on the couch.

Marcus looked intrigued. 'How?'

Lyrisadora paused, trying to think of the best way to explain it. 'A persons memories are sort of carved into their skull, like pieces of a puzzle,' she told him.

'….Can I learn?' Marcus asked hesitantly.

'You're a little too young, I didn't learn until I was seventeen,' she said, making him frown.

He chewed his lip. 'So, who taught you?'

She smiled at him cryptically. 'You ask a lot of questions,' she stated lightly.

He bristled. 'Sorry,' he apologised weakly, his eyes downcast, her smile dimmed.

'You don't need to apologise for asking questions,' she reassured, feeling a tinge of rage, her eyes darkening. 'Did Mrs Dafonte get angry when you asked questions?' she asked tonelessly, looking at him intently.

He shrugged uncomfortably. '….Sometimes, mainly when I asked about learning magic, she said…' he trailed off, cringing a little. Lyrisadora placed a hand on his shoulder. '…That I was special, so I didn't need to learn silly spells,' he divulged, his tone sounding bitter. 'I guess she just wanted to keep me all to herself, or I don't know…make sure I couldn't fight back,' he mumbled.

'Do you hate her?' Lyrisadora asked coldly, all Marcus had to do was say the word and she'd kill the bitch.

Marcus looked unsure. 'I don't know…I don't think she was evil,' he answered lamely.

'But do you wish she was dead?' Lyrisadora asked slowly.

Marcus looked unnerved. 'I-I don't want anyone to die,' he said shakily, his eyes widening in surprise.

She stared at him critically, wishing he was lying, but sadly he wasn't. She closed her eyes, her face softening. 'Alright then,' she said quietly.

But Marcus still looked alarmed. 'Promise me you won't hurt her,' he said uncomfortably. 'I know what she did was wrong, but she doesn't deserve to die,' he protested.

Oh no, she most definitely did deserve to. Lyrisadora knew that if someone had done those sick atrocities to her as a child, her father and mother would have tortured, mutilated and killed the monster.

But Lyrisadora didn't want to frighten Marcus, she sighed quietly. 'I promise not to touch her,' she told him warmly.

He sighed in relief. 'Good. You know you really creep me out when you say things like that,' he confessed, looking at her in concern.

'Forgive me, I'm just protective, what Mrs Dafonte did was unforgivable,' she said sternly.

Marcus nodded in agreement. 'I know. It's just, you're our leader so you have to set an example, especially with Aluka around,' he sighed, looking around cautiously.

She smiled grimly. 'I'll try to be a better leader then,' she reassured, looking at him thoughtfully, he was a good kid, and the fact he wasn't full of hatred was a real surprise. And he was still so trusting, she frowned, his naivety would be his downfall if he wasn't careful, especially since she'd be leaving his watchful eye. 'Marcus, who do you trust?' she asked.

He looked a little apprehensive. 'We you and uh…I guess Dr Wilkes, Ada's alright, but I don't know much about her,' he answered.

Good, at least he was keeping the circle small. 'When you go to school, you need to be on your guard, always,' she told him sternly. 'The children who go there are better liars than you and have more powerful connections, so keep a low profile,' she advised.

Marcus frowned. 'But what about making friends?' His voice sounding a little desperate. 'How will I know who to trust?'

She paused, choosing her words carefully. 'Trust the people you can control,' she said mildly. 'And never reveals all of yourself, keep them guessing,' she said firmly.

He was silently for a moment, his brow creased, he looked at her curiously. 'Who do you trust?' he asked quietly.

Lyrisadora kept her face blank. 'Myself,' she answered, she supposed she trusted Snape still, but he was miles away.

A look of hurt flashed in his eyes. '…Why?' he asked, his lips drooping.

She looked at him fondly. 'Because the last person I trusted nearly killed me,' she told him, a hint of rawness in her voice, her stomach twisted painfully.

Marcus looked stunned. 'Oh,' was his reply, he looked away.

She grimaced. 'It's fine, it's in the past, it doesn't matter anymore,' she said dismissively, handing him the music machine and headphones. 'Try to get your homework done by tomorrow,' she said, standing up. 'Or I'll be confiscating that,' she warned, eyes flickering to the music player.

Marcus clutched it to his chest protectively. 'I promise,' he said hastily.

She shook her head, walking away to leave him to his devices, now she just needed to find Alec to distract her from her unpleasant memories.

* * *

><p><em>8th August 1996<em>

The high priestess felt out of place in the clean parlour of the palace, her bow and arrow rested on the floor by her side. Creusa had made some effort to try to accommodate to Wizardkind's dress code, seeing how a tunic and sandals weren't suitable attire apparently.

Her long copper hair was tied up into a ponytail for a change, and she was wearing a blue cotton dress that ended at her knees, with golden chains coiled around her waist up to her neck, a ruby choker fastened around her thin neck. She still refused to wear that ridiculous thing called a bra, they were loathsome.

There were snacks on the small table between her chair and the other opposite, all untouched. Creusa snapped her head up when the door opened, shifting in her chair.

A young woman shyly entered with a small blonde little girl in her arms, the woman was dressed in conservative purple robes, that covered everything except her, head and hands, with a leather belt fastened around her waist. The little blonde girl was less covered up, wearing a simple pink dress with short puffy sleeves and sandals. It took her a second to realise this was her daughter and her granddaughter. '…Mother,' Zurie greeted, meekly taking a seat opposite her.

Creusa looked at her silently, taking in her appearance, Zurie had grown so much, how long had it been since she last saw her?...Creusa felt a stab of guilt, she quickly tried to smother it.

'Zurie,' Creusa greeted stiffly, her eyes shifting to the little girl who was looking at her curiously. 'My granddaughter, I assume?'

Zurie nodded, a strained smile on her face. 'Her name's Rosalie,' she said quietly, glancing at the blonde girl on her lap.

Creusa held back a sigh as she observed her daughter's submissiveness, she had hoped Zurie would have grown something of a spine over the years. 'She's beautiful, she has your eyes,' Creusa said curtly.

Rosalie smiled at her. 'Grandma?' she asked brightly.

Creusa felt a glimmer of warmth rise in her chest. 'Yes, little one, I am your grandmother,' she answered softly.

Rosalie's eyes shifted to the bow and arrow, her smile widening. 'Archer!' she squealed, reaching her hands out. 'Play!' she exclaimed, trying to squirm out of her mother's hold.

Creusa smirked, Zurie looked appalled. 'No, Rosie, that's not a toy,' she spluttered desperately, holding her daughter tighter.

Rosalie scowled up at her mother, folding her arms stubbornly. 'I wanna play!' she screamed, starting to kick in protest.

Well the girl was a fighter, Creusa admired that, but she was too spoiled. Zurie appeared far too soft on her. 'Listen to your mother, Rosalie,' Creusa ordered coldly, making her granddaughter freeze and look at her in surprise. 'I won't tolerate bad little girls,' she rebuked sternly.

Rosalie pouted, ceasing her kicking, holding onto her mother. Zurie looked sheepish. 'She's just grumpy because Damien hasn't spent much time with her lately,' Zurie said hastily, still avoiding her mother's gaze.

Creusa arched an eyebrow, grimacing in displeasure. 'How is your husband treating you?' she asked lightly, she knew the Malfoy's had a reputation of being cold and ruthless.

This time, Zurie did look up, Creusa was surprised by the fierceness in her daughter's eyes. 'He treats me with respect and love, he's a wonderful husband,' she said defensively, apparently angry that Creusa would suggest otherwise. 'We're very happy together,' she said firmly.

'I see,' Creusa replied lightly, arching an eyebrow at her daughter. 'I was only checking.'

The anger faded from Zurie's eyes, lowering her head, her cheeks burning pink. 'I'm sorry, mother,' she apologised.

Creusa resisted the urge to roll her eyes in irritation. 'I assume the Queen requested you come to talk me into joining her?' she asked flatly, why else would the Queen compromise for her?

Zurie shook her head, glancing up at her mother. 'No, she said…you uh, wanted to see me,' she replied hopefully.

Creusa shifted uncomfortably. 'It is true, I was concerned for you,' she admitted, Zurie smiled. 'Mainly because she did kidnap our young,' she added icily, making Zurie's smile drop. 'Which was only made possible because you betrayed our secrets.'

Zurie looked away guiltily, while Rosalie frowned. 'I had no choice,' Zurie whispered, tears brimming in her eyes, Creusa turned away in displeasure. 'Y-you shouldn't have defied the Queen-'

Creusa felt a rise on anger. 'Do not tell me what I should have done, you have no idea of what your actions have done, you silly girl!' she snapped harshly.

Zurie gave her mother a broken look, tears streaming down her face, she ducked her head in shame. Rosalie looked at her mother in concern. 'Don't cry mommy,' she said, reaching out to touch Zurie's tearstained face, Rosalie glared at her grandmother. 'Don't be mean!' she yelled indigently , holding her mother protectively.

Creusa felt a rush of guilt, she looked away from her crying daughter and angry granddaughter. 'You are a foolish girl, Zurie,' she said quietly, shaking her head, before turning back to her sobbing daughter. 'And you have forgotten your heritage,' she spoke softly.

'N-no,' Zurie spoke up shakily, desperately wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her robes. 'I'm half witch as well mother,' she protested. 'I'm not ashamed of either side…'

'Yet you embrace wizard culture entirely, have you even taught Rosalie our ways? Our traditions?' Creusa argued, her eyes narrowing.

Rosalie stuck her tongue out at her, while Zurie stroked her daughter's hair soothingly. 'She's too young,' Zurie protested.

'More like your husband has forbidden it,' Creusa sneered, looking at her daughter's robes in disdain. 'He's already tried to cover every inch of you,' she pointed out.

Zurie scowled. 'It's called modesty, we can't all go waltzing about with our breasts hanging,' she retorted.

Creusa looked surprised by the insult, ten years ago Zurie wouldn't have dared even raise her voice to her. 'So you do have a spine after all,' she observed evenly. 'Well it's something at least. And as for _modesty,_ how can you conform to their oppression? To condemn your daughter to a life of submission,' she accused.

Zurie looked flushed, hastily looking away. 'Things aren't like that anymore mother, lots of witches have jobs and don't get married…. I have all the same rights as Damien,' she said in exasperation, Creusa scoffed, Zurie looked miserable. 'But what's wrong with just wanting to marry and have children? To be taken care of and behave like a good wife?' Zurie murmured.

_How could anyone want that?_ Creusa would never understand some witches. 'Because there's so much more,' she snapped.

'But I'm happy,' Zurie mumbled, looking at Rosalie adoringly. 'I just want a peaceful life, mother.'

'These aren't times of peace, Zurie,' Creusa reminded coldly, her daughter was living in a fantasy world. 'Do you realise how much danger you could be in?'

Zurie looked troubled. 'Damien will protect us,' she replied quietly.

Her daughter's love was blind, did she honestly think the Malfoys could be trusted! 'And you don't doubt him at all do you?' Creusa questioned evenly.

Zurie hesitated. 'Of course not, I trust him,' she said firmly, meeting her mother's gaze.

Creusa's eyes narrowed. 'And does the Queen trust him?' she asked in a measured tone.

'No,' Zurie admitted lowly.

'He doesn't behave suspicious or disappear for long hours?' Creusa pressed on.

Zurie closed her eyes. 'I-I love him,' she repeated, like it was something that reassured her in times of doubt. 'All husbands have secrets,' she uttered.

Creusa realised her daughter wasn't stupid, no, she was _willingly_ stupid. 'Get out,' she said harshly, Zurie looked shocked.

'But I wanted-'

'_Get out,_' Creusa repeated, her gaze frosty. 'I have no time for foolish little girls who will not listen to sense,' she stated.

Rosalie looked up at her mother worriedly as Zurie's eyes welled up with a fresh batch of tears. Creusa turned away, her chest tightening, as both child and grandchild left the room. What had the Queen expected? For Zurie to try to convince her to submit, Creusa would never submit.

She paused, but the Queen had let her see Zurie, not much of a shock, with the growing Werewolf attacks and bad press, Queen Berenice must be feeling the heat.

Creusa remembered Eanraig's warning, could she really afford to not be allies with the Queen? She sighed, burying her face in her hands, she needed to protect her daughter and grandchild, but she needed more information.

She thought about the werewolves, they seemed the most in the loop.

* * *

><p>Victor had a crumbled up picture of Auror Orsan in his pocket, since the Seer had mentioned the man's name, he'd used his celebrity status to sway a little bit of information about the man from his friends in the Ministry.<p>

Auror Orsan had been pronounced dead, from an attack on his home, of course if that was true then Victor was wasting his time, so hopefully the man was alive. And if he wasn't then Victor would be very pissed off.

He tried to think like the Auror, apparently the man had been threatened by the Death Eater, for apparently sticking his nose in business he wasn't welcomed in. So if the Auror was still doing that, then he'd most likely go undercover into the underworld to gather more information on the Death Eater rumours in Paris.

It was a wild jump, but Victor was mostly going on his gut feeling with this one, besides it would be something he'd try to do if he was in Auror Orsan's position.

The fighting pits were held underground, in _Crosstwist Turn street_, there had been a large crowd at the entrance, so he'd managed to enter unnoticed, keeping silent as he paid the entrance fee.

The place was stuffy and crowded, the ring was square, large boxes acting as a barrio as people surrounded it. Everyone was yelling and shouting in their native tongue, he manoeuvred through the crowds. Once man caught his eye, he was talking with one of the fighters, roughly slapping his shoulder and pushing him into the fighting ring.

He wondered over, leaning against the wall. "Are vey good?" he asked the man.

The man turned to him, looking like a heavily muscled tiger, with claw marks scarring his pale face, he grinned at Victor. "Dey can take a punch," the man replied amusingly, looking at Victor critically. "Interested in thaking a shot? Hm?" he asked.

Victor smirked. "Maybe, vot strings er attached?"

The man eyed him up and down, most likely trying to get a look at his muscles. "Defeat fone of my best,and dou're in," he said casually. "And pay entrance fey of course."

Victor turned to the ring, as one of the men punched the other below the belt. 'Van I choose vey vighter?'he asked.

The man shrugged and gestured to a poster near the betting stand. 'Look ver," he replied, walking over to the posture.

The posture was faded, the images jerking out of focus every couple of seconds. His eyes narrowed at the picture in the bottom left corner, Victor squinted, it was a dark skinned man with a heavy build, the whole of his left face was covered in a scar, making his left eye squinted. Underneath was the stage name; Shit-faced, Victor inwardly cringed, but kept his face passive.

"I vont to fight the Shit-faced," he said flatly.

The man laughed. "I'd let dou, but he hastend been seen in a week," he divulged, frowning in displeasure. "Made good money to."

"Ven another time," Victor replied, turning away and making his way out of the crowded place.

The man shrugged, turning back to the fighting in the ring."Suit dourself."

Well at least he knew he'd been right about the fighting pits, he just needed to figure out where to look next. He remembered the place the Seer told him to go, he sighed, he may as well give it a look-

Then he felt a chill run up his spine, before he could whip his wand out a spell was uttered in French.

He hit his head on the chipped gold road.

* * *

><p>The two men looked at the unconscious man curiously.<p>

'Think he'll survive training?' one of them said to the other.

'He looks strong enough,' the second man said, levitating the injured man up.

The first man examined the young man's face, there was something familiar about him…'He looks a bit foreign.'

'So what? A werewolf's a werewolf, don't matter if he's Chinese, they'll have him,' the second man scoffed.

The first man nodded in agreement. 'That's if he survives the bite,' he argued, helping his friend drag the unconscious man into the dark alleyway.

* * *

><p>Damien sighed as he comforted his crying wife, as expected Zurie's meeting with her mother had gone terribly, and Rosalie had declared that her grandmother was a horrible mean cruel woman that had made mommy cry.<p>

Damien shook his head, sitting on the bed with Zurie, rubbing soothing circles into her back. 'Sshhhh, darling, you'll never have to see her again,' he reassured softly, feeling his heart ache when he saw her in so much pain.

Zurie wiped her eyes and sniffled. 'She's ashamed of me,' she rasped, she scrunched her eyes up. 'And she's right, I did betray them!' she sobbed, bursting into a fresh set of tears.

He held back an exasperated sigh. 'You were obeying your Queen,' he tried to argue.

Zurie shook her head. 'But it's not right, they're children Damien,' she whispered, roughly wiping her eyes, looking at him imploringly. 'The Queen doesn't realise how cruel she's being,' she said lowly. 'I have to make this right,' she muttered, his eyes narrowed at her. 'I must convince the Queen to let the young Veela go,' she said hurriedly.

Damien tensed, he couldn't have his wife interfering with their plans, and if she tried to push this, the Prince would not be happy. 'No, Zurie,' he said, she looked at him in alarm, he smiled at her warmly. 'The Queen _ordered_ the young Veela to be apprehended, she knew the consequences, if you question her judgment, you'll be defying her,' he tried to placate.

Zurie looked confused. 'But I'm sure I could con-'

'She won't listen to you,' Damien cut her off, Zurie looked at him questionably. 'Don't you think her advisor was against the decision? The Queen is closest to him the most and yet she didn't listen. So why would she listen to you?' he said smoothly.

Her face broke, her bottom lip trembling, he held her tenderly. 'I just want to make things right,' Zurie said weakly.

_So do I my love,_ he thought grimly. 'I know you love your mother, but try to forget her, she's not a part of your life anymore,' he advised gently, kissing her softly.

Zurie nuzzled her face into his neck, melting into his arms. 'She said I was in danger,' she whispered.

Damien felt a rush of fear. 'From what?'

'Everything,' Zurie whispered faintly, her eyes looking dull. 'She told me not to trust you,' she confessed in a tiny voice.

Damien was silent, he kissed Zurie's forehead. 'And do you trust me, my love?'

There was a small pause, just the slightest bit of hesitation. 'Yes, completely,' she replied breathlessly, looking up at him warmly. 'I love you.'

He smiled at her, trying not to acknowledge the heavy weight of guilt and shame in his chest. 'Then everything will be fine,' he whispered into her ear.

* * *

><p><strong>Uni is finished! Let the summer began.<strong>

**Now next chapter will be a little different, since it's going to be the origin story of the Syndicate!**

**And poor victor, so close yet so far. **

**Just as another note, my older sister wa sobsessed with spice girl's when she was little (And I mena fangirl obsessed) so I thought it would be funny if Marcus liked their music, it was a worldwide hit in 1996.**


	113. Once Upon a Time

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelli****ng errors.**

** quote: Humpty Dumpty**

**Warning: This is Jenik centric, so expect level 10 creepiness and disturbing themes. **

**'...' french**

* * *

><p><strong>"And all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldn't put humpty dumpty back together again."<strong>

**Chapter: Once Upon a Time**

* * *

><p>Once upon a time, it began 36 years ago in:<p>

_31st August 1960_

Christabel had been the beginning , back before he gave up his name, she swore to follow him to the very end.

His skin had been tighter and smoother back then, not a wrinkle in sight, not a single grey streak in his black hair. His skin also was a healthy light brown, his eyes a dark hazel. He had just finished tattooing the runes and transmutation formulas on both of his arms, it was his first real step into harnessing Alchemy into a fearful weapon, so that one day it could be properly respected by Wizardkind.

'Do you think it's possible?' his wife had questioned, looking over at theory he had drawn up, her sapphire eyes hungry for knowledge. Her white skin smooth and clear, not a wrinkle in sight, her black hair tied up into a long ponytail. Her lab coat was covered in chemicals and dirt, as usual, since she loved experimenting with the elements.

'It could take years to work out the correct calculations, and we'd still need a stone…..' she had fretted, looking at him anxiously. 'Charles?' she had said his old name with worry, seeking his guidance.

He had nodded, plans already forming in his mind, all they had to do was solve the equations and the knowledge would be at the tips of their fingers. He kissed her deeply, her soft lips feeling warm and eager. 'My dear, together, we can accomplish _anything_.'

The puzzle was Alchemy, now they just needed to find the right pieces.

* * *

><p><em>30th July 1963<em>

The war on Grindelwald had changed everything, even after over a decade the world was still picking up the scattered pieces. While a battle for power raged on in the underbelly of the streets of Paris.

That's where he found Aluka, among the dirt, shit and piss, cradling the torn bloody body of his wife, a thick wound in the vampire's chest .

The vampire really should have known better than to cross the Belrose crime family. What a fool.

Aluka looked up at him when he approached, looking like a battered bruised dog. But there was still fire in his eyes, a burning rage for vengeance.

'Do you want to see them pay?' he had asked softly.

Aluka gritted his teeth. 'More than anything.'

He had smiled at that, he held out his hand. 'Let's get started then.'

The Vampire hesitated, before he took the outstretched hand.

* * *

><p><em>19th September 1964<em>

Christabel placed their sleeping newborn son in the crib. He'd kissed his wife's cheek, wrapping an arm around her possessively. 'He'll be our greatest creation,' he whispered in her ear, his wife chuckled in amusement.

He eyed the sleeping baby intently, he still had his experiment with werewolf blood to carry, out, if he did it right he could make a successful hybrid formula. But he had known he'd have to wait until his son was older, he couldn't risk losing his own flesh and blood.

'We still have to decide on a name,' his wife said warmly, staring at their son with absolute love and devotion.

'Bayard,' he had said instantly, making her frown.

'It doesn't really fit his last nam-'

He pinched her ribs painfully, making her flinch in his hold. 'We have no last name, remember, dear,' he had hissed in her ear.

They had shed their family names like they had shed their past lives, she was supposed to remember that, yet she had forgotten.

His wife glared at him in displeasure. 'Of course, _dear,_' she growled bitterly, refusing to look at him.

He ignored her displeasure and looked down at their son.

Yes, Bayard would be a fitting name.

* * *

><p><em>15th February 1965<em>

'Jenik.'

It was the first time his wife spoke the new name, as they lay together in bed, she had gazed up at the ceiling thoughtfully. 'What does it mean?' she had asked him curiously.

'Have you ever heard of the Fairy tale _The Enchanted Watch_?' he asked, placing light kisses on her neck.

She sighed in exasperation. 'You know I hate fairy tales, you already bored me enough with the Fairy tale about Bayard's name,' she said irritably, shaking her head.

Her rudeness irked him, so he bit down on her collar bone painfully, making her hiss in pain. 'Don't be rude, dear,' he warned lowly.

She gritted her teeth, deep bite marks on her shoulder.'Forgive me,' she had replied tightly, her eyes narrowing at him. 'But what is the exact translation of the name?' she asked carefully.

This time he smirked. 'It means I'm a brilliant, creative, benevolent leader,' he had replied lightly.

She stared at him in disbelief. 'Has age inflated your ego?' she had responded dryly, however her tone was more cowed than before.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her cheek. 'It only increased my clarity, dear,' he'd said, an excited gleam in his eyes. 'We'll be able to see it all, more than Flamel could ever hope to see,' he'd whispered in his ear, slightly grimacing at the thought of his former mentor. 'I've already got all the strings in hand.'

'Is that what this web you're building is?' she questioned tonelessly, staring at the wall of the bedroom. 'Like hundreds of tangled strings?'

He had chuckled. 'It'll be my _Syndicate_, dear,' he breathed, feeling a rush of excitement as he rubbed himself against her; he could already see it all forming.

His wife laughed faintly, she strained her gaze to look at him oddly. 'You're mad,' she told him plainly, as if it was a statement.

He didn't know why, but he laughed. 'All the best Wizards are,' he had replied, feeling a bubble of laughter in his throat.

His wife grew silent, before she spoke again.'….And what will my new name be?'

He was confused. 'You're my wife, you need no name,' he said, smothering her neck with kisses, what more could she ask for? His dream was her dream. ' That is your title, that is who you are, my dear,' he reassured her tenderly.

But his wife didn't appear satisfied, a flicker of anger flashed in her eyes, but it was gone in seconds, replaced with sadness. 'Charles-' His hold became painful, she winced. '…..I mean, _Jenik,_' she hastily corrected, her voice unusually faint. '…Do you love me?'

He froze, she hadn't asked that question since the day he married her, did he love her?

…No, he never had and he never would, but a part of him wished he could.

But he was fond of her, and was she not his? Yes, she was his, to have and to hold, to remain faithful to and protect until death do us part. 'Yes, I love you,' he had lied warmly, with a carefully practiced gentle gaze.

She'd strained her neck up to look at him, a bitter smile sliding onto her face, clearly she knew he was lying. 'Of course you do,' she had said softly, before turning away from him, resting her head on the pillow.

He had sighed, stroking her long black hair soothingly. She always saw right through him, but she'd never leave, they both knew that.

It was how he knew she was the only one for him.

* * *

><p><em>12th September 1969<em>

The calculations; he was nearly halfway, it had been frustrating, but they had known from the start that it would be no easy task.

His wife stood behind him, while he was hunched over his desk, piles of parchment scattered around. '….How many people will die?' she had asked him weakly, he'd almost forgotten she was there, her presence moulded into the room like a piece of furniture.

He had paused, before he stood, smiling at her reassuringly as he cupped her face. She looked older now, more tired and worn. 'Not killed my dear, _reborn_,' he had said tenderly, kissing her lips demandingly. 'The survivors will be beautiful.' He whispered. 'And we will have the knowledge of _Gods._'

She was silent, her eyes empty, as if resigned to all their fates.

* * *

><p><em>2nd October 1969<em>

His study and lab had been cleaned out, not a spot of parchment left.

He found his wife miles away in a forest, burning all his life's work, her eyes had a glazed look about them as they stared into the flames.

"_Aguamenti_!" he'd cried desperately, but the fire kept burning, it was too late, his work was gone. He'd screamed, rage overtaking him as he grabbed her, roughly shaking her. 'Why?' he growled, feeling confused and betrayed.

He'd never forget the look in her eyes; pity and bitterness. 'You're insane, Charles,' she said quietly, tears sliding down her face. 'You'll kill us all,' she said flatly.

He had shoved her to the ground, his gaze murderous, how could his wife be so blind and deluded? It was in that moment he realised how wrong he had been about her, she wasn't his soulmate, she was just like the rest of them.

She was like the rest of humanity, a disgusting stupid parasite that couldn't understand the bigger picture.

She was ugly like the rest of them, rotten inside. 'I hate you,' he growled lowly, wanting to break every bone in her frail body. 'Why would you destroy everything we've worked for?'

She turned her head in shame, her eyes watering with tears, as she stared up at him desperately. 'We don't want the same thing, Charles please-'

He wouldn't listen, he couldn't understand her. 'Shut up. You're my wife, my dream is your dream, you promised to remain faithful to _me_, we took a vow!' he spat, the fire seemed to choke the air. 'You were meant to understand!' he snarled, feeling his blood boil as the fire devoured everything, the last bit of parchment crumbling to ash.

She was silent, a pathetic heap on the ground. '….Do you even remember my name?' she asked softly, dull blue eyes looking up at him coldly. 'You haven't said it in years.'

He had been taken aback, before he hurriedly recovered, her name didn't matter anymore, she belonged to him…but no, she broke her vows, she didn't deserve to be called his _wife_ anymore.

'Christabel,' the name rolled off his tongue, Jenik's eyes turned cold when he stared down, he saw her shiver, there was fear in her eyes. 'A filthy little traitor,' he whispered chillingly, raising his wand at her face. "_Stupefy."_

She didn't even flinch.

* * *

><p><em>30th December 1976<em>

His mother used to read him fairy tales when he was a child, one of his favourite was about Reynard the fox.

Argine Didac reminded him a lot of that trickster fox, with a boyish smirk and foolish arrogance, expected since he was only seventeen, still a reckless stupid little boy.

Jenik had found him when the boy killed five of his men in a gambling match. Quite impressive. When he'd researched he'd found out he was from Madrid, but had to flee the country when he had let him temper get the best of him and had killed a politician's son.

The boy was like an untrained dog.

"Arrue going ta kill me?" Argine had asked sombrely, if resigned to his own fate.

The boy was a natural born killer, such talent.

He had smiled at the boy. "Oh no, I'm going to offer you a deal, boy."

Argine looked confused,then Jenik smiled in amusement. The boy's confusion melted away, replaced with a smirk.

Yes, he'd call this one Reynard.

* * *

><p><em>2nd June 1977<em>

It had been a slow process, but he was starting to rebuild his life's work again, it had been frustrating, but he knew he had to persevere. It was far too late to turn back now.

Besides, Christabel's betrayal had been something of linchpin, it had made him realize oh so many things, like that he'd been holding back, letting his creativity and genius gather dust in a corner, it was why he had felt so restless.

But things were different now, he'd never felt so much clarity, he'd even started reconnecting with Bayard again, he and his son had never been close, but now they had a common interest.

'….D-dad?' a quiet voice pleaded from below, the scrape of chains against the floor. 'It hurts, please,' his teenage son had begged, gold eyes desperate, dry blood staining his mouth, and the skin on his chest, the dead victim from his last transformation rotted on the other side of the room.

Jenik had smiled down at his son affectionately, yes, the chains did seem barbaric, but Bayard had been uncontrollable at first, and still was to some degree. 'Shush my little one, it will be over soon,' he reassured his son gently, stroking his hair fatherly.

They'd learned that the wolf was controllable, if given the proper training, the whip marks on his son's back were proof of that.

Bayard trembled, when Aluka came in with the whip, the teenager's bones started to jerk violently as the transformation began, skull violently expanding, legs growing as the skin was harshly stretched. But his son did not shed a single tear.

Christabel would have been proud to see how strong their son had become.

* * *

><p><em>1st May 1982<em>

Before they were called Constancio and Constancia, their names had been Isaac Mable and Sophia Jerome; his two orphaned little Muggle-Borns.

After Voldemort's defeat there had been celebration, people felt safe. Those delusions were swiftly crushed when some of the Death Eaters went rogue, lost without a cause. It had also inspired some of the more impressionable youths to lash out against the Muggle-Borns.

Little Sophia's parents had been an example of this, poor thing, slaughtered by a bunch of bigoted copycats. Isaac's story was far more tragic though, his accidental magic accidentally setting his house of fire, killing his parents and little brother.

They were already prepped for remoulding.

He'd already researched the experiment heavily, they would play a key part in unlocking the secret.

He knew the core to creating the stone was involved with souls, souls were the element of life.

But first he had to create a bond, or the souls would reject each other, so he had locked the two children away in a dark room for six months, only with each other for human contact. The results were beautiful.

When he had released them , they looked half starved, pale, terrified, clinging to each other like they were each other's life line. He knew the bond would only increase when the experiment was complete.

'Who are you?' he had asked them both.

The boy was the first to speak. 'No one,' Isaac rasped, his eyes puffy from crying.

But the girl looked confused and replied. 'S-sophi-'

Jenik slapped her across the face, sending her flying across the room, Aluka held back the boy who was struggling in protest, watching his boss passively; nothing ever did seem to effect the vampire anymore.

'Who are you?' Jenik repeated.

The frail thin girl trembled. '…S-sophia-'

He backhanded her across the face, his eyes turning cold. 'No it isn't, you don't have a name, you're no one,' he said calmly. Her eyes swam with tears. 'Who are you?'

Jenik slapped her again, as she sobbed. 'I don't under-' she tried to cry out.

When he backhanded her again, her nose started bleeding. 'Who are you?' he had repeated.

'No one!' she screamed, blood and tears staining her face.

He had smiled, stroking her hair affectionately. 'Good girl,' he praised, looking between them both, he had felt a swell of pride. 'Now you're ready.'

Jenik had ordered Aluka, Bayard and Reynard to watch, he had wanted them to see this once in a lifetime spectacle.

He had to pick a very open space, the two little ones tied down on lab tables, surrounded by the transmutation circle, candles lit up around them in a circle.

'Sir,' Aluka had surprisingly spoken up. '…Are you sure they'll survive this?'

He had levelled the vampire with a deadly glare. 'Do you doubt me, Aluka?' he'd asked calmly.

There had been a smothering silence, Aluka stared at him unwaveringly. 'No, sir,' the vampire finally replied, before shutting his mouth.

No one else interrupted after that.

Then he'd ripped the souls from the little ones bodies, their screams had been gut wrenching as expected, but he'd remained focussed and sewn their souls together. He'd chopped their individual souls in half, he'd taken half of the girl's soul and sewn it together with the boy's.

He did the same with the other, so that two souls were now duelled together. It had been beautiful, their united soul turned a bright green colour, flickering like a flame as he placed their new hybrid soul back in their bodies.

He would call them the Twins, they'd be his little Pigeon and Dove, his little Constancio and Constancia.

* * *

><p><em>3rd August 1984<em>

The hall was silent, Jenik had smiled at the twins in approval, Constancia was now standing over the corpse of her parents' murderer. He'd done well on his promise to her.

Jenik clapped slowly, wondering over to them both, Constancio released his hold on the man while Constancia eyed the scene with dead eyes.

'Do you feel better my little dove?' he had asked her warmly.

She had smiled coldly, as did Constancio. 'We feel ecstatic, patron,' she replied sweetly, exchanging a look with her twin.

'Thank you for this gift,' Constancio said flatly.

They were such little liars, Jenik loved that about them, his wicked little birds. 'You're welcome,' he had said lightly.

Then he left them to their own devices, he still had his new pet to attend to, a dressmaker had been unable to repay his debts to the Gauther family, Jenik had decided the youngest son would be payment enough.

* * *

><p><em>2nd September 1992<em>

He'd never liked royalty; it was a joke really, allowing an individual immense amount of power because it was their birthright. But their power struggles were entertaining, and for his plans to come into full harvest, he needed to choose the correct allies.

The calculations were nearly complete, he was so close now,

'The Queen is becoming meddlesome, isn't she?' Jenik questioned light-heartedly, examining the young Prince before him.

Prince Adalard sipped his coffee. 'She is an idealistic fool, and so eager to merge with the Muggle world,' he commented disdainfully.

And she would be a large wrench in his plans if not controlled properly, her father had almost discovered the truth before his life had been snuffed out, Jenik could not have history repeat itself.

But he could not just simply murder her in her bed, that would be too rash and only draw more attention to himself, he had only just managed to cover up the king's murder. Another one so soon after the previous would spark more conspiracies and he did not have an unlimited amount of allies.

'Her time will come,' Jenik said quietly, looking at the Prince knowingly. 'When the time is right.'

* * *

><p><em>30th September 1994<em>

'What's behind that door?'

It was a question that should have not been asked, but Reynard had always been an outspoken one.

So perhaps he should reward them, let them admire his beautiful pets. And they'd all been so successful in their mission recently, assassinating each pawn silently and efficiently like ghosts in the night.

'Do you want to see?' Jenik had asked them all, when he had gathered them in his lab.

Aluka didn't look like he much cared, the Twins looked curious but apprehensive, Reynard had an intrigued look in his eye, while Bayard was trying not to look nervous

So he let them into the room, enthusiastically showing them his pets in the cages.

All five of them stood in the arch of the doorway, Aluka was frozen like a statue, the Twins looked terrified, Reynard couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, Bayard looked like he would throw up.

'….What is this?' Aluka spoke faintly, as Jenik removed one of his pets from the cages; this was the eight legged one he'd been working on.

'They're my pets,' he had replied calmly, staring at them all curiously, he felt like a great weight had been lifted from his chest. 'Go ahead, touch it,' he urged gently, throwing the creature onto the floor.

They all flinched back. 'Oh my god,' Constancia breathed, looking at the pet in disgust.

Jenik's eyes narrowed coldly. 'Do you not like them, little dove?' he had inquired lowly.

The Twins stood stock still. '…O-of course w-we like them, sir,' his little dove stammered, Constancio nodded reverently, as did Reynard and Bayard. They still didn't touch his pet though.

Aluka stayed as still as stone, not uttering a word, staring down at the creature intently, his empty eyes filling with raw emotion.

When the tour was over, his Assassins were never quite the same again when they left.

* * *

><p><em>1st March 1995<em>

The calculations were finally complete, years of trial and error had finally paid off.

It was all so obvious now, but his plans weren't done yet, he needed a Philosophers stone to fuel a power source this big and he could have stolen his former teacher's stone, but the famous Dumbledore had put a stop to that by foolishly destroying Flamel's stone.

Jenik would have cut out the mad old man's eyes for that injustice, but he was not fool enough to expose himself so out in the open. Besides in the end Dumbledore's actions had been for nought, a piece of the stone had still survived and now rested in Jenik's hand.

Now he just had to break down the stone's properties to remake a new one, one that would be the final piece in his plans. He caressed the stone in his hand, he remembered how Aluka had stared at him intently, with a hint of worry in his eyes, and it had caught Jenik off guard, as usually the vampire was a blank slate.

He had brushed it off as nothing, only to chastise himself later when he found the stone missing, Bayard informing him of Aluka's betrayal.

He felt a bile of rage, it was like Christabel all over again.

* * *

><p><em>31st August 1996<em>

Sometimes he had his moments of weakness, when his mind would grow silent and he'd feel odd….like there was a buzzing in his ears, he'd feel so….empty.

Those were the times he visited her, when he'd ask his obedient house-elf to take him to her underground prison. The room was square and clean, the walls painted black, it was decorated plainly, with a bed, bath, sink and small table. Not that it mattered she never moved from her spot on the bed.

And there she'd be, docile and still, the house-elf always made sure her body was kept clean and fed. 'Christabel,' he spoke softly, kissing her forehead, he lifted her chin up, her blue eyes empty. 'I know I should have visited earlier, but I've been so busy,' he sighed, stroking back her silver lined hair lovingly, her face full of wrinkles. But he still found her beautiful, his precious treasure.

He curled up next to her on the bed, this always helped him relax when he was stressed. 'There's a girl I met, a teenager-but it's not what you think!' he said hastily, kissing her gently.

'I'll always remain faithful to you, even if you didn't,' he sighed, shaking his head, even after all these years her betrayal still hurt. 'My intentions towards her are entirely business,' he continued to explain. 'She intrigues me, she's managed to control the stone-did I mention that before?- well she seems intelligent, but she's causing a lot of trouble.'

He looked into Christabel's blank eyes and sighed regrettably. 'I believe she's an important ingredient for the new stone….but I can't be sure. But she had the same book of Alchemy I have, which is far too much of a coincidence….it must be destiny, dear, Fate has sent me a key, I just have to properly utilise it,' he continued, a smile spreading onto his lips.

Jenik stared up at the ceiling, his old bones aching a bit, but such was the consequence of time. 'Our dream is nearly complete, it's so close,' he reassured her, placing his hand on her chest where her heart rested, he could feel it beating, slow and steady.

'I'll set your soul free when the time comes,' he promised her, removing his hand. 'I just can't have you getting in my way again, not now, so be patient,' he told her, kissing her neck tenderly.

Even though her soul was separated from her body, and she was just a vegetable, her brain still soaked up memories, it couldn't think of course, the memories were sort of locked away, waiting for the soul to reopen them. Once her soul was attached to her body all the memories would flood back into the soul.

He didn't want her having blank patches, they had started to journey this together, and that's exactly how they'd finish it.

* * *

><p><strong>Well I think we all gathered earlier on that Jenik was a phsycopath, this just filled in some of the blanks. <strong>

**And now that Origin story is done, we can get back to present day with Lyra and the gang, with a bit of Adrian on the side. I'm so excited!**

**Review!**


	114. Summers End

**I don't own the Harry Potter series...I'd make too many spelli****ng errors.**

** quote: J.R Ward, Lover eternal **

**'...' french**

* * *

><p><strong>"You are a manipulator.<strong>  
><strong> I like to think of myself more as an outcome engineer."<strong>

**Chapter: Summers End**

* * *

><p><em>15th September 1996<em>

People sacrificed a lot for war, it was a bit mad, giving up your life, possessions and friends, all for something you believed in. It was liberating, but condemning.

Emmaline Vance had been fighting since she was fresh out of school, and even when the first war ended back in the 80's she still felt restless, never could really settle down, especially when the slightest rustle in the night made her bolt upright and withdraw her wand; her last boyfriend had been rather scared off after she accidentally blew a hole in the wall.

And a simple desk job at the Ministry had only made her more agitated, she supposed she had been ungrateful, many of her friends had died in the first war, she'd been one of the lucky ones and actually survived.

And yet she'd so easily thrown away the chance of a normal life when Dumbledore had approached her less than two months ago, telling her of a covert mission overseas. It turns out faking your death and changing your appearance was quite easy when a war was raging on.

"Your turn," Ada said from across the table, a glass of Firewhisky by her side, with a deck of playing cards in her left hand.

At least she wasn't the only crazy who'd given up a life of normality.

She'd only known Ada Miller and Alec Wilkes for two weeks, but she'd sussed out that they were likable people and pretty ordinary in some regard. The Healer –or _Doctor_ as he liked to often correct- acted like he'd been thrust into this insane adventure, while Ada was more of a regretful participant.

Emmaline glanced at her long time friend Stugis Podmore, now he was a man who fit right in with this misfit band, he'd always been the type to flirt with danger, so it hadn't been much of a surprise to learn that he'd taken up Dumbledore's offer as well.

Emmaline glanced at her cards before she shrugged back in her chair. "Go fish," she replied.

Stugis grinned beside her, she sighed, if he won another game she'd clobber him. "So where's the Vamp run off to?" Stugis asked, attempting to start a conversation again.

Dr Wilkes grimaced, but otherwise kept quiet as usual, Ada shrugged. "Off checking on our Informant, just to make sure our mission goes off well tomorrow," Ada answered.

At the mention of the upcoming mission, Emmaline smiled faintly, trying to smother a rush of excitement, she'd never say it out loud, never even told her own little sister, but she hadn't been afraid of the war, she'd missed it.

She briefly ran a hand through her blonde her, she also did miss her long black hair, because blonde really didn't suit her. But she was better off than Stugis, he was more recognisable thanks to his stint with Azkaban, so they'd had to change his looks entirely; and make him look a whole lot uglier, much to his horror.

His blonde hair was now a greasy brown, his handsome well chiselled face was now gaunt, sickly and his skin was shallow. Emmaline had been a bit vindictive with his nose, making it more beak like, the only thing they'd kept the same was his blue eyes, and only because Emmaline was afraid they'd blind him by accident.

So Emmaline's new blonde hair, acne, Big wireframe glasses, green eyes, button nose and a round baby face may make her look like a scrawny librarian, but at least she wasn't as ugly as a hag's mother.

It still didn't stop Stugis from flirting shamelessly; a handsome man stuck with an ugly face, _oh how tragic it all was._ "And how is our leader fairing? I haven't seen her since breakfast," Stugis pressed on, shooting a smarmy smile at Dr Wilkes. "Been giving her another check up, Doc?"

Dr Wilkes raised an unimpressed eyebrow, Emmaline let out a long suffering sigh. "Mind your own business, Pods," she scolded.

Stugis scowled. "Em, can you please use my codename, covert mission, remember," he chided in annoyance.

She rolled her eyes, it wasn't like she revealed his real name, Pods could mean bloody anything. "Your codename is ridiculous."

"Only because you lack the imagination to come up with your own, _Emily_," Stugis retorted.

What the hell was wrong with using Emily as her alias? There were a thousand Emily's. "It's less weird than yours," Emmaline remarked. "I mean, _Scrapegoat,_ really?" she said, tossing him a shrewd look.

"It's a cool name!" Stugis tried to defend.

Ada and Dr Wilkes sniggered at their behaviour, Ada grinned at Emmaline. "Has he always been this easy to wind up?"

"Yep," Emmaline replied evenly, ignoring the glare Stugis threw her way. "He's more easy to wind up than a jack in the box," she added taking a large gulp of her vodka; Muggle alcohol may not be as strong as Wizardkinds, but it was still a nice drink, like soda pop.

"Right. So you guys haven't talked much about England," Ada said casually.

Emmaline drew silent, Stugis kept an easy smile of his face. "Magical vow of silence, love, our lips are sealed," Stugis replied brightly, mimicking the zipping of his lips.

Ada shrugged dismissively, as if it didn't bother her. "I understand, I'm just curious is all," she stated lightly.

Emmaline looked at her curiously. "About Amata?" she guessed, noticing Dr Wilkes tense a little; oh those two were definitely sleeping together, Stugis owed her a Galleon. "What specifically?"

Ada grew quiet, absently shuffling her cards. "….Do you trust her?" she asked carefully.

Was this a test?...No, it sounded like Ada wanted her own worries reassured. "Yes….I have to," Emmaline replied, she'd sacrificed too much to go back now. "Ex-Death Eater or not, she's sacrificed a lot too. She's our leader and trust me, I normally wouldn't take kindly taking orders from a girl half my age, but with her I'll make the exception," she went on.

Stugis nodded in agreement. "Same with me, that girl is….sort of scary, but in a good way," he carried on, smirking at Dr Wilkes coyly. "If you know what I'm saying, right Doc?"

Dr Wilkes sighed in exasperation. "Does hevery won know?" he asked slowly, trying to pronounce his English vowels correctly; there was a reason he was generally the quiet one, it reminded Emmaline that she really needed to improve her French.

Ada threw him a dry look. "You weren't exactly quiet, this place echoes you know," she replied, smirking at the Doctor's pissed off look. "So do you know where she's run off to?"

"No," Dr Wilkes replied lowly, slumping in his chair. "She dust said she had buziness to attend to," he added.

"Maybe she's off investigating that Green Goblin gang you mentioned," Stugis quipped.

"Perhaps, she's been pretty withdrawn lately, since Marcus was shipped out," Ada said.

Ah yes, the Queen's love child. "Ah, the allusive Marcus, how's the little kid doing?" Stugis asked brightly. "From wherever undisclosed location he may be," he drawled.

Ada smirked. "Magical vow, my lips are sealed," she mimicked, pretending to zip her lips shut.

Emmaline laughed in amusement, while Stugis pouted like a bad tempered child.

Yes, Emmaline had a feeling she'd like this little group of rogues.

* * *

><p>Keeping a pleasant smile nailed onto your face, when dealing with someone you hated, was a talent Lyrisadora had learnt from her mother; after so many years watching the woman deal with Basilia Malfoy.<p>

'…The Orphanage never told me Marcus had a cousin?' Mrs Dafonte spoke, pouring herself a glass of wine, the woman sure liked her wine.

Lyrisadora folded her legs, she'd groomed her looks to fit with the right scenario, she'd been upset getting rid of her vibrant hair colour, changing it to a light brown. But she doubted Mrs Dafonte would have let her in the house if she looked like a rock groupie. So Lyrisadora had slipped on a very modest navy dress and suit jacket, with heels, pearl earrings and thin leather gloves

'I only knew he existed two months ago, and England's so far away, I doubt the Orphanage knew about his extended family,' Lyrisadora sighed, clenching her hands together. 'But I was happy when I found out he was adopted,' she said warmly, looking at Mrs Dafonte gratefully. 'I was worried he wouldn't be properly taken care of you see,' Lyrisadora fumbled.

Mrs Dafonte took a leisurely sip of her wine, smiling gently. 'Rest assured he is, my husband is out with him now, they've gone on a little outing.'

Lyrisadora gave her a hopeful smile. 'Would it be possible to see him?'

A flash of anxiousness appeared in Mrs Dafonte's eyes. 'Of course, but not until much later, especially with him being busy with his school work, he's such a delicate boy you see, your sudden appearance would shock him,' she hurriedly tried to explain.

_Lying bitch,_ Lyrisadora thought hatefully. 'I understand,' she said softly, her eyes downcast. 'I don't want ruin the family dynamic, I just didn't want him thinking he's been forgotten,' she sighed.

Mrs Dafonte lapped it up like a dog. 'Oh of course, I've always wanted little Marcus to feel loved,' she reassured, smiling gently, her eyes having a faraway look to them. Lyrisadora felt her blood start to boil. 'I love him like he's my own,' she simpered.

Lyrisadora smiled reverently. 'I'm glad he's being properly taken care of, tell me, what is he like?' she asked evenly, thinking over the many different ways you could cut a body up.

Mrs Dafonte finished off her wine, before pouring another. 'He's such a sweet boy, but he can act a little silly sometimes as children do, but he's so kind and I love him so much, he's a blessing really,' she sighed wistfully, eyes darkening with lust.

Lyrisadora held back her vomit, she couldn't stand to hear anymore of this. 'I'm glad. I was wondering, I know it's too soon for a meet up, but do you have anything I could show my family, a little token of sorts?' she requested politely, her smile earnest and warm.

Mrs Dafonte smiled tenderly. 'Of course, come with me,' she chirped, standing up, glass of wine still in her hand.

As soon as the woman turned her back, the smile dropped from Lyrisadora's face, her eyes darkening. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the woman's back. "_Imperio_," she uttered coldly.

Mrs Dafonte stiffened, Lyrisadora walked over to her, she pulled out a small vial and emptied it into the woman's glass of wine. The elder woman's eyes were clouded.

_Drink every last drop._

Lyrisadora watched the woman coldly, as Mrs Dafonte drained the glass clean, Lyrisadora slipped the woman's wand out of her robe pocket, before releasing the curse.

Mrs Dafonte dropped to the floor, her eyes wide in terror, Lyrisadora smiled coldly. 'W-what are you doing!' she exclaimed, before she squirmed, her limbs twitching. 'Why-'

"Ssshhhh, hush," Lyrisadora said gently, watching as the poison started to take effect. 'Oh, how I wish I could cut you,' she breathed, enjoying how Mrs Dafonte's eyes widened in horror, her tongue started to swell up. 'Oh don't worry, that's just the poison kicking in, my own little invention,' she said breezily.

'Hwmmpla!' Mrs Dafonte tried to scream, another high pitched muffled scream escaping as her body twisted.

Lyrisadora watched in morbid fascination, she'd never seen the poison's effect on humans before, the Dark Lord had been right, it was fascinating to watch. Seeing someone in agonising pain put unable to properly scream, utter helplessness. 'You made him feel helpless,' Lyrisadora said softly, looking down at the crying woman dispassionately. 'Made him feel dirty, like he was your little whore,' she breathed her eyes full of hatred. 'What kind of pathetic creature molests a little boy?' she hissed.

Mrs Dafonte was openly sobbing right now, shaking her head desperately.

'Are you saying he's a liar?' Lyrisadora whispered coldly, her eyes narrowing.

Mrs Dafonte screamed in agony, foam coming from her mouth.

'You're disgusting,' Lyrisadora said callously, sitting back down in the chair, watching the woman writhe on the floor.

She sighed, the poison was a necessary alternative, Lyrisadora had made that pesky promise to Marcus after all, she couldn't touch Mrs Dafonte. And by technicality, it wasn't Lyrisadora who was making Mrs Dafonte wrench in pain, it was the poison.

Anyway, she wanted Mrs Dafonte out of the picture; she would interfere to much in her future plans. The Queen needed to be alerted of her son's disappearance, so the ball could get rolling, Lyrisadora would also need to plant child pornography photos in Mrs Dafonte's draw; if she didn't already have any.

And from what she's researched, Mr Dafonte would finally be returning home in two days, Lyrisadora planned to leave him some clear instructions on what he was meant to, telling him his adopted son had been kidnapped and to alert the police.

Lyrisadora cast a lazy glance at Mrs Dafonte when the woman stopped twitching, she'd also need to tie the Queen into the loop if she was going to play this right.

* * *

><p>Marcus really didn't like Polyjuice potion, it tasted revolting. But it did its job right, it didn't make it less weird though, transforming into someone else. Marcus now was a freckled ginger kid; not that he had anything against ginger people in general.<p>

His eyes were now a dull blue and he had a slight overbite, but overall he looked pretty normal, nothing too ugly or handsome, it suited him fine. The potion had made him a few inches taller, so that was an added bonus as well.

He lay on his stomach on his bed, headphones on as he listened to Dur dur d'etre bebe.

_'It's really hard to be a baby,__  
>Oh la la, baby, it's hard to be a baby<br>Oh la la, baby, it's hard to be a baby  
>So hard to be a baby'<em>

It was a fun song, and he liked that he could understand the lyrics, since the song was French.

He also liked drowning out the noisy chatter of the other twenty boys that shared the dorm room.

'Oi give that back you Donkey's ass!' one of the shorter boys swore, trying to grab his book from a taller boy's grasp.

The tall boy grinned. 'Say pwetty please, Raulf,' he taunted at the shrimp kid.

Marcus shook his head and sighed, turning away, smothering the urge to grab the book from the bully's grasp. Keep a low profile, Amata's voice seemed to chime in his ear.

'What's that?' a voice said near him, Marcus looked up in surprise, a stocky looking boy was standing by his bed, looking at him curiously, what was his name again? Oliver? Oxy? Octopus…he was pretty sure the kid's parents didn't hate him that much.

'It's a cassette player,' Marcus replied, shrugging dismissively, as he sat up. 'It plays music….uh, sorry, what was your name again?' he asked sheepishly.

'Oh, it's Octavian, Octavian Selwyn,' the boy replied, a hint of pride in his tone. Pureblood then? Amata had told him lots of Purebloods were very proud of their heritage, it was a part of who they were.

'Hamlin Ilbert,' Marcus gave his fake name, though he was pretty sure Ocatavian knew that already considering the amount of times the teachers introduced him in every class. 'You want to listen?' he offered, hoping the boy would take the offer of friendship.

Ocatavian's eyes lit up, though Marcus noticed he was looking more keenly at the Muggle technology, than Marcus in general. 'Thanks,' he exclaimed, jumping onto the bed, snapping the headpnones up. 'Wow,' he breathed, making Marcus smirk in amusement. 'This is so cool,' Octavian whispered lowly, looking around cautiously, as though it were a taboo.

'Yeah it's pretty cool,' Marcus agreed.

Octavian slipped the headphones off his ears and looked at Marcus curiously. 'Say Ilbert, what's it like to drive in a car?'

_Oh shit_. Marcus tried to keep his cool. 'Oh you know, it's alright, pretty boring,' he said casually.

'And a plane?'

'Never flown,' Marcus replied simply, Ocatavian looked disappointed, Marcus' attnetionw as diverted when he saw the disagreement between that Raulf boy and the bully escalate.

'I'll have your fucking cousin's head served up on a platter,Odilon,' the Raulf boy swore, an audience having gather.

The tall boy called Odilon smirked. 'Big talk coming from a little shit face,' he taunted. 'Gonna get your whore mommy to fight your battles for you again?' he asked sweetly.

Wands were drawn, Raulf was backed up by three taller boys.

'Fuck,' Octavian swore, ducking behind the bed, dragging Marcus down with him. 'I was hoping this year would be different,' he murmured worriedly.

Marcus was thoroughly confused. 'Uh, why are they trying to kill eachother?' he asked curiously.

'Family rivalry,' Octavian replied flippantly, they both flinched when Raulf fired a hex at Odilon, who cast a quick shield charm .

The dueling commenced from there, and for third years, these guys looked like pretty good duelers. Marcus hid under the bed with Octavian, casset player and wand held tightly in his hand, suddenly he was starting to have secound thoughts about Amata saying he'd be safer at school.

* * *

><p>Aileen sighed quietly, sitting on the sofa with her dog Poncho silently by her feet. Her mother and boyfriend were sat on the sofa opposite, going through her baby pictures.<p>

"She was a bit of a chubby baby, my little Leenee," her mom sighed, smiling fondly, Aileen buried her face in her hands. "And she used to hate taking baths; the amount of times I had to drag her in."

Adrian looked amused. "She looks adorable," he cooed, shooting Aileen a grin.

Aileen glared at him. "Oh, shut up," she mumbled, stroking Poncho behind the ears, the dog's tail picked up as he slowly wagged it. "Mom, can we give the baby pictures a rest?" she moaned.

Her mom grinned. "But where's the fun in that?" she retorted, turning to the next page, shooting Adrian a sly look. "Just wait until you see her teenage Goth phase, Adrian, I think I still have copies of the poetry she wrote," her mom remarked, grinning like a sadist.

"Give me that!" Aileen snapped, her cheeks coloured, as she flicked her wand, shooting the photo album out of her mother's grip. "I think that's enough trips down memory lane," she hissed, snapping the album shut, stuffing her wand back into her cardigan pocket.

Her mom laughed. "Oh honey, I was just joking," Ms Baxter reassured, smiling warmly, she looked back at Adrian. "I'm proud of her really, she received top marks in her healing class you know, best out of her whole year," she praised brightly.

Aileen felt a flush of embarrassment. "I'm not surprised," Adrian said smoothly, smiling gently at Aileen. "How's the new promotion going by the way?" he asked lightly.

Aileen smiled sheepishly, fiddling with her hands. "Oh great….the senator did well on his word…" she replied quietly, her gut twisting, remembering their dinner with the man a few months ago. Adrian had praised her so much during the dinner, telling the senator how dedicated she was to her job….. She felt a rush of guilt, remembering how difficult she had been beforehand, so unwilling to support him, while he did more than support her career.

"It's about time you got some appreciation," her mom stated, shooting Adrian a grateful look. "Most of those healers are all stuck up," she stated bluntly, making Aileen sigh in exasperation. "One of them was horrible to her, Phil I think his name was-you remember him don't you Aileen? Horrible man," Ms Baxter chatted.

"…He wasn't that bad," Aileen tried to argue. "Besides I never cared much about what he thought," she sighed, shooting Adrian a desperate look, hoping he'd change the subject.

Adrian smirked, glancing over at Poncho. "So has Poncho been behaving himself?" he asked mildly, halting Ms Baxter's rant.

"Oh, yes he's never been so well behaved," her mom said, looking over at the docile dog at Aileen's feet. "Poncho, come here boy," she instructed evenly.

Aileen watched curiously as the large dog obediently wondered over to her mom's side. Poncho's behaviour had been getting a little out of control lately, and the breaking point had been when he tried to bite Adrian's hand off. So even though she had been apprehensive when Adrian offered to train the dog, she decided to let him have a go, and the results were amazing, the transformation had only taken two weeks, she'd never seen a dog so obedient.

"He's such a good boy now since you've trained him," her mom cooed, ruffling Poncho's ears.

"I'm just glad the training stuck," Adrian replied lightly, before something beeped in his pocket. Poncho whimpered and cringed away, Aileen frowned, her chest tightening…that didn't seem normal. "Looks like I'm needed at work," Adrian sighed, looking at his pager; he gave Ms Baxter an apologetic look. "I'm sorry," he apologised to them both.

Aileen forced a smiled, standing to her feet. "Its fine, I understand," she said, feeling an ache in her chest.

Adrian smiled at her warmly. "Thanks," he said, standing to his feet. "I had a wonderful evening, it was nice seeing you again Ms Baxter," he said, shaking her hand.

"Oh, don't be so formal, I've told you, call me Rebecca," she said cheerfully, swatting him on the arm.

He chuckled. "If you say so," he replied light-heartedly, before turning to Aileen, giving her a light kiss on the lips. "I'll catch up with you tomorrow after work," he told her, as she began to walk him to the door. "We could go out for dinner again," he said while they walked down the hallway.

Her smile widened. "Can we go to that new burger place that opened?" Aileen asked brightly.

His smile twitched. "Well actually I was thinking something more romantic and less greasy," he replied evenly, her smile dimmed a little, but then her chest fluttered, because Adrian always prepared the best romantic evenings.

She stopped in front of the front door, using the bottom hem of his jumper to pull him in closer. "I like the idea of romance," she said coyly.

He smirked. "One taste and I've already got you begging for more," he replied softly, squeezing her bum suggestively.

Her smile twitched, was he joking or being condescending? It was hard to tell with him sometimes, but he was probably just flirting, he did that a lot with odd remarks about sex, blow-jobs….she knew lots of couples talked dirty with each other…so she shouldn't feel embarrassed or anything. She forced a smile, trying to play along and look coy. "Oh come on, like you can talk, you behaved like a bitch in heat," she retorted, giving him a crooked smile.

His smile dropped, a flash of anger in his eyes, her smile faded as she looked up at him in confusion. His hand slid to her neck, he gripped her jaw tightly, making her flinch in surprise.

Adrian gave her a cold look. "Would you rather I not bother?" he whispered, squeezing her jaw painfully.

Her stomach twisted into knots, her eyes widening. "No, I-I was just joking," she stammered quietly, wondering what on earth had set him off? She strained her gaze down the hall, but she doubted her mom could hear them.

His gaze didn't soften. "What have I told you about your jokes?" he asked lowly, her stomach felt queasy.

He jerked her jaw upwards, making her meet his gaze."That they're inappropriate," she squeaked, her stomach plummeting. "I'm sorry," she apologised timidly.

Adrian looked at her intently, before releasing her jaw. She moved back, massaging her sore jaw, she looked at him in alarm, normally her jokes just irritated him, they never garnered such…an extreme reaction. Was it because she called him a bitch? Most likely, how inappropriate and insensitive could you get?

She touched her jaw, she really hoped he hadn't left marks, her mom would overreact and lash out. She looked at him searchingly. "Was it becau-"

But he silenced her with an irritated look, he glanced down the hallway. "You really should think before you speak, Aileen," he chided gently, looking at her in disdain, she withered a little under the scrutiny. "I don't appreciate being insulted," he added coldly, grabbing the key from the hook to let himself out.

She felt a rush of dread, the last time she upset him he didn't contact her for a week. "I didn't mean to, " she hastily apologised, he ignored her, unlocking the door and placing the key back on the hook. "Are we still on for tomorrow?" she inquired hopefully, she didn't want things to go bad over something stupid she said.

He shut the door in her face. She stood staring at the door for a couple more minutes, her shoulders slumping. She felt so…._stupid_, why on earth would she say something so inappropriate? She knew she was in the wrong for insulting him, but did he really have to be so rough with her?

She sighed quietly, forcing the sad look from her face, the last thing she needed was her mom getting all overprotective. Aileen tried to forget what had happened, pushing it away from her mind.

When she re-entered the living room, her mother was putting away the photo album. "You alright, honey?" her mom asked, frowning at her in concern.

Aileen paused, sitting on the sofa. "…Mom, do you think Adrian's serious about me?" she asked uncomfortably.

"He seems like a nice boy," her mom replied, sitting down next to her. "Do you like him?"

She frowned, why wouldn't she like Adrian? He was handsome, intelligent, confident and he'd done so much for her, even if he was a bit too easily offended. "Yes…" she muttered.

Aileen wondered what Adrian's late fiancée had been like, had Lyrisadora been prettier than her? It was becoming apparent that Adrian had certain standards, and she didn't know if she was okay with that…

"Aileen is there something you're not telling?" her mom questioned softly, holding her hand.

"It's just…I feel really…overwhelmed-it's stupid-I like him, but…." Aileen trailed off, trying to think clearly, her feelings all jumbled up. "He always buys me things and I don't deserve it," she stated flatly, remembering the new clothes, expensive restaurants, offering to do stuff for her, he'd even got her a promotion.

"Why shouldn't he treat you, if he's got the money, let him spend it," her mother said, smiling in amusement. "You're a hard worker, honey, let him spoil you a bit," Ms Baxter advised. "And if it makes you uncomfortable, tell him, or buy him something in return."

"Yeah, okay," Aileen said slowly, that might work, if she gave Adrian gifts then it would even the playing field, but as for telling him to not give her gifts….she didn't want to hurt his feelings, maybe her mom was right, there was nothing wrong with having your boyfriend spoil you and Adrian wouldn't give her stuff unless he wanted to. "I guess I'm just worrying over nothing," she sighed, stroking Poncho's head.

Ms Baxter patted her hand. "Well if you're worried about getting on his bad side, just talk to me, I'll set him straight," she reassured, smiling mischievously.

Aileen smiled back, her stomach twisting, she wondered how her mom would react if she knew what Adrian had said to her earlier?

* * *

><p><em>16th September 1996<em>

Alec let out a deep breath, snuggling into his bed, Amata rubbed her hands on his chest, before kissing his neck. 'Tired already?' she chuckled.

He smiled, tangling his hands in her long brown hair, he thinks he prefers it long, but she changes her looks so regularly he realised it was futile to have a preference. He wondered what she really looked like…..

And it wasn't easy asking her about her personal life, she tended to avoid the question. He understood their situations were different, he was free to talk about his past as much as possible but she wasn't. She always listened to his problems, no matter how uncomfortable it got, or how embarrassed he felt, she soothed him with kisses and gentle words, it made him feel less empty.

He needed someone to listen, just to hold him when it got too much. He wasn't ashamed to let her comfort him, she reassured him that he wasn't a failure, that it wasn't his fault Anthea and his sister were dead….even though it was hard to believe her.

She smiled at him mischievously, straddling his waist. 'Have I exhausted you, my dear?' she purred, leaning down to kiss him deeply, her hair tickling his face.

'I'm just thinking,' Alec replied, watching her closely, as the candle light flickered. 'I hope the mission goes well…'

'It will, I'll be there,' she reassured, before sliding away from him, playful smile still on her lips. Sometimes it was unnerving when she flipped her personality, but maybe this was just her more playful side, more like a nineteen year old girl and less like a general commanding troop.

He forgot how young she was sometimes, especially when she acted more mature than him. It often felt like she was made of stone, and he tried to be more like that, more for his sake, since he couldn't rely on her comforts forever.

But she had revealed some vulnerability to him, she tended to have nightmares, waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, or sometimes whimpering in her sleep. He'd hold her close and reassure her in those times, it was the only time he felt like he really knew her, like they actually felt like a real couple.

She moved out of the covers, revealing her naked body as she stretched, smiling at him teasingly, he tried to smile, but the scars on her back made his stomach twist. 'And I don't tolerate failure,' she added lightly, running a hand through her hair.

'I noticed,' he replied quietly, looking at her with interest, her sat up more. '….Can I ask you something?'

Amata's smile dimmed, as she sat on the edge of the bed. 'Depends on the question, dear,' she replied evenly.

He recalled the conversation from last night with Emily and Scrapegoat, he understood the reason for their secrecy, but he just needed to know a little about her, he needed more than just aloofness and mystery. 'I know you can't talk about your past…' Her eyes grew colder. 'But I just need to know something about you, please,' he reasoned diplomatically.

She stared at him intently. 'Why?' she asked tonelessly.

He frowned. 'Because…I don't know you, I mean this relationship-'

'Am I smart person?' she interrupted him, her face unreadable.

He looked at her in confusion. '…Yes, of course you are,' he answered slowly, wondering what type of game she was playing.

She smiled at him fondly. 'How do I act? Tell me what you think of me?' she instructed evenly.

He looked at her oddly. 'Well, you're very serious, intense, sometimes a little too harsh,' he began to answer, looking at her carefully. 'Cold but…also kind and beautiful.' He gruffly cleared his throat, feeling a little embarrassed.

'_Go on_, this is flattering,' she chuckled, crawling towards him, smiling slyly.

'Ego much,' he remarked dryly; maybe her sarcasm was rubbing off on him. 'You're a fighter….I guess that's how you got those scars,' he said carefully.

She stilled, the playful look vanishing again, as the cold look entered her eyes again, she reached out to stroke his cheek. 'You guess correctly,' she replied tightly, giving him a droll smile, he felt a little uneasy. 'Do they bother you?' she asked faintly, her brown eyes piercing.

'No, I think they tell a story,' he replied, he had his own scars after all, not as bad as hers but each one had its own meaning.

'Hmmm, I see,' she said softly, laying down next to him, he wondered what was going on in her head. Amata looked back at him, her hand moving to the scar on her right thigh, it was clearly a stab wound, the scar contrasting against her pale skin. 'Do you want to know how I got this one?' she asked mildly.

He nodded straight away, his eyes never leaving hers. 'Yes,' he answered.

She stared at the ceiling again. 'Well, back in England, I had this boyfriend, who I stupidly fell in love with,' she drawled, a soft smile on her lips, a look he rarely ever saw. 'And for a time, things were good….then eventually he started to change….became a bit more violent,' she went on, not a hint of emotion in her voice, he stared at her transfixed, his stomach churning. 'Then before I knew it, things got a little out of hand, I try to leave, he locks me a cellar for three days, I partly sleep in my own piss and he's insisting he loves me,' she sighed, turning her gaze back to Alec, tracing the scar with her forefinger. 'Then I try to escape and he stabs me with a cursed knife.'

Alec didn't know what to say. 'I'm sorry…I shouldn't have asked,' he muttered.

She smiled at him sweetly, reaching out to stroke his dark hair back. 'It's fine, it's in the past and I learned so much from it all,' she reassured. 'I'm not ashamed.'

'I'd never hurt you,' he told her sternly, feeling a swell of protectiveness.

She smiled at him warmly. 'You're a better man than him, you won't betray me, will you?' Amata asked him quietly, looking at him hopefully.

'Never,' he replied instantly, feeling a pang of pity for her, her story answered some questions he had about her, her guarded personality, why she felt a need to dominate and control. She'd suffered so much and she was still so young, the trauma with Jenik would have only made things worse for her. 'I promise,' he told her, he'd failed to protect his family, he wouldn't fail to protect her.

She kissed him gently, sighing in relief, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 'He told me no one else would love me as much as him,' she said softly, looking at Alec shyly.

He felt his chest tighten. 'He was wrong,' he reassured her.

'I know, but sometimes I believe it. Alec, what do you want from this relationship?' she asked him lightly, her breath feeling warm against his neck.

He swallowed a lump down his throat, he supposed things were starting to get serious, he wasn't sure if it was true love, he'd felt real love before, and this wasn't quite like that. But he wanted to love her, to support each other, the whole of France was going to hell and she seemed like the only stable thing left.

'To be with you, like this,' he answered faintly, she'd helped him so much with his grieving and she was his leader, outside of this band of rogues what did he have? No family, no friends, without her as leader, none of them had anything. He and Aluka would have killed each other, Ada would have broken down and Marcus would most likely have been captured or dead. And Alec may hate the vampire with a burning passion, but they were all in the same boat, they had nothing left besides each other and the mission ahead of them. 'That's all I want.'

She traced circles on his chest soothingly. 'You're more than I deserve, Alec,' she said quietly, a small insecure smile on her lips, closing her eyes as she leant on his chest, the tension leaving her shoulders. 'Now do you know me?' she whispered in his ear.

Not entirely, but it was enough to satisfy him, and did you really need to know a person's history to love them? He liked her for who she was _now_, not who she had been, he sighed snuggling closer to her. 'Yes, I know you,' he murmured back, wrapping an arm around her protectively.

She traced his bottom lips with her thumb, a ghost of a smile on her face. 'And do you want to know why I like you?' she asked tenderly, he looked at her curiously. 'You don't hide who you are, it's what I like most about you.'

Her words warmed his chest, made him smile faintly, trying to smother all instincts telling him that something about this was too good to be true.

* * *

><p>Voldemort glided into the meeting room, Prince Adalard and Jenik the only ones present, they both did the slight bow of the head, which did irk him, but they were not his followers, he needn't torture them for insolence.<p>

He slid into a seat at the head of the table, Jenik on his right, while the Prince took a seat on his left. "Gentlemen, it's been an age," Voldemort greeted smoothly, smiling widely, his red eyes gleaming. "I've heard many rumours of unrest….some quite troubling," he continued.

Jenik looked the most at ease, but the man was crazier than Bellatrix, so that was expected. "Yes, this mysterious girl has been a thorn in our side recently," Jenik sighed. "I have done my research, but I cannot find a scrap of useful information," he said in frustration, a look of displeasure flashing across his face.

Voldemort took a peak into his mind, but he quickly retracted when he saw those grotesque images of those deformed children in the cages, the ones Jenik fondly called his _pets._

The Dark Lord felt dirty just looking into the lunatic's head, it all just seemed bizarre and pointless, he was all in favour of torturing, he loved it as much as the next person, but what Jenik did just seemed…..tasteless and odd.

Voldemort shook his head, steepening his fingers, directing his attention to the saner of the two. 'And the Queen ?'

The Prince straighten up more, swallowing a lump down his throat. "She's starting to regain control, she's employed a new law enforcement, call _The Sentinels_, more werewolves have been captured," he continued smoothly, trying to hide his apprehension. "There are also rumours of the head of the Auror department being replaced. But we have received news from Bloodhounds pack, they've got a new batch of recruits and are training them up," he told the Dark Lord.

Voldemort nodded, tapping his long fingers on the table. "How long until the numbers are built up again?" he inquired testily.

"One month, they're nearly broken in," The Prince replied smoothly.

Voldemort turned to Jenik. "Make sure he doesn't over recruit, we don't want the few becoming many," he said coldly, a few more hundred werewolves would be good for his army, especially with France's Wizarding population swelling. "What more of the Queen?" he asked lightly.

"She's still trying to control the Veela, their young are still under her watch, so the Veela haven't made a move, but they haven't joined our side either," The Prince divulged.

"And if they had a push?" Voldemort asked mildly, smiling coldly, as he watched the Prince shift uncomfortably. "Do you know where their little ones are held?" he asked evenly.

"In the lower levels of the palace,' the Prince reluctantly revealed; such a moral citizen.

"Kill them," Voldemort ordered without hesitation, noticing the Prince turn deathly white. "Imperius the guards have them attempt to rape the girls, and then when the little Veela obviously try to fight back, kill all but one, and let that little one run back home to her mother," he commanded calmly.

There was a stretched silence. "…Of course my lord, it shall be done," Prince Adalard replied softly, turning away.

The Dark Lord smiled. "The price of power is steeo, young prince, surely you know this?" he chuckled.

The Prince bristled, his face blank. "Yes, I h-hunderstand," his voice shook slightly, his accent seeping through.

"Good," Voldemort said velvety, smiling wickedly, turning his attention to Jenik. "We need to discuss more on transferring the giants…"

* * *

><p>Lyrisadora adjusted her wand in her holster, the team for tonight's mission was Emmaline, Stugis, Ada and Aluka, and if all went to plan it should go off without a hitch, or close enough.<p>

She tied her hair up into a tight bun, dressed in jeans and a leather heavily padded fur lined aviator jacket. "Aluka, you're up first, Emily…Scrapegoat, go round the back, I and Ada will advance after Aluka," Lyrisadora instructed sharply, hiding behind the corner of the street, she saw two wizards approach the door of the townhouse. "Go, now."

Aluka transformed into a bat, when the door man opened the door to let the two wizards in, Aluka slipped in. Emmaline and Stugis ran towards the back of the building, while Lyrisadora and Ada walked toward the doorman, Disillusion charm in place around them, keeping close the brick wall.

The doorman jumped when a loud scream came from inside. "_Stupefy,"_ Lyrisadora hissed, knocking the man over, before she and Ada dived into the townhouse.

There was already blood on the floor, her wand swerved like a whip, hexing the two injured wizards trying to escape.

Emmaline and Stugis were taking down the ones in the living room, Lyrisadora rushed passed them and made it to the kitchen. She counted four people in the kitchen, well more like three since Aluka had just killed someone. "Aluka," Lyrisadora snapped, stopping him from ripping one man's head off, his gaze bloodthirsty, but the vampire listened and dropped the man. 'Where are the girls?' she asked the trembling man.

'W-who the fuck-?'

"_Crucio,"_ Lyrisadora said faintly, watching the man writhe in agony, just like Mrs Dafonte. She felt the dark magic coil around her like a gentle caress. Ada looked uncomfortable, turning away. 'It's rude to swear. Now where are they?' she chided, smiling coldly.

'U-Upstairs!' the man choked.

Her cold eyes swept towards Ada. "Ada, go upstairs, leave this with us," Lyrisadora instructed calmly.

Ada didn't move, she just stared at her in shock, Lyrisadora arched an eyebrow, wasn't the woman used to violence by now? "Ada, those girls need our help," Lyrisadora reminded her urgently, still holding the screaming man under the curse, like he was a piece of furniture.

Emmaline and Stugis entered, faltering when they saw her torturing the man, but otherwise didn't say anything; at least they understood the situation better.

The man screamed, Ada clenched her fists, but obeyed, running out and up the stairs. Lyrisadora turned back to the man on the floor. 'And the money?' Lyrisadora asked.

The man threw up on the floor. Lyrisadora sighed, he clearly wasn't used to the curse, at least it meant he was more breakable.

'W-with my little brother upstairs, he's just a kid don't hurt him, please!' the man cried.

Lyrisadora withdrew the curse, turning to Emmaline and Stugis. "Go upstairs, help Ada get the girls prepared, the Aurors will be here in thirty minutes, don't hurt the teenage idiot who has the money," she commanded.

The two left without another work. Lyrisadora grabbed the man by the collar,tore her way into his mind, he let out a scream of pain, but she ignored it.

* * *

><p>"…So we're agreed that she needs to dies at the right time," Voldemort said, they nodded in agreement.<p>

"There also was another thing," the Prince spoke up, Voldemort's gaze zeroed in on him. "Dumbledore was reported in the country, on the 25th July, he was apparently visiting Madame Maxima," he divulged cautiously.

Voldemort bristled, his eyes growing darker. "And why didn't you tell me this beforehand?" he asked tightly through gritted teeth.

The Prince shrank back. "It seemed so minor-"

"You're an idiot!" Voldemort hissed, glancing at Jenik. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jenik arched an eyebrow. "I didn't know about it," he replied calmly.

_He doubted that_, Voldemort's eyes narrowed warningly, his hand twitching to his wand, oh how he'd love to torture them both. But knowing Jenik, the sicko would get off on it. "The old fool knows I'm up to something, and that meddlesome girl is at the centre of it," he growled, why were his plans always ruffled by teenagers? It was infuriating.

"We are trying to get rid of her," The Prince tried to argue weakly. "But we know nothing about her, we tried to attack Ms Millers mother to gain leverage, but the woman has transferred to Ibetha apparently, or somewhere close by," he told the Dark Lord hesitantly.

Voldemort felt his temper grow, was competence really so hard to come by these days? "Remind of the names of your wife and children, Adalard?" he said silkily, making the Prince stiffen.

They were interrupted when one of Jenik's assassin's, the werewolf, Bayard was it? Jenik shot his son an irritated look. "What is it Bayard?" he sighed.

Bayard cast a fevering glance at the Dark Lord, Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "There has been an attack on one of the holding houses…it was _her _again," he revealed cautiously.

Jenik swore under his breath, Voldemort felt his blood boil, slamming his fist on the table. So much for rumours.

* * *

><p>Ada tried to control her nerves as they all got back to base, Dr Wilkes was anxiously waiting for them, looking at Amata in concern. 'Are you okay?' Dr Wilkes asked.<p>

Amata smiled. 'It was a success, better than expected,' she replied, kissing him reassuringly.

Ada felt her stomach twist, she looked around the room, was no one really going to bring it up? "You used the Cruciatus curse," Ada stated loudly, the atmosphere suddenly became a lot tenser.

Amata was looking at her intently, before she looked away in shame. "I had to, it was the only way to make him talk," she sighed.

"Bullshit," Ada snapped. "You're the one always telling Aluka there's another way," she argued, the silence stretched. "Using that curse went too far," she said, feeling her growing suspicions finally leak out. "It was like you had practice," she went on, looking at her coldly.

Dr Wilkes moved protectively closer to Amata, but she brushed him off. "You're right, I do," Amata admitted, sounding regretful, closing her eyes as she let out a shallow breath, as if reliving the memories. Ada felt a stab of guilt. "I was ordered too, and if I didn't do a good job I got tortured," she confessed, looking at Ada sorrowfully, looking like a scared teenager. "Those girls were going to be sold as _sex slaves_, Ada, we didn't have much time," Amata whispered her voice carrying over in the otherwise silent cave.

"She has a point," Scrapegoat spoke up, his voice unusually solemn. "I'm not saying it's right, but this is war," he reasoned, rubbing the back of his neck, avoiding everyone's gaze. "In the first war, the Aurors did a lot of dark stuff to fight the Death Eaters….and some of us in the Order were no better when we got pushed over the edge," Scrapegoat divulged, Emily nodded grimly.

Ada was tongue tied, looking between them all and Amata's haunted expression, suddenly she felt…guilty for being so accusing. But Ada knew she was right, they couldn't go around using dark magic on their enemies, it made them just as bad, and Ada could barely tolerate the killing, let alone torture. "We can't turn into them," Ada said, looking at Amata almost imploringly, as if she wanted her to agree. "Torturing them is sadistic, you all know that."

"But effective," Aluka said coldly, she shot him a glare. "And sometimes necessary," he added.

"I understand, Ada," Amata said, coming closer to her, giving her a sad smile. "I'm not proud of what I did, but we're at war, and if I have to sacrifice my morals to protect innocent people, I'll do it," she said firmly, Ada's eyes widened. "Remember the children the cages, Ada?" she said softly, her gaze pointed.

Ada cringed, trying to push the nightmare images out of her head. "Don't," she whispered, stepping back, avoiding their stares, it felt like they were ganging up on her, like they were all right and she was the only one in the wrong. "I won't torture people," she said firmly.

"Good," Amata said, smiling warmly, making Ada frown. "I don't want you to, no one here has to do anything they don't want to do," she reassured, looking at them all pointedly. "What I did was wrong, but _necessary_," Amata stressed, Scrapegoat faintly nodded, as did Emmaline. Wilkes looked troubled, but didn't say anything.

Ada was a loss for words, she felt her argument die in her throat, because she found herself _agreeing_ along with the others. Dr Wilkes, Emily and Scrapegoat didn't look pleased or happy, but seemed to grimly accept it, as if there was no other way.

And as much as Ada tried to think of an alternative, all she saw was those creatures screaming in the cages, villages burning, bloody corpses on the ground. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, she didn't know what to do, she could object all she wanted, it wouldn't make them agree with her. "It is wrong," Ada murmured, taking a seat at the table, everyone else took that cue that the argument was over.

Aluka looked at her in annoyance, taking his leave, while Emily and Scrapegoat said they'd finish off building the bathroom; since right now it was just a bath tub and a bottomless hole in the ground to take a poo or piss.

Dr Wilkes went off with Amata to give her a full medical check up, which Ada assumed was their foreplay. Which left her alone, she hunched in her chair, thinking the night over in her head, she'd expected Dr Wilkes to question Amata more, but it appeared like she had him wrapped around her finger.

But if Wilkes wanted to be Amata's lapdog, good for him, it just meant the group lost one of their moral compasses. Ada knew Amata wasn't a horrible person, but there was something just not right about her, but again it was the same thing Ada always felt about her. She wanted to believe Amata was a good person, but it just seemed like she was playing into the girl's hand, just like the others.

There was just something unhinged about the girl, something cold and ruthless in her eyes, like every move and smile was calculated for correct manipulation.

* * *

><p><em>17th September 1996<em>

Thierry had handed her the letter, it had been left in his chambers, sealed in an envelope addressed to her. They were now reviewing the security of the palace.

_'….But if you are unhappy and you wish to find me, then I will not turn you away. But it will be too risky to contact me directly, so I ask that you contact Alain Tronc, show her the bracelet I made you, she will explain everything. _

_Love _

_Your mother.'_

The Queen scrunched the tattered letter up, letting out a cry of anger, she'd been informed of Mrs Dafonte's murder, the apparent abuse Marcus had suffered under the woman's care, and that Marcus was gone, having seemingly run away.

Berenice leaned on her desk for support, someone knew who Marcus was, he wasn't safe anymore. Her gaze became fiercer, she may not be a good mother, but she would not fail her child this time, not when everything was hanging by a thread.

While outside, the leaf from the tree glided to the ground, leaves crinkled and withered, as an autumn breeze rolled in.

* * *

><p><strong>Even Voldy has some standards. <strong>

**And yes Amata is going a bit off the deep end, but it was gonna happen eventually, there's only so much a person can go through before they start getting a bit unhinged. **

**Sad times. **

**But oh well, let me know what you guys think. **


End file.
